Our growing population is off the charts. There are over 6 billion people on Earth today. Not just people either, there are plenty of other life forms that also arise here as well. As we continue to live in these tough times, we must realize that bringing another child into the world will only make our personal economy situation much worse. Bringing a baby in this world means more money to feed it, bath it, clothe it, etc. In America, we are educated on how to prevent pregnancies. We have condoms and birth control, the two main things that prevent pregnancy. However, there are people that just do not want to do this thus they suffer the consequence on having the baby, whether they wanted to or not. I completely agree with Smail that we have to find a way to lower our population rate. Earth is becoming crowded, and the fact that he states that Earth may only be able to support a global human population in the 2 to 3 billion range at a comfortable living really is alarming (pg 413). We need to stop this now or things are going to get out of hand. Times are now worse than ever, we need to do what is necessary to survive. We must cut down on population growth.
By Jeffrey V
I completely agree. People need to stop reproducing at such an alarming rate. Birth rates should be consistant with mortality rates but in many countries this clearly is not the case. Some countries have been successful in achieving this and find it beneficial in many ways. Another point worth mentioning is the fact that unfortunately, the countries with the highest birth rates are the third-world countries. It is so sad that the people having the most children are the ones that can’t afford to feed or cloth them.
We not only have to stop population growth but as Smail points out in the reading we also have to be more conservative with our resources. it is in the rich nations such as our own that we are using resources in abundance. With other nations such as China becoming industrialized as well we are facing an increase in the amount of resources that are going to be wasted in mass production. People are obsessed with material consumption and it is therefore not just population control. We need a mix of the two but also as stated we may already be way past earth’s carrying capacity for sustainability. I believe that it is not possible for us to make such radical changes. We are both not capable or willing for such a huge change that would have to occur. So therefore, we all better hope in the logic to growth thesis and pray that our technology or intelligence can save us.