Human Population
Our planet is beset with serious problems emanating from climate change, carbon output, depletion of resources caused by industrial fishing, industrial farming and industrial forestry, pollution, overcrowding in cities, homelessness, traffic gridlock, poverty, famine, genocidal land disputes and massive refugee issues. The ways of helping to solve these problems are endlessly discussed but the elephant in the room, which is seldom mentioned, is burgeoning population growth. Every one of these problems is made worse by higher populations and every one of them would be alleviated by fewer people. It has been said that if the world were to achieve a human population equal to that of the 18th century we could all live like aristocrats using 21st century technology and even the technology of our forebears. Nature would certainly be better off as would individual people.
The problem is that virtually all leaders in business and politics keep praising growth as a positive thing. Economic growth at all costs is the slogan. One moment's reflection would lead to the truth that unbridled growth over time is impossible. Unlimited growth is the philosophy of the cancer cell. The list of problems mentioned above are symptoms of that. But no leaders talk about it. I think that every political leader, business leader and department of economics should be actively discussing systems whereby societies can have a good quality of life based on no growth and eventually negative growth. No growth will not be easy. Serious sacrifice will need to be made during early stages. Steps would have to be taken to ease the stresses on the poorest people.
In my view every place in the world, including Canada, is overcrowded. Many vast areas on this planet, including Canada, are not ecologically suitable for human habitation or exploitation. They should be largely left to nature! Environmental organizations and activists are constantly fighting against certain developments and rightly so. But they virtually never mention the elephant in the room . . . too many people. The silence is puzzling and deafening.
The longer this discussion is postponed, the worse the problems we face will become. We need to find a way to end the worship of growth.
Robert Bateman
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