I often hear, I believe from people afraid to address ovepopulation, that the problem is solving itself. Fertility rates are declining and population is predicted to level off by 2050. There are several reasons we should not adopt this attitude:

• 1. Population is not predicted to level off by 2050. At one point the UN thought (hoped) it would. Based on our behavior the UN had to revise its estimates.
• 2. The current UN mid-range scenario has us passing the 10 billion mark before 2100.
• 3. UN estimates are not particularly scientific. They are not predictions. They are “scenarios.” One scenario has us at 15 billion people by the end of this century.
• 4. We are already overpopulated. Relaxing while we add another 3 billion is unwise.
• 5. Even the best scenarios depend on our vigilence, not our ignorance of the problem.

Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich (author of The Population Bomb) addressed this subject in an interview filmed in 2007 for the GrowthBusters documentary.

Dave Gardner
Director of the documentary
GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth