my own "modest proposal"
English IV
Written Composition # 2
24 February 9, 2007
GAVERIA, Sophia IV-3
Remedy to Overpopulation
Busy People. Crowded places. Heavy Traffic. Every time you turn your head, you see one of these in the city. Children can be seen walking with garlands of flowers, both hands extended. You can see people walking hurriedly along the crowded streets, phone in hand, trying to catch the next public transportation that will, hopefully, bring them to their workplace in the nick of time. Houses can be seen everywhere, standing in the most awkward places, sheltering a family or two.
During the past couple of decades, this image eventually replaced the previous picturesque image of our country and cities. It is quite alarming, to be honest. Our cities are fast becoming crowded places with the influx of people from the provinces and the added population every year. In short, our country, especially our cities, is becoming over populated and congested. As of 2005, the Philippines has a population of 86,241,697 people. The National Capital Region, a little part of Luzon, is the most densely populated area of the country. More than 9.9 million (13.0 %) people are living in the National Capital, an area of 636 square kilometers. In short, there are 15.617 persons living on one square kilometer of land.
With this in mind, I would like to propose an idea that will solve this problem. Allotting an area for only a specific number of people, comprised of only one sex, will address the problem of overpopulation and congestion in our cities. In a certain area, only the females will be allowed to stay and for other areas, the males are the only ones who live there.
In order to completely understand my proposal and its importance, one must fully understand overpopulation. When people hear the word “overpopulation,” the first thing that comes to mind is density. Technically, overpopulation does not simply mean that there is high population density. If density will be the main criterion for overpopulation, one would have to conclude that Africa is “underpopulated” because it only has 55 people per square mile while other countries like Europe and France, have 261 and 266 people per square mile. Another component is taken into consideration - the area’s carrying capacity.
The key to understanding overpopulation is to first consider the number of people living in an area. An area is considered overpopulated when its inhabitants cannot be sustained without rapidly depleting nonrenewable resources or converting renewable resources into nonrenewable ones without degrading the capacity of the environment to support the population. In short, if the long-term carrying capacity of an area is clearly being degraded by its current human occupants then that area is overpopulated.
After making clear the parameters of considering a place as an overly populated area, I would like to reiterate my proposal of allotting a specific area for a specific number of people belonging to the same sex. Anyone who crosses the border will be killed and his or her carcasses will be used as cheap fertilizer.
There are several advantages to this proposal. First, by implementing this isolation and redistribution of people in the country, the different land areas in the country will be used to their maximum potential, hence, providing the population with additional supply of the necessary goods and products. Second, the problem of congestion in NCR will be downsized because lands which where abandoned by people can be used again as a place of living. Third, the isolation will decrease the population growth per year - the number of babies born per year, because both genders are only permitted to meet once a year to copulate. Lastly, the remains of the people who were not able to control themselves and crossed the border will be used as fertilizers in order to help the agricultural sector flourish in their products and goods. According to a very learned friend of mine, who belongs to the agricultural sector, human remains have huge amounts of phosphorus that is a component of nucleic acid, phospholipids. In fertilizers, phosphorus provides plants with the energy to drive metabolic chemical reactions and to promote plant growth. Human carcasses are feasible to be used as fertilizers.
This proposal, or any other proposal, will only be effective in addressing the problem of overpopulation and congestion if all of us, Filipinos, will be humble enough to cooperate. Most of us immediately discard any proposal without weighing its pros and cons. We put down any suggestion on how to improve our lives made by our fellow Filipino instead of considering the possibility of making it work. Without cooperation and teamwork, no plan of attack or solution will be effective in addressing any of our problems. We must work together and try not to bring anyone down. We must remember that we have jobs and responsibilities towards each other, our country, and ourselves to try to improve our lives and the future generations’ lives.