The biggest threat to the environment is rarely talked about and easy to fix but unless it’s addressed soon, nothing else we do will keep us from destroying the planet.
The damage we do to the Earth is simple math. The size of the average persons carbon foot print, times the number of people on the planet. Since 1970 the worlds population has doubled. At the present rate kindergarten students today will see it double again in their lifetime, doubling the damage we’re currently doing to the planet. If left unchecked a generation later will see the Earths population double again making are carbon foot print 4 times what it is today, and so on. Just look around and you can see how fast cities and towns are expanding.
As we sit on the tipping point of catastrophic disaster even if the population stopped increasing today we would be lucky not to loose this game of Jenga we are playing with the worlds ecosystem. Left unchecked we will soon realize all the science, carbon taxes and government policies in the word won’t put a dent in fixing the damage done by this rapid population growth.
Even skeptics of climate change can’t ignore the logistics of providing enough food and energy for a world population multiple times larger then todays not to mention dealing with the waste. The more the worlds populations grow the greater the threat of conflict between nations over resources.
Having children is one of the most fulfilling and important parts of being human and no one has to give that up to save the planet. If every couple had an average of 2 children the worlds population would stop growing and become neutral, that combined with current programs and scientific advances might give us a chance at survival.
There is no time to waste. “World population” needs to be at the top of the list for combating climate change. The people of the world need to understand that controlling population growth is the only thing that will save us. Only then will governments be able to to make it work by phasing in policies like eliminating child tax breaks for large families. Changing current values will not be easy and it will take brave politicians with our support to implement the policy’s necessary.
A slowing growth in population will also effect many other issues. Although it would solve some problems like easing the housing crisis and transit problems it will also most likely have a negative effect on the stock market and countries with deficit based pyramid type economy’s.
We can no longer foolishly believe electric cars, carbon taxes, recycling, bicycling, and renewable energy will save the planet. Until population growth is brought under control, nothing else we do matters. Effects of biblical proportion from are actions are no longer generations in the future but will be felt within your or your children’s lifetime. After reading this, It is now up to you to do your part to help save the planet by getting the word out about population growth, through friends, school, work, social media, political lobbing or simply passing on this post. People are already beginning to focus on the science behind climate change but it is much more important to focus on the math.
Dave Lister
listerlogic.com