One of the main challenges for humanity in this century is the threat of overpopulation. The population is proliferating, and although environmental, geopolitical, and socioeconomic factors may be slowing this dynamic, growth remains evident. Along with population growth, the issue of providing for society’s increasing needs is becoming increasingly urgent. This essay focuses on providing energy supplies in which communities can use light, electricity, and heat to solve everyday problems.
The population is indeed proliferating, and this rate is different for each country. According to the World Bank, global population growth has been gradually declining since 1971, but numbers are still increasing (2021). By 2050, the global population is thought to surpass the 9.9 billion mark, and by the end of the century, the number will be 10.9 billion (Cilluffo & Ruiz, 2019). Among the countries contributing the most to population growth are the African regions and Central Asian countries. All that said, over time, the ability to provide safe, affordable, and valuable resources for everyone on the planet will become more complex.
The energy sector will be particularly affected by the lack of resources. In energy supply, the leading sources to generate light and heat are coal, natural gas, and oil. These materials are not endless, which means that the day will come when energy sources run out. It is authoritatively believed that oil could run out entirely by as early as 2060 (Howarth, 2019). If no additional measures are developed by then, the shortage of coal, gas, and oil will cause a worldwide crisis. Communities will not have enough resources to survive, probably leading to the most significant era of human extinction. The shortage of valuable resources will affect the relationship between countries, causing new waves of geopolitical wars and material competition. Thus, with the current agenda of mineral management and energy generation policies intact, it is safe to say that the future world will be in a state of energy crisis.
Already today, however, many laboratories and private companies are trying several strategies to minimize this risk. On the one hand, companies are trying to use resources more carefully and recycle them, which overall means wasting less energy. On the other hand, there are green fuel technologies that can recycle trash into valuable resources. One such innovation is biogas, which uses plant fuels to generate electricity, energy, and fertilizer. The essence of this technology is built on processing agricultural waste, whether it is organic garbage, fecal matter, rot, or weed, with the help of particular bacteria into a mixture of gases called biogas. Burning this substance produces a high yield of electricity and heat, and the organic residue from the garbage can be used as a special fertilizer for plants. In this way, the world can start the cycle of reusing garbage for energy. This, in turn, will take away the dependence on oil, gas, and coal as limited resources.
In conclusion, the problem of overpopulation of the earth is an essential threat to states because it creates the need for an adequate supply of affordable, safe raw materials for every individual. This threat seems even more urgent regarding the energy balance since oil, coal, and gas reserves are not infinite. It is believed that most precious fossils will be in short supply by mid-century, which can become a severe problem for the world. Investing in green technologies can solve this problem, such as biogas. The reuse of organic trash generates electricity, heat, and fertilizer, covering the dependence on the Earth’s limited resources.
References
Cilluffo, A. & Ruiz, N. G. (2019). World’s population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century. PRC. Web.
Howarth, J. (2019). When will fossil fuels run out? Octopus Energy. Web.
The World Bank. (2021). Population growth (annual %). The World Bank. Web.