As of 2011, the world is home to over 7 billion people. But did you know if we took all of those people and put them right next to each other, we would all fit in the town of Los Angeles, California? ("7 Billion, National Geographic Magazine") Every day people hear plenty about the “problems” of overpopulation, and they see much about the controversies of it because it is a very popular subject as the population continues to rise and as countries develop. Overpopulation is not necessarily a problem itself, but the problems associated with it are; therefore people need to be educated and make wise decisions so that we can populate the world and areas responsibly. Countries like Africa, that can not currently support a growing number of people are the countries that are growing exponentially while other countries like Russia that can support a larger amount of people are the ones that are declining in population. As you can probably conclude, this is a problem, but overpopulation itself is not. To help curb the problems that are associated with overpopulation, we should focus on more education, balance, and appropriate use of resources throughout the world.

The first step in bringing balance to the world is education. Education is the key to everything. Knowledge and critical thinkers are what makes good leaders and will help to bring balance and everything along with it. With education eventually the people there could learn the ways of technology and ways to save their people from death and spreading of diseases. They could pass this on to generations and bring it into their villages and culture. Potential parents should be educated on the pros and cons of having children and be introduced to forms of contraception. Not only is education and a growing population an issue in Africa, but so is the presence of STDs. Simple education and contraception could keep these linked problems from becoming a further issue. Joelle Katz stated, “Not only would birth control help to slow the population growth rate, but it can also help to prevent the high rate for infant deaths in those countries. Less than 5 percent of people in most countries in Africa use contraceptives.” Education is the key and is so important because new generations are the future leaders of countries and the world itself.
Another key thing to solving the problems associated with overpopulation is balance. Balance is people spreading out through the countries and areas so that resources are more accessible to a certain amount of people. This is a hard thing to do because it costs money, and people rely on each other a lot. Balance starts with the government to some degree. We need good leaders, ones that get along with other countries. We need them to work together for the better of civilization, future generations, and to solve linked problems. If we spread people across a region, less resources will be used and there will be more opportunities to discover new resources. According to the article The World is Not Overpopulated, “ If population poses a problem, it is likely due to distribution, not to growth.” Distributing our excellent leaders and developments globally will go a long way.
A final very important thing in helping the problems associated with overpopulation is decisions and use of resources. We, especially living in America, use more resources than we realize. We rely completely on electricity. We have good food, water, and shelter. Other countries like Africa do not have these things. Money is an issue, but if education is brought to them and their population growth decreases, the number of available resources for the people would be greater and could be repaired. We should make wise decisions to benefit all of mankind and try to lower our use of resources, especially non-renewable ones. Decisions are what make life keep going. Wise ones can prevent a life of poverty and suffering. Clearly, couples wanting to have children should would want what is best for the child and only have it if they could support it. People must look at the future to be critical thinkers and realize what the next generation would live like and if it is best for them.

So, growth is not the problem. In fact, population growth rates have been declining; we should be at a stable amount of nine billion people by the year 2030 ("The Problem of Overpopulation and How We Can Work to Solve It"). Our replacement rate is less than the amount of people dying. Responsibility in education, distribution, decisions, and distribution will go a long way. According to the article “The World is Not Overpopulated,” “We need to promote responsible growth, not discourage it entirely.” To help curb the problems that are associated with overpopulation we should focus on more education, balance, and appropriate use of resources throughout the world. Together with wise decision making and good leaders, eventually and through long processes, we can bring balance to the world.



Works Cited
"7 Billion, National Geographic Magazine." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc4HxPxNrZ0>
"Africa Needs Population Growth, Not Birth Control." Crisis Magazine RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013.
Katz, Joelle. "The Problem of Overpopulation and How We Can Work to Solve It." Web log post. Daily Sundial. N.p., 20 Nov. 2011. Web.
" The World Is Not Overpopulated." RealClearScience - The World Is Not Overpopulated. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.