Populations and Politics
Except for some extreme religious and political groups, most people now accept the fact that a growing population inevitably stresses the resources of our planet. However to the general public here in the USA, this seems a completely remote if serious problem that does not immediately affect them and if left alone will eventually be solved in some ill-defined manner. For this and the fact that it intrudes into personal philosophies and relationships population control is rarely debated or even openly discussed.
Our society is based on competition and profit and for the past century or so this philosophy has produced for most of the population a high standard of living and many believe it will overcome the population problem if given enough time. A good example of this way of thinking is the development planning that demands the availability of personal transport when we all know that the supply of oil is finite and will eventually be completely depleted. The usual response when questioned on this is "Oh they will find something else" although what this will be cannot be defined.
In spite of this attitude, there is a slow but growing interest in planning for a decreasing population and there are a growing number of suggestions that, if it is handled correctly, this decrease will eventually improve the basic economy of a country. In the past we have aimed for more people, to increase the demand for products and thus encourage the economy to grow and provide more jobs which will further increase the demand and so on. But this cannot go on forever and for one reason or another the world’s population will eventually cease to grow and even slowly fall. Hopefully this will come about from common sense population planning on the part of all countries rather then the terrible misery that could overwhelm us in the form of starvation, disease or armed conflict if the world population is allowed to grow unchecked.
The question then arises as to how we can we accelerate a change in the general opinion regarding the population problem. A change in thinking that will inevitably force our leaders to act quickly. We have to change way the general public views this problem and this will only come about when we concentrate on this one issue. Why then is this subject still barely mentioned in the media today?
Our environmentalists detail many things that need attention, from saving the spotted owl in the redwoods to the minnows in the Rio Grande, but very few clearly explain that the basic problem is population growth. So we continue to apply the band-aides of environmental protection while ignoring the fact that the cancer of population growth will eventually kill the patient unless drastic surgery is carried out.
I have watched the negative changes in my area during the past ten years due to the ever-growing development, driven by the influx of new residents. For years it was claimed that "development" was essential to provide more jobs, keep down the taxes and generally improve our way of life. No one questioned this until taxes soared, traffic clogged the village streets, and wells ran dry or became polluted. It was only when these aspects began to personally affect the residents that opinions changed regarding the influx of newcomers. Ultimately, as recently reported on the TV one official publicly stood up and asked why we had to continue to "develop" our open land when it wrecked our way of life. Even then no one mentioned that the growing pressure of population growth was the basic cause of this problem.
Thousands of people in the Third World may be starving and the Pacific ocean may be contaminated with waste plastic but these factors are unlikely to alter the thinking of the general public as much as the changes that occur locally and affect them directly. Therefore we should aim to do two things.
Concentrate on the changes in the life style of our towns, villages, environment and natural resources and show clearly and unequivocally that this is all fundamentally due to the growth in population. Every lecture or article on environmental changes both large and small should always emphasize that population growth can only exacerbate the problems. We should make it clear that science; technology or environmental actions cannot substitute for keeping our population within acceptable limits.
Avoid the politicization of our argument. We need all people from the left, the right and all between to support the stabilization and eventual reduction of our population. Articles that blame this or that particular group or section of society will only reduce the support of the people blamed. In addition, to look back over the years and criticize actions taken years ago does not encourage positive actions today. Certainly many things have been done in the past that with our present knowledge were wrong. But few were done deliberately but were carried out on the basis of the understanding of that era.