If you have followed the news the messages are not particularly good for either the climate or the biodiversity of our planet. A critical factor contributing to the diminishing quality of both is the rapid population growth of humans. We actually have become the invasive species par excellence that threatens life, or at least its quality, for all earth’s creatures.
The negative effects of population growth are compounded by hyper-consumption and ever- increasing use of carbon-producing fuels. And yet the demographic signals that population growth will peak and even reverse itself by the end of the century are treated as bad news.
So, in a change of my usual approach of how I compose my posts, I will post parts of an interesting piece titled Population Decline Will Change the World for the Better published in Scientific America, on May 4, 2023, written by Stephanie Feldstein, the population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Before I present parts of this article, I want to list the reasons why, in my opinion, population growth is becoming a serious and difficult problem to handle.
- Population growth is favored by biological factors and cultural indoctrination; both make resistance to propagation very difficult. That requires deliberate effort and policies to make population control possible. Especially because . . .
- Population growth management most often requires the use of reproductive controls which are often opposed on religious grounds. And . . .
- Population growth is linked to economic growth and national strength. Although income per capita may decline if the economy fails to grow commensurately with the population, our strong focus on aggregate size than individual prosperity makes us ignore diminishing living standards at the individual level.
To overcome the forces of nature and those of culture we need to adopt a different set of principles that focus on: prosperity and human development at the level of the individual, respect for the biodiversity and survival of all species, and the protection of the climate which if destroyed can end human civilization.
Now below, I reproduce some of the interesting parts of Stephanie Feldstein’s opinion piece.
First on biodiversity and the climate:
“ . . . Declining populations will ease the pressure eight billion people put on the planet. As the population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity, I’ve seen the devastating effects of our ever-expanding footprint on global ecosystems. But if you listen to economists (and Elon Musk), you might believe falling birthrates mean the sky is falling as fewer babies means fewer workers and consumers driving economic growth.
. . . We’re at a crossroads—and we decide what happens next. We can maintain the economic status quo and continue to pursue infinite growth on a finite planet. Or we can heed the warning signs of a planet pushed to its limits, put the brakes on environmental catastrophe, and choose a different way to define prosperity that’s grounded in equity and a thriving natural world.”
More on the survival of other species:
“… As the human population has doubled over the past 50 years, wildlife populations have plummeted by an average of 69 percent. We’ve already altered at least 70 percent of Earth’s land, with some reports putting that number at 97 percent. Our activities have driven wildlife from their homes and destroyed irreplaceable ecosystems.
. . . The loss of biodiversity is tragic in itself. A world without elephants, hellbender salamanders and the million other species at risk of extinction in the coming decades would be deeply impoverished. Wild plants and animals enrich our lives and hold vital ecosystems together. The fresh water we need to survive, the plants we rely on for food and medicine, and the forests we depend on for clean air and carbon sequestration are all the product of complex interactions between life-forms ranging from microbes and pollinators to carnivores and scavengers. When even a single thread is pulled from that tapestry, the entire system can unravel.”
On the social impact:
“. . . Lower fertility rates also typically signal an increase in gender equality. Better-educated women tend to have fewer children, later in life. This slows population growth and helps reduce carbon emissions. And when women are in leadership roles, they’re more likely than men to advance initiatives to fight climate change and protect nature. These outcomes are side effects of policies that are necessary regardless of their impact on population.
On our options:
. . . With the first scenario [that of growth] we’ll find that an economy fueled by limitless population growth makes it increasingly difficult to address environmental crises. Communities are already struggling in the face of worsening droughts, extreme weather and other consequences of climate disruption—and population pressure makes adaptation even harder. A growing population will further stress damaged ecosystems, reducing their resilience and increasing the risk of threats like pandemics, soil desertification and biodiversity loss in a downward spiral.
. . . With the second—slow decline and all that comes with it—we can ultimately scale back our pressure on the environment, adapt to climate change, and protect enough places for imperiled wildlife to find refuge and potentially recover.”
On the duty of governments:
“. . . Governments must invest in health care, support caregivers, help people who want to work longer do so, and redesign communities to meet the housing, transportation and service needs of older people. We need to move our economy toward one where people and nature can thrive. That means managing consumption, prioritizing social and environmental welfare over profits, valuing cooperation and recognizing the need for a range of community-driven solutions. These practices already exist—in mutual-aid programs and worker-owned cooperatives—but they must become the foundation of our economy rather than the exception.”
I will close by adding that our challenge is to become less of an invasive species and more of a collaborative one that learns again how to live in harmony with our natural environment not at its expense.
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