Overpopulation is an environmental concern, but a preventative measure in dealing with it lies in the realm of women's rights. Better sexual education, better access to contraceptives and more women's rights around the globe are key components to avoiding an overpopulation dilemma.
Overpopulation is an environmental fear because the population of the planet is increasing exponentially, especially in developing countries. The population boom started to take charge when the Industrial Revolution gained speed, as medicine was better able to combat disease and sanitation was finally seen as a priority.
More people means more resources consumed, more pollution created and more waste to deal with. Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson estimates that if everyone lived to the same consumer standards as the U.S., we would need four more Earths to contain all the people and the stuff. According to the Population Reference Bureau, it took 1,900 years for the human population to grow by 1.3 billion people. In the 20th century alone - just 100 years - the global population grew by 4.5 billion people.
Umbra Fisk from Grist answered a reader's question about overpopulation in a way that seems relatively unheard of in everyday life. Instead of talking about the more controversial approaches to combating overpopulation - such as governmental restrictions on how many children someone can have - she suggests enhancing women's rights.
It's really worrisome and frightening to think about a world where the government sanctions how many children you can have. The line becomes blurry about how exactly the government would control this - forced sterilization? Extreme surveillance? It completely destroys the idea of personal freedom and is simply not right.
Education for women, however, is a safe and empowering tool to inform women about contraception and limiting fertility. This ideology is applicable around the world, as comprehensive sexual education and access to contraceptives is a key factor in slowing population growth and the spread of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV/AIDS.
This is a solution to the annual 70 to 80 million unintended pregnancies in developing countries, according to the United Nations Foundation. In the United States, about half of all pregnancies - or three million - are unintended, according to the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.
Better access to reproductive health care and education also impacts poverty. Women are given the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills that can help them better provide for their families. This also can lead them to more job opportunities, which could also delay when they choose to start having children.
Different political and social issues constantly intersect, and this is a case where an environmental issue is also an issue of social justice, women's rights and poverty. It is not exclusive to any country or continent. Overpopulation is not something that can be legally prevented - nor should it be - without severe ramifications in other aspects of society.
So while overpopulation seems to most affect waste creation, resource use and pollution, it also has deep consequences on the availability of education and rights to women around the world. In the environmental movement, answers should not be selectively sought out in science and technology without considering other aspects of society. In this case, I completely agree with Umbra - more women's rights are a vital solution to the problems that overpopulation causes, both environmental and non-environmental.
Cathy Wilson is a senior studying journalism and a copy editor for The Post. Send her an e-mail at cw224805@ohiou.edu.
4 Opinion
Cathy Wilson
