Well... DUH!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4585920.stm
I read this article on BBC News this morning. Is it just me, or does the global population explosion of the last few generations seem to be the most obvious threat our environment has ever faced (at least in the last few billion years)? Everything in this report seems glaringly obvious to me. Do people really not get this? I mean look at all the environmental problems we face... pollution, starvation, die-off of species after species, air quality, water quality, land quality, etc etc etc. It doesn't take a scientific genius to tie them all back to the fact that there are too many of us here, and our growth is accelerating exponentially, year after year, with no (voluntary) end in sight.
Then again I shouldn't be surprised that this is not so obvious to most people. We are a society addicted to growth. Our measure of success is growth. Grow your bank account, grow your business, grow your family, get a bigger house, a bigger car. Just try questioning someones decision to have children and you'll see what I mean. Its a guaranteed recipe for a heated argument about our 'right to have children'. Just because we have a 'right' to do something doesn't make it a good idea.
On a personal note I think I'd make a great Dad, but I know I never will be.
The problem with addressing population control though, is how do you bring a reduction in population about. A license to breed? Eugenics? I think the only humane way is through education. Until we (the global 'we') truly understand the problem and fully acknowledge it there is no way we can bring it under control. Unfortunately I think nature will take care of it for us, long before we get a grip on it. Either that or our powerful elite will think of some way to cull the useless eaters (maybe they are already?) OK, I'll going to stop writing now... before I dive headlong into a 'conspiracy theory'.
10:53:24 AM 
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