Population Growth - One Topic Not Debated Enough

The reason for an ever-increasing demand for energy sources isn't just the incorrect notion that increasing economic growth depends on it, or that we need economic growth at all, but it's also that the population of the world is increasing at an alarming rate. Not only that, but the population growth rate has been increasing as well, so not only is it getting more crowded but it's getting more crowded faster. The more people there are in the world, the more energy is needed to produce food and to power transportation to feed them. 

Actually, it started the other way around. Before this immense population growth were conditions such as the agricultural and industrial revolution that enabled society to grow in numbers. Now society seems to be on an overshoot and collapse pattern, where we are growing too fast so that the planet's ability to provide necessary resources isn't keeping up with us. Can't really blame the environment for this, we're also destroying the planet's ecosystem services while growing in numbers, which just doesn't seem fair. (MAJOR sarcasm if you hadn't noticed, the human species is utterly stupid because we are destroying the environment that keeps us alive.)

Anyway, with climate change on the rise, so are many conversations and initiatives surrounding how we can change our economic, political, and social systems, including our energy industry, to solve humanity's resource and climate crisis. What has been largely left out is the discussion of population control. Paul Ehrlich, author of "Population Bomb" and the IPAT equation that attempts to measure the influence of the human population on the environment, gave a lecture called "Distress Signals from Earth" on Alternative Radio, WAMC 90.3FM, that aired on April 8, 2014. In this lecture he stated that he wanted to hit the high points that he feels aren't normally emphasized enough or even part of the conversation. Included in those points was that one of the drivers of the basic problem of climate change are overpopulation and overconsumption. His response to solutions that include just working on consumption and not the issue of overpopulation is that it's "absolute bullshit", it won't work unless you tackle both.

This debate isn't happening enough, and when it is brought up, you are looked at as though you are a radical or extremist. While at the People's Climate March I saw only one group of about 3 people holding a sign that mentioned to need for population control. I looked on and thought how great it was, while I could hear muffled comments from people around me thinking they were a bit over the top or crazy. That reaction needs to change.

 As a society we need to get passed the notion that procreation is always a good thing, and we need seriously start discussing the push for more family planning education, how that affects our environment and climate change, and a push to make resources available everywhere to reduce fertility. There are cascading and immediate benefits that result from family planning and giving women the economic and cultural power to make and carry out decisions about their fertility, including increased health for the women and their children, less unwanted pregnancies, less abortions, more educational and employment opportunities, and enhanced social and economic status. Some countries have enforced population control, like China with their 'one child' policy, leading to an economic boom. (Although, because of their culture, male children were preferred over females, resulting in a current shortage of women in their population.)

Looking through my Facebook feed I found a short video that I thought was going to raise awareness to population issues because it was titled "Why bring a child into this world?" I was absolutely shocked and quite angry after watching this video because Unilever, a major corporation that sells products largely targeting children, was pushing a message that innovation and technology have been improving the quality of life for children in the world and that you shouldn't worry so much, go ahead and have a child. Some of these 'improvements' included how more food than ever is being produced, new technology to provide clean drinking water is invented all the time, simple everyday products of the future will be able to prevent more diseases, and "our children will have greater chances of meeting their great-grandchildren than we ever did." The whole of my education in sustainability tells me that none of these are likely to be true at all! And it skirts around the real issues, because while we may be producing enough food to feed the world, people around the world are still dying of starvation because of corruption and greed in our economic and political systems. I went to comment on the post saying exactly that, and found that someone right before me already had, which was a small piece of relief to see that people are aware of reality.

Personally, I don't want to have my own child because, along with other reasons, I don't want to bring another child into this world when the future of our society is so uncertain. Adoption is, dare I say it, almost THE ethical and moral way to go. Why bring more children into this chaotic world when there are so many already here that aren't being taken care of?

When you consider the almost CERTAIN result of climate change that we'll see, that the temperature will rise making the sea levels rise resulting in millions of environmental refugees moving inland crowding available space even more, it seems crazy NOT to be discussing population control.

Word Count:931

Sources:

• Paul Ehrlich. "Distress Signals from Earth". Alternative Radio, WAMC 90.3FM. April 8, 2014.

• Butler, T. (2012). The Energy Reader: Overdevelopment and the Delsuion of Endless Growth. (T. Butler, D. Lerch, & G. Wuerthner, Eds.) (p. 364). Canada: Foundation for Deep Ecology, Post Carbon Institute, Watershed Media.

• Why bring a child into this world? - A film by Unilever. (Nov 19, 2013). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL-207QGzN0

Economics & Our Resulting Culture

In the US the government and politicians look to the economy to judge the wealth and prosperity of society; how the society is doing. To measure this economists and other professionals look at economic growth and largely use the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If GDP is on the rise, and rising at an increasing rate, then to them this means society is in success. In reality this isn't the case. Instead this ideology ignores the quality of life while encouraging limitless use of energy and resources no matter the cost to the environment.

This largely ties in to what the American Dream used to be earlier on in society and what it has become today. When this country was founded the American Dream meant being able to take care of yourself and provide for your family in order to live a happy life. The American Dream also has ideologies attached such as being able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, being independent, and no matter who you are if you work hard enough you will be a success. That 'American Dream' has somehow morphed into meaning that being successful means being cut-throat and becoming wealthy and rich, to have a lot of money. To achieve this people and businesses become focused and caught up in the corporate business model, where you cut costs and increase profit in almost any way possible. People have gotten so caught up in this rat race to make more money, that even when they do manage to become wealthy they have lost sight of the real goal, which is to improve the quality of life and to be happy. The irony of it all is that the corporate and economic model that's resulted is what is standing in the way of people being able to achieve the American Dream. 

This has encroached on all parts of our society and how we live. Even how we treat our elderly. Think about it, in this country when our parents and grandparents get older and become slow or confused, our society treats them as though they are no longer valuable. They make mistakes, move slow, they become a problem for business and stand in the way of increasing profits. So what does our society do? We put our elderly and disabled in nursing homes and rehab centers. We push them out of ours homes and do not acknowledge their wisdom, experience, or how they are still an asset to our society. Other countries around the world would be appalled at the idea. They take care of their aging family and understand they have valuable wisdom... Not to mention, they are family. 

I feel as though our society takes more risks than are necessary as well, and one reason is that we expect to be independent. I had a conversation recently with a good friend who's struggling financially with the idea of going back to college, working, and being able to pay bills at the same time. Her boyfriend wants to support her financially in this, but she felt guilty and disappointed in herself. I had to explain to her that this is what family and loved ones are for. I had to bring to her attention that if we had grown up in another country that we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation. She should let her loved ones fulfill their own needs, including helping her out. Instead she wanted to take out more loans and go into serious debt, taking more risk on her financial future. 

The idea of economic leveling or even having higher taxes in order to take care of the people in your country and stand in solidarity is common in other countries, such as Norway, Denmark, and even some tribal countries in Africa. The idea is to redistribute the wealth from the super wealthy to those who need it more, either directly or through taxes and social services. This works in cultures that understand what it means to be truly rich. There's a quote by Andrew Carnegie, "The man who dies rich dies disgraced." It means that it's shameful to amass wealth without giving back to your community and people. In African tribes, if you don't partake in economic leveling, you're severely punished or even shunned. In the US, tax is a dirty word that people detest. The American society seems to have forgotten what being taxed means and what the benefits are. Without tax, and regulation, the industries and 1% get away with most of the wealth creating a wealth gap, not to mention that they get away with destroying our environment. If our culture and American Dream were different, then perhaps our societal and even global issues wouldn't be as hard to overcome.

Going back to GDP and the common thought today that economic growth equals a happy society... this assumes that society and economy exist in a limitless world. If we look to economic growth as the standard to measure how society is doing, then we want to see that GDP is forever increasing, but that's neither logical nor possible. We live in a world with limits; there exists the enormous need for us to shift our values and economy so we acknowledges those limits.

I imagine an economic shift where the goal isn't endless growth and increasing wealth, but the optimizing of the quality of life for everyone. With that shift comes the acknowledgment of limits to our environment and the transition to a more sustainable culture.

I challenge everyone to start with a blank slate and think of a culture and economic system that is sustainable. Then, how to get there?

Word Count: 945

Sources:

• On the American Dream:
• Barlett, D. L., & Steele, J. B. (2012). The Betrayal of the American Dream (p. 289). PublicAffairs.
• On economic growth, limits, need to shift economy:
• Butler, T. (2012). The Energy Reader: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth. (T. Butler, D. Lerch, & G. Wuerthner, Eds.) (p. 364). Canada: Foundation for Deep Ecology, Post Carbon Institute, Watershed Media.