Analyzing the Population Myth: A World Issues Assignment

This assignment delves into the 'population myth,' a concept challenging the idea that overpopulation is the primary cause of environmental issues. The student's response addresses two key questions. The first question defines the population myth as the unverified belief that human population exceeds the planet's carrying capacity, leading to resource depletion and environmental damage. The response provides five examples, including the slower growth of carbon emissions in areas with high population growth, the disproportionately high emissions of the wealthy, and the demographic decline. The second question identifies a pro-poor, left-leaning political ideology as the author's perspective, highlighting the unequal distribution of resources and blaming the wealthy for environmental destruction. The response provides five supporting examples, such as the rich's disproportionate resource consumption and pollution, and the fact that a significant portion of the global population produces minimal emissions. The assignment successfully links wealth and environmental destruction, emphasizing that increased wealth correlates with higher consumption and pollution levels.

Running Head: QUESTIONS ON POPULATION MYTH.
OVERPOPULATION IS A MYTH
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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OVERPOPULATION IS A MYTH
Answer to question 1:
Part 1: Population myth is the unverified idea that human population is exceeding a certain
threshold level, beyond the carrying capacity of the planet. Hence it is causing resource decline,
pollution increase, and destruction of biodiversity of earth. The overpopulation theory identifies
that increase in human population is detrimental to the health of the environment and also it is
identified as the cause of Global climate change( Jung, 2014). The myth of overpopulation is that
these reasons have no forbearing on the environment; it rejects the idea that human population
growth is causing resource limitation and causing global climate change. It proposes other
reasons for these factors.
Part 2: Five examples of this myth are:
 Places where population growth has been highest, the growth in carbon emissions have
been the slowest.
 Around one sixth of the population is so poor that they produce no significant emissions
at all.
 Power consumption by the minority of rich people is exponentially more than
proportionally higher number of poor.
 The world is going through a stage of demographic decline; this transition period will
lead to population peaking, thus the myth of ever growing population is just a misplace
idea.
 The rich consume disproportionately to the poor, who are more in numbers, the
environment is harmed more as people grow richer and consume more resources.

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OVERPOPULATION IS A MYTH
Part 3: The increase in wealth is directly proportional to the over-consumption of resources and
increase in levels of environmental pollution. The rich though less in number to the poor,
consume the most resources per capita than the poor. As wealth increases the study shows, the
overconsumption of power and carbon emissions increase per capita. Rich countries pollute
more. As more resources are available to an individual, the consumption pattern goes up. For
example around one sixth of the world population has no significant emissions at all. It has been
shown that people breed less and consume more as they transition to being richer.
Answer to question 2:
Part 1:
The political ideology chosen by the author to challenge the myth of overpopulation is that of a
pro poor left leaning ideology, which according to my standpoint is correct. The author rightly
points out in the study that the rich consume disproportionately to the poor. The pro poor leftist
ideology advocates that the poor are unfairly treated by the rich capitalist class and are at the
receiving end of all blame. The ideology tends to safeguard the poor and venerable of society
and seeks to stand by their rights.
Part 2:
Five examples to prove my choice:
 The author has shown through examples where the rich consume many times the
resources and pollute much more per capita than the poor, who are unfairly targeted for
their higher numerical majority.
 Power consumption is exponentially more by the rich than the per capita consumption by
the poor.

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OVERPOPULATION IS A MYTH
 The rich eat expensive items, they destroy the environment more. They travel more, and
use natural resources like gasoline many times more than the poor.
 Population is peaking around the world, hence the myth of the ever growing human
population, is just a myth.
 Around one sixth of humanity is so destitute that cause no significant carbon emission at
all; on top of that they live by recycling other people’s garbage (Clark, 2016).

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OVERPOPULATION IS A MYTH
References:
Clark, T. (2016). ‘But the real problem is….’: The Chameleonic Insidiousness of
‘Overpopulation’in the Environmental Humanities. Oxford Literary Review, 38(1), 7-26.
Jung, C. G. (2014). Flying saucers: A modern myth of things seen in the sky. Psychology Press.