My first drafts are rarely ever actual drafts; they usually serve as an outline where I can plan my thoughts to guide my writing, but this has no meat to it whatsoever.

I. Introduction

1. Bring up other current issues (racism, poverty, climate change, terrorism)
2. Relate them to overpopulation or make overpopulation seem more important
3. Thesis: Left unaddressed, the growth rate of the world’s population can lead to depletion of the planet’s finite resources, international instability, and ultimately conflict.

II. History

1. Introduce Thomas Malthus who lived during the late 18th century and his predictions (although wrong) on population growth; Malthusianism
2. Industrial Revolution
3. Baby boom of the 1950s

III. Math

1. ~ 700 million in the 1700’s (“Ecological Impact of the Industrial Revolution”)
2. ~3 billion in the 1950-1960s
3. Now up to ~7.3 billion in barely 5 decades
4. [UN Projected Population Graph] 2100 High: 16 Billion
5. Replacement rate w/time

IV. National Level

1. “the higher the socio-economic level, the lower the birth-rate” (“The Economy and Population Growth”)
2. Poverty and hunger (“World: UN Projects World Population to Reach 8.5 Billion by 2030”)
3. Government Capability (“Unchecked Population Growth”)

V. International Level

1. Immigration, Global North and South (Population and International Security in the NEW WORLD ORDER)

VI. Conflict

1. Resources

1. Oil (“The Ecological Impact of the Industrial Revolution”)

VII. Possible Solutions

1. Tragedy of the Commons - Garrett Hardin
2. Technology
3. I = PAT - Paul Ehrlich
4. Consumption

VIII. Conclusion

Introduction:

Terrorism, climate change, and world hunger are but a few of the issues that our political leaders are faced with in the modern era. However some of these issues have a common underlying factor that largely goes unaddressed and overlooked: overpopulation. In the past, a growing population was a sign of a thriving nation, however in the present, that is no longer the case. Within only the past half century, the world’s population has doubled, and this has led to concerns regarding the effects of humans on the environment, and also to the effects it has on societies and nations. Left unaddressed, overpopulation will lead to the depletion of the world’s finite resources, international instability, and ultimately conflict.