The global impact of humanity on the planet is affected by many factors besides the population. Lifestyle (including the use of resources) and pollution (including the carbon footprint) are equally important. 

In the The Message: A Novel About Overpopulation, the author deals with the very real issue that governments, and people in general, seem reluctant to discuss… the increasing problem of overpopulation!

Following are the effects of overpopulation:

• Deforestation

The deforestation and loss of ecosystems contribute valuably the overall balance of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide; About eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.

• Mass extinctions and shrinking biodiversity

Mass extinctions and shrinking biodiversity of reduced habitat in tropical forests due to slash and burn techniques that are sometimes practiced by migrant farmers, especially in countries with rapid expansion of rural populations; current extinction rates can be as high as 140,000 species lost per year.

• Changes in atmospheric composition and the consequent global warming

Loss of arable land and increased desertification. Deforestation and desertification can be reversed by adopting property rights, and this policy is successful even when the human population continues to grow.

• High mortality of infants and children

More likelihood of new epidemics and pandemics. For many environmental and social reasons, which include conditions of overcrowding, malnutrition and inadequate, inaccessible or non-existent health care, the poor are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases.