The video above is a short and concise introduction to overpopulation.

While many of us are familiar with the problems of global warming, air pollution, and other environmental problems, we often pay little attention to the problem of overpopulation – which may be one of the biggest environmental problem that the world face today.

So, what is overpopulation?

(image from http://www.paulchefurka.ca/Overpopulation.jpg) 

The picture above accurately depicted overpopulation.

Overpopulation is defined as a value judgement reflecting an observation or a conviction that an environment or a territory is unable adequately to support its present population. In short, overpopulation is a situation where a country contains more people than its existing resources and the levels of technology can support.

The relationship of population and resources are dynamic in nature and they change with time. As time passes, technology will improve. As technology improves, more the resource base can be increased. Also, population size and needs change with time. People discover raw materials to replace those which are exhausted or have changed in value. (For example, the usage of nuclear power in the light of diminishing fossil fuels.) Resource bases are also reduced or destroyed by natural disasters or by exhaustion.

A key term that is important to understanding the concept of population is carrying capacity. It is the maximum population size that the environment can support or sustain without significant negative impact to the given population and the environment. Carrying capacity is a concept that have got to do with the amount of resources a land have. Because every land have its own carrying capacity, there is a population ceiling for every land. It is the limits on population size that is imposed by the carrying capacity. If there are no limits on resources, human population and grow indefinitely and exponentially. However, because resources are limited, the exponential growth rate will reach its ceiling and level off, and the population stabilises. The graph below will show what that means.

Signoid Curve indicating Carrying Capacity and Population Ceiling (image from http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l03VeEODvvY/T2_6g4vwoEI/AAAAAAAAAEk/R-dutBtWCEI/s1600/logistic+curve.jpg)

Overpopulation occurs when population growth overshoot the population ceiling. The population will then be inadequately supported by the productive capacity of the land. This will cause a lot of stress on both the population and the environment.

This is a short introduction to the main idea of overpopulation that will aid in understanding the main issues of the overpopulation in China. In other sections, I will discuss the causes and effects of overpopulation in China.

Sources:

Getis, A., Getis, J., & Fellmann, J. (2006). Introduction to Geography (10th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies