Effects of Technology on Society: Analysis of Overpopulation

Overpopulation has caused many side effects that need to be addressed within our society. If these are not addressed, then the consequences will be drastic and can cause an epidemic. For the past 400 years, the advances made in the industrial, transportation, economic, medical, and agricultural revolutions have helped nurture an exponential rise in human population. Eussen states “technological improvements saw more efficient agricultural production, resulting in year-round crops, more resistant seeds, pesticides, and so on” (para.5). With more technology emerging into the world, humans have found ways to make processes quicker and more efficient. While this may sound like a factor for success, technological advances has caused problems to the air quality, water quality, and agriculture. Sometimes the things that can help you the most can also hurt you if not kept in moderation. The effects of technology on society has caused overpopulation. Overpopulation has caused over farming, deforestation, and finally air and water pollution.

Over Farming:

Over farming is a direct factor of overpopulation, when more people are on earth, this causes farmers to abuse the soil and land, which causes the land to not be suitable for farming no more. Over farming can also cause soil erosion, is the displacement of the furthest upper layer of soil, which causes soil degradation. John Pottage states “Furthermore, ecosystems are being systematically destroyed in order to support the growing population. The necessary minerals that give soil its fertility are constantly under threat of depletion by over-farming, though new fertilizer technology has lessened this problem somewhat” (para. 3). This demonstrates that over farming quickens soil erosion because of the sum of land that is farmed and how much farming practices disturb the ground. Farmers eliminate native vegetation and then plow the land to plant new seeds. This is because most crops grow only in spring and summer, the land turns dry during the winter. Winter is also the down season in many locations, so wind and rain tend to wash soil away. In addition, tractor tires make deep grooves, which are natural pathways for water, and this causes the soil to erode and take away all its nutrients. Another effect of overpopulation on over farming is monoculture, which basically means growing the same single crop species in a field. Rinkesh states “Planting of the same type of crops season after season means that the crops previously planted exhausted the same kind of nutrients that the current crops should use. As a result of this, the current crops will then use up all the remaining nutrients and render the soil infertile. This is soil degradation” (para. 17). The problem with monoculture is thar monoculture systems provide a narrower range of agricultural land than polyculture fields, leading to an increased need for chemical pesticides. To manage pests in monoculture fields, farmers must apply chemical pesticides, leading to negative effects on water quality, wildlife populations, and human health. Another problem that has been caused by overpopulation is continuous cropping. Farmers have responded to rising demand for food and lessened space for agricultural expansion, farmers have shortened and some abandoned fallow periods and crop rotations in favor of continuous production. While the ability to produce two or three crops per year on a single plot has drastically increased global food supply, continuous cropping can have detrimental impacts on soil health. Another factor of over farming is the usage of fertilizers, which have had allowed humans to increase per area yields dramatically and caused the global crop supply to increase exponentially. High usage of fertilization can lead to soil acidification, which is a process that results in poisonous levels of aluminum and manganese which can cause reduced amounts of essential nutrients in the soil. This can cause the plants’ root tips to damage, which can prevent the plant from growing further. Soil acidification can hinder soil and plant health, which decline the per area yields. Another harmful effect of over farming is the increasing rate of usage of pesticides. Pesticides can make their way to water sources nearby the crops. Many ponds or rivers by farm have been spotted to have pesticides in it. Once a water source is polluted with pesticides, it may take many years for the contamination caused by the pesticides to dissipate or be cleaned up. Pesticides can also affect the soil, heavy treatment of soil with pesticides can cause populations of beneficial soil microorganisms to decrease. The reason why pesticides are not good for the soil is because plants depend on a variety of soil microorganisms to transform atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates, which plants can then use to help growth.

Deforestation:

One of the most unfortunate impacts of overpopulation is deforestation. Deforestation is the removal of trees to make space for farming, agriculture or grazing, and using the timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing. The driving force behind deforestation is human overpopulation. This population can stem from two categories, the population in the region that places demands on the resources derived from the tropical rainforests, and the second category is the ever so expanding population of developing tropical nations, who look exploit the rainforest for survival. Rhett states a very scary fact “Despite declining global birth rates, which have now fallen to the lowest level in recorded history, the U.S. Bureau of the Census projects the population will reach 8 billion by 2026 and expects the population to then level off at 9-10 billion in 2050, barring an outbreak of a widespread deadly plague or a catastrophic environmental disaster. Over 99 percent of this new growth will occur in the less-developed countries of today.” I agree with what Rhett is saying, if we don’t find solutions to overpopulation, we can be on the rode to a catastrophic environmental disaster. A huge factor of deforestation is expansion of farming. Deforestation stems from the fact that we as a whole need more food to match the increase in population. In order to meet this demand for food, we must produce more crops to feed the population. In order to produce more crops, we require more land, and to get more land for cultivation and crops we have started going into forests, cutting down trees, and turning beautiful and lush green forests into large fields. Many farmers who commit deforestation participate in a practice called shifting agriculture which is the clearing of forested land for raising or growing the crops until the soil is exhausted of nutrients. After the nutrients are exhausted, more forest land is cleared. This process can go on for a long time and has been the for front of a lot of deforestation. Deforestation can occur when people live close to a forest. As time goes on, these migrated people begin producing their own food by resorting to agriculture for which they begin clearing the nearby forest land. If the fertility of soil is less, the crop produce is low which triggers humans to cultivate more area and leads to further clearing of the forestland. Another factor of deforestation is construction. As the population continues to rise, the need for construction rises as well. All lumber that is needed for construction is taken from forests. This deforestation is not only limited to the construction industry, wood-based industries like paper, matchsticks, and furniture also need a substantial amount of wood supply. Rinkesh discusses the effects of deforestation, “Trees release water vapor in the air, which is compromised on with the lack of trees. Trees also provide the required shade that keeps the soil moist. This leads to the imbalance in the atmospheric temperature further making conditions for the ecology difficult” (para. 11). Deforestation contributes to global warming epidemic; this occurs from increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases which leads to net increase in the global mean temperature as the forests are primary terrestrial sink of carbon. Thus, deforestation disrupts the global carbon cycle by increasing the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Air and Water pollution:

As more technology and machinery becomes abundant, water sources can get contaminated. One of the main causes of water pollution is over population. Daniel communicates the idea how urban development is a direct cause of water pollution, “Urban areas have a high risk of water pollution. Runoff from streets can carry oils, heavy metals, and other containments, while sewage water can leak into ground water, bringing bacteria, nitrates, phosphorus, and other chemicals. Waste dumping also can pollute existing sources of freshwater with hazardous materials and toxic chemicals” (para. 3). As urban development occurs, people began to build houses, roads, and big factories, and industrial plants. As more factories emerged, factories began to dump their chemical wastes in bodies of water. Big factories flush down waste products in the water, and this is one of the major causes of water pollution. On the other hand, people also cause water pollution by of pouring chemicals such as shampoo, soap, body wash, or detergents in their drains and toilets. This toxic pollution can also enter the water from highway runoff on the street. The highway runoff is usually covered with toxic chemicals such as spilled fuel, chemical additives, brake fluids, and exhaust discharges. When the rain pours, these substances are washed in the drains and then make their way into the rivers. Another factor of overpopulation is air pollution. Kathryn from NASA’s Earth Science News Team states the following “The contribution to air pollution from surface-level NO2 in each region more than doubled when cities increased in population from 1 million to 10 million people, although in China the increase was much larger, by about a factor of five” (para. 8-9). One of the main causes of air pollution is cars and motor vehicles. As the population continues to grow, the number of motor vehicles in operation will grow as well. A car’s exhaust produces significant amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and other types of pollution. In addition, emissions from cars increase the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This can lead to fatal effects on our planet, such as global warming. Another contributor to air pollution is manufacturing industries. These factories release a large amounts of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, hydrocarbons, and chemicals into the air which further hinders the quality of air. Manufacturing industries are indeed important to cities and people, but the pollution caused by it must be evaluated and solved. Petroleum refineries also release hydrocarbons and many other chemicals that pollute the air and cause water pollution.