Earth's Carrying Capacity
- erudite .
- Dec 3, 2021
- 1 min read
By Sanam Marjan
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of people that can be supported indefinitely by the environment that we live in. Our population is nearing 8 million and it cannot keep continuously growing, if so the earth’s resources would deplete and will fail to support lives adequately. The four main factors it depends on are food availability, water supply, living space, and environmental conditions.
Human Overpopulation:
This is when the population of people is too large to be sustained by the environment. In recent centuries the human population has increased due to advancement in both healthcare and agriculture. This can ultimately lead to the limit of the earth’s carrying capacity which is estimated at around 11 billion. After the limit has been reached a hypothetical event known as Malthusianism can take place where the population exceeds more than agriculture causing famine and war for resources, which may result in poverty and depopulation.
What will happen if the earth’s carrying capacity is exceeded?
When the rate of birth and death becomes equal the earth will reach its limit faster. The capacity depends on biotic and abiotic factors and with improvement in both the carrying capacity can be increased. If the factors become less plentiful the carrying capacity drops as resources are used faster than it is replenished. Better care of the environment may stretch the limit and stop the world from getting into a strain that can not be altered and hence put all living beings and species in the face of extinction.
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