Overpopulation. But what are we measuring
It is easy to talk about how our planet cannot sustain an increasing number of people. There is some truth in this.
Yet, like most things we measure in our Western world, we are perhaps measuring the wrong or the all-too-simple thing.
What about resource consumption? If we all lived as ecologically as our indigenous communities the earth could sustain many more people easily.
As most industrialised countries are now below the rate of population replacement, the issue of overpopulation/many more births occur in the developing world.
Do we want to limit their rights to bear children while we continue to overconsume? Is this the plan?
Perhaps we might instead look at reducing our consumption while also lifting the rest of the world out of poverty, for evidence is clear that when people have their survival needs met, and access to quality education, their reproduction rates decline.
We have to be careful that we do not impose our ‘rights’ to a very resource-rich lifestyle as the wrong for people less fortunate. Or to fall for a eugenics light disguised as a story of the need to limit population growth.
Issues like population growth are complex. They require a whole systems approach.
December 11th 2019
Photo taken December 11th, 2019
