Selection #36

The poor Nations are overpopulated compared to rich ones, but it is the ecological footprints of these nations that must be looked at. It is safe to say the United States can be called the most over-populated nation on earth if we calculate their ecological footprint. The cahnce of taking care of an ever increasing population is decreasing. The population explosion is our biggest concern when dealing with the environmenatal crisis, the hard part is finding a way to deal with this issue.

Basically, we must reach an optimal sustainable population size. The issue with this is aggreeing on how many people can be supported considering agriculture, grounwater, and biodiversity issues. Some say it is possible to be capable of supporting the largest possible sustainable population if we would divert to solar energy and increase our efficiency. Many changes will have to be made to our lifestyles and infrastructures to obtain acceptable energy consumption.

To control conception people, mostly women, will have to be well educated on the issues surrounding population explosion and the means to control their reproduction. This is strongly associated to women's liberation and right to determine their own destiny. Nowadays, contraception and abortion are widely used as birth control amongst women.

The countries with the highest birth rates are extremely poor, which means it is safe to say that ending population growth would include; adequate food, health care, sanitation, education, and economic opportunities for both sexes, resources control and fair governments. What need be done is government policies and religious leaders need to support family planning and need to provide employment for families instead of them having many children to be able to have an adequate household income. In addition to controlling population size, nations must reduce consumption and deploy the most environmentally friendly technologies possible.

Population growth may be the most disastrous force compared to over-consumption and to disastrous technologies since it is undeniably the hardest positive feedback habit to end because it is encrypted in us to want to reproduce and keep our species alive. If we care about our planet and our descendants we have no choice but to try.