The Overpopulation Project
TOP – Research and Outreach
Too many people consuming too much
Category: Population neglect
-
Population growth is still rapid. Has the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) forgotten family planning programs?
Projected population growth of about 2 billion in Africa and elsewhere contributes to poverty, impoverished reproductive health, and degradation of environment and climate. In a new publication in the journal Reproductive Health we argue that this unsustainable growth and the crucial role of family planning are neglected by among others the UN Population Fund. We…
6 comments on Population growth is still rapid. Has the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) forgotten family planning programs? -
Even starving children won’t break the population taboo
Since 2020, stunting in children is on the rise. For those in denial about the impacts of population growth in poor countries, the inevitable is presented as a mystery as ideology trumps honesty and compassion. by Jane O’Sullivan Heralding World Food Day on 16 October, an editorial in Nature focused on the disturbing rise in…
-
Overpopulation: A New Survey Confirms the Cause of the Planet’s Environmental Crises
Synthesizing findings from hundreds of recent peer-reviewed scientific studies, a comprehensive new article reviews the effects of expanding human populations on humanity’s most pressing environmental problems. by Alon Tal A vast amount of research and rhetoric is devoted to the world’s many sustainability challenges. Yet most advocates and scientists assiduously avoid acknowledging the predominant driver…
-
Can we engineer our way out of the climate crisis?
Many scientists excited to develop new geoengineering technologies say yes, as do capitalists who stand to profit by continuing with business as usual. But most of the commoners who will have to live with the messes left behind when technocrats fail say a resounding no. by Philip Cafaro Sunday’s New York Times included a lengthy…
-
The United Nations Population Fund Promotes Population Denial
Humanity heading for 9 billion and the UN’s chief population organization says forget about numbers. What’s going on? by Madeline Weld November 15, 2022. That’s the day the world population reached 8 billion, according to the UNFPA, the United Nations organization whose original raison d’être was to help end population growth. The UNFPA (reflecting its…
-
How to Fix the Planet, the Easy Way
To avoid disastrous deterioration of Earth’s climate and biosphere, humanity has to reduce its demands on nature. Fewer births and a falling population is no quick fix, but compared with voluntary austerity, it has many more up-sides than down-sides. by Jon Austen Scientists are reporting that there is an existential threat to life on Earth.…
-
Procreation and Consumption in the Real World
The cause of global environmental decline is clear: an immense and rapidly growing human economy. In response, environmentalists should advocate policies leading to fewer people and lower per capita consumption, not one instead of the other. Addressing both provides our best hope of creating sustainable societies and preserving Earth’s remaining biodiversity. by Philip Cafaro There…
-
What you should know – but didn’t know to ask – about overshoot and the ‘population question’
William Rees explores the nature of humanity’s relationship with energy and the ecosphere, and reaches the unsettling conclusion that a population ‘correction’ is in the offing. By William Rees What would you think if someone called you out as a ‘dissipative structure’? Or better, claimed that you were a ‘thermodynamically far-from-equilibrium dissipative structure’? Chances are,…
-
Human population reduction is not a quick fix for environmental problems
Then again, neither is anything else. The long lag time between fertility reduction and population stabilization is a key reason we need to address excessive human numbers sooner rather than later. by Phil Cafaro There’s an argument one often hears that goes like this: “sure, population is important. But we need to reduce our environmental…
-
Australia’s population growth rate of nearly half a million ‘too high’
Australia is growing rapidly, in large part due to immigration. This causes strain on both infrastructure and the environment. By Sustainable Population Australia Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) considers Australia’s population growth rate in 2022 too high and called on the federal government to put a brake on immigration. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released…
-
Adversity for Biodiversity: A Reflection on My Experience at COP15
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework1 adopted in December 2022 by representatives of most of the world’s national governments is inadequate to halt and reverse the disturbing loss of biodiversity globally. Concerted efforts to increase the new Framework’s ambition were dismissed and ultimately ignored. Human overshoot – the collective impacts of more than eight billion people…
-
More population neglect from the United Nations
The UN’s latest State of the World Population 2023 report deepens its denouncement of population concerns. While it commendably emphasizes women’s reproductive rights, it neglects the role an excessive and growing population plays in driving global ecological degradation and overlooks the many ways overpopulation can undermine poor people’s rights to safety and security. by Jan…
-
Making media seriously discuss population growth and its consequences – a case in Sweden
Newspapers, radio, and TV in many countries usually avoid the problems of population growth and overpopulation. But by focused work it is possible to get the attention of mainstream media. This recently happened in Sweden, to judge from a TV program broadcast 13 April. By Frank Götmark and Malte Andersson How can you highlight the…
-
Dangerous distraction or elephant in the room? The role of population growth during three decades of increasing carbon emissions
How often have you heard some version of this claim: “population growth is not a problem for climate change, because populations are growing in poor countries whose contributions to global emissions are negligible”? It gets repeated like a mantra, soothing words that banish thought. But what justifies a claim is not the number of times…
-
Global population has hit 8 billion
The world population has hit 8 billion, a milestone which has been widely discussed in the media. In this article originally published by The Hill, William Ryerson of the Population Media Center and Kathleen Mogelgaard of the Population Institute reflect on the economic and environmental effects of this milestone. By William Ryerson and Kathleen Mogelgaard…
-
The per capita fallacy
Are many tiny ecological footprints more virtuous than fewer, larger ones? Will they be better for the Earth, or easier to accomplish? These hard questions need to be asked as humanity hurtles past 8 billion people and deeper into ecological overshoot. By Gaia Baracetti You’ve all heard the argument: high birth rates in poor countries…
-
3 Women, 2 Countries, 1 Voice for World Population Day 2022
For those times when we feel worn down by the thanklessness of campaigning for population sustainability, it can be uplifting to hear the voices of veteran campaigners whose courage has never wavered. Michael Bayliss introduces us to a conversation to inspire. by Michael Bayliss In the most recent episode of Post-Growth Australia Podcast (PGAP) I…
-
Influencing politicians to act on population trends: an example from Sweden
To influence societal attitudes and population policy it is important for organizations that understand the population factor to reach out to politicians who can enact necessary changes. Below follows one such example, where the Swedish group Nätverket ‘Population Matters Sweden’ wrote letters to all members of the Swedish parliament, highlighting the need to address population…
-
Breaking boundaries but not population taboos
The book Breaking Boundaries by Johan Rockström and Owen Gaffney explains the basics of how the Earth works and how humanity is rocking the boat, ecologically speaking. While describing monumental challenges, it views the future with optimism. Despite having a chapter dedicated to population, it fails to acknowledge how larger global populations reduce our chances…
-
Population in the IPCC’s new mitigation report
A new IPCC climate change mitigation report confirms that population increase and economic growth are the main drivers of today’s historically high greenhouse gas emissions. But that scientific information has been censored and removed from the Summary for Policymakers distributed to the world’s press and the public. Does a problem disappear if we don’t mention…
-
Defining Overpopulation
A recent book introduces a new approach to the science of overpopulation. We Zijn Met Te Veel (Dutch for We Are Too Many) explores a new theoretical foundation for the concept of overpopulation and explains why a smaller human population is a necessary – but not sufficient – condition for a more hospitable world. by…
-
Ethicists recognize that limiting population growth is key to addressing climate change
Faced with the reality of global climate change and its devastating impacts, climate ethicists have begun to address the role of population and the need for limits to growth. A new review article reports on this welcome development. by Philip Cafaro During the past 30 years of extensive political debate about global climate change, participants…
-
Glasgow follies
This coming weekend, representatives from 196 nations will gather in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. Failure is assured, since addressing the fundamental causes of climate change isn’t on the agenda and all proposed national commitments are voluntary, with no penalties for not living up…
-
Move Upstream
Environmental organizations around the world are often stuck treating symptoms, rather than addressing the root causes of environmental problems. Author and naturalist Karen Shragg joins Phil Cafaro for a new episode of The Population Factor to discuss how “moving upstream” could reinvigorate a tired environmental movement. by The Overpopulation Project As representatives from the nations…
-
IPCC and IPBES Ignore Overpopulation Again
In a new report, a joint workshop convened by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warned that the climate and biodiversity crises need to be tackled in tandem. Among their hundreds of suggestions for doing so, however, proposals to end population growth were nowhere to be…
-
Overshoot day: the other side of the coin
Every year on Earth Overshoot Day, a table becomes very popular, showing the number of Earths needed to be ecologically sustainable if all the people in the world had the same ecological footprint as the average citizens of various countries. This is computed by fixing the world population at the current value and varying the…
-
The Catholic Church and contraception
With continued global population growth, contraception and conscious planning for children remain critical moral issues facing today’s families, no matter where they are living. Different religions have different views on birth control, and their official teachings influence millions of people’s fertility decisions. Below we take a closer look at the evolution of the Catholic viewpoint…
-
Is overpopulation a dirty word?
Many readers of our blog probably see no problem with “overpopulation,” but we sometimes get negative responses when we use the word, even from colleagues who largely share our views. Why is this so? How should overpopulation best be defined? By Frank Götmark, Jane O’Sullivan and Phil Cafaro In contrast to other organisations dealing with…
-
Greenwashing growth: Boulder’s climate problem
Greenwashing typically means conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about the environmental soundness of a company’s products. But governments, too, can be tempted to greenwash, as this week’s blog illustrates. Gary Wockner describes how the city council of Boulder, Colorado has declared a climate emergency, while hiding the increased emissions caused by growth through “creative”…
-
Part 2 Review of “Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline”
Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline claims that (a) life on earth is stressed but coping with the present level of human impact; (b) global population will peak in 2050; (c) subsequent population decline will alleviate ecological problems; and (d) countries with populations that are only slowly growing should act now to boost…
-
Empty skies, empty words
This past week, a widely reported article in Science found that since 1970, North American wild bird populations have declined by 30%. In response, conservation organizations banded together to advocate that concerned citizens keep their cats indoors, put tape on their windows, and drink “bird friendly coffee.” This—the massive and continuing decline of wild nature…
-
“Overpopulation threatens the world’s food supply, United Nations warns”
That was the front-page headline in the New York Times last Thursday, August 8th, announcing a new report from the IPCC, “Climate Change and Land.” I’m kidding, of course. The actual headline read “Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns,” and the article did not mention population once. By Philip Cafaro The…
-
One giant leap for mankind – but since?
By The Hon. Kelvin Thomson It has been great to re-live the Apollo 11 Moon Landing’s 50th Anniversary. What a monumental achievement and tribute to human intellectual candlepower, endeavour and above all courage. I was a Year 9 student at the time; like other classes we downed tools to watch it unfold. Our teachers were…
-
Freshwater, trade and population: global patterns and possible solutions
Climate change and it’s relationships to technology, energy and food are often discussed in the media, whereas freshwater, also a critical resource for humanity, tends to be overlooked. It is even more overlooked in terms of other species – lakes and other surface waters provide homes for hundreds of thousands of species. A recent article…
-
How should environmentalists think about immigration?
Between toxic calls for immigration controls based on racial criteria and hyperbolic denunciations of any mention of population issues as “ecofascist,” the room for intelligent and honest discussion of immigration policy is being gobbled up from both the Left and the Right. Yet the issue is too important to leave to the yahoos or the…
-
Ten things that you may not know about population
Articles about population in the media typically are riddled with misconceptions and tiptoe around taboos. Moving past these can free us to have open and honest discussions about population matters. The following list does not pretend to be exhaustive, but to help debunk the most common myths and become more aware of the complexity of…
-
Fix the climate with smaller families
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are at an all time high. That growth tracks explosive world population growth, which is the greatest driver of climate change and a threat multiplier. The Green New Deal has justifiably generated excitement and enthusiasm among people who believe its goal of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero over 10 years is…
-
Civilization extinguishing biodiversity, where are the viable alternatives?
A new United Nations report on biodiversity was released this week with much media coverage. Scientists and mainstream journalists seem unwilling to address the fundamental drivers of biodiversity decline, but public response suggests transformative change is gaining traction. By Jenna Dodson This week, many media outlets are covering the pre-release of a new United Nations…
Explore the content and topics covered by TOP, search here
Recent blog posts
- The role of mortality in fertility transition studies
- Population growth is still rapid. Has the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) forgotten family planning programs?
- The Most Appropriate Response to Falling Birthrates? Embrace Them
- New paper defends a pragmatic definition of overpopulation
- Because everyone else is (not) doing it: How social pressures may be the key to understand family size preferences
Blog categories
What we are reading, listening to and watching
Gallery of infographics – Learn more about overpopulation and environment
