26.1.09

This is a bit of a departure...

...but I think it's still an important topic in the interest of a greener future.

I read a lot of science fiction when I was a kid, and a lot of the really apocalyptic stuff dealt with population explosions and the resulting efforts made to either a) contain the problem or b) expand to allow more space for everyone.

As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, a lot of the problems foreseen by Isaac Asimov and Kurt Vonnegut are starting to come to pass. The U.N.'s medium population projection suggests that Earth will be "supporting" a population of close to ten billion humans (maybe more) inside of forty years. I put "supporting" in quotations because realistically this planet can't take that kind of pressure. We've already stretched our natural resources to the breaking point, and that's with a little more than half the projected population.

So what do we do? Short of a disease epidemic or world war, we're not liable to see a lot of people killed off in the next few years, so it seems the only option we have is planned parenting (i.e. birth control and education). I came across this article that uses Iran as an example of a nation where population control based on planned parenting has started to turn the tides of overpopulation, and frankly -- I don't mean to be rude, but if a nation as morally opposed to birth control as Iran has been in years past can overcome that bias and embrace population control as a conscientious move to help ourselves and the planet, well, what excuse does the western world have to not follow suit?

The last thing we should be doing, in my opinion, is encouraging our children to have huge families -- why don't we teach them about sustainability instead?

If you have opinions on this charged subject, especially if they're in opposition to what I'm saying, please don't hesitate to comment -- I could use a little debate now and again!

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