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https://theconversation.com/population-cant-be-ignored-it-has-to-be-part-of-the-policy-solution-to-our-worlds-problems-219812>
"There is a growing consensus that environmental problems, particularly the
effects of climate change, pose a grave challenge to humanity. Pollution,
habitat destruction, intractable waste issues and, for many, deteriorating
quality of life should be added to the list.
Economic growth is the chief culprit. We forget, though, that environmental
impacts are a consequence of per capita consumption multiplied by the number of
people doing the consuming. Our own numbers matter.
Population growth threatens environments at global, national and regional
scales. Yet the policy agenda either ignores human population, or fosters alarm
when perfectly natural trends such as declining fertility and longer lifespans
cause growth rates to fall and populations to age.
That there are still too many of us is a problem few want to talk about. Fifty
years ago, population was considered to be an issue, not only for the
developing world, but for the planet as a whole. Since then, the so-called
green revolution in agriculture made it possible to feed many more people. But
the costs of these practices, which relied heavily on pesticide and fertiliser
use and relatively few crops, are only now beginning to be understood.
The next 30 years will be critical. The most recent United Nations projections
point to a global population of 9.7 billion by 2050 and 10.4 billion by 2100.
There are 8 billion of us now. Another 2 billion will bring already stressed
ecosystems to the point of collapse."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
