William Davison – One of 2012’s $1,000 Scholarship Essay Winners
- NPG
- July 1, 2012
- Scholarship 2012
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By William Davison
Reviewing the facts associated with the population growth in America produces alarming thoughts about the future of this country. Without a dramatic change in the rate of growth, the United States could be headed for many difficulties. The country will experience negative impacts socially, environmentally and economically.
Education is one area that will see a dramatic problem. The schools will be overcrowded, which will have a negative impact upon the quality of education that can be given. Schools will not have the facilities to accommodate the number of students that will be attending. Greater population in the schools will also have a negative economic effect. Transportation and energy costs will increase. An increase in the number of textbooks and technology assets will be required.
Diseases which had disappeared in the United States have found a return to the country through the increased number of immigrants recently. This fact, combined with the increase in population, will cause the country to see an increase in the number of patients in our health care facilities. Hospitals have already closed due to patients not being able to pay for heath care. The hospitals that have remained open will be overcrowded, therefore reducing the quality of health care. The increase in population will also increase the number of people who will receive health care that is paid by the government.
Urban areas will expand to accommodate the increase in the population if it continues to increase at the current rate. The open land and farm areas will be reduced. The effect of this will be a decrease in goods supplied by the United States. Products will have to be imported, thus causing an increase in price. This will have an additional negative impact upon the economy.
Complex problems concerning the environment will arise with such a significant increase in population. The amount of trash heading to our landfills will overwhelm the areas that are currently serving this purpose. More rural land will be required to fulfill this need, thus reducing rural areas even further.
Existing natural resources will not be enough to provide for the population growth as it growing. We are rapidly deleting these resources now. Alternate sources will have to be developed in the future in order to be able to provide this population growth with energy and water.
Negative economical impacts are a logical result of all of the previously mentioned effects. The community must provide education. The citizens will provide health care for those who cannot afford it. Individuals will be forced to provide for the increaded needs through increased taxes.
Other items cannot be purchased. Additional rural land cannot be imported from outside countries. The air pollution from the additional cars that will be needed cannot be exported. Additional taxes cannot replace the loss of natural resources.
We, the citizens of the United States of America, need to take a serious look at the effects that the current population growth could cause. Education needs to be provided and immigration needs to be limited. If we choose to ignore the problem, it will not go away, but rather will multiply. Now is the time to examine our future and guide the course to a positive future for our country.
