As the human population approaches its eight billionth person, many are questioning more worriedly: how human lives can this planet sustain? There has been much debate about the answer to this question among scientists, demographers, and economists for the past 200 years beginning with the hypothesis proposed by British economist Thomas Malthus in 1798. Malthus hypothesized that “the human population tends to grow exponentially, while food supplies tend to increase more slowly at a linear rate” (Miller 122). To elaborate, Malthus believed that over time humanity’s population will continually increase and decrease based upon our ability to provide enough food ourselves and eventually this fluctuation will steady when our growth rate is finally commensurate with our rate of food production. Malthus however did not propose a number estimate as to what the human population would be when this fluctuation becomes steady. Still today there is no consensus as some believe that we have already surpassed our natural limits of population growth, others think we are approaching it soon, and others think that there is no limit due to our advancements in technology.
There are many factors that influence the size of the human population. Population growth rates vary between every country, but there are some undeniable trends. Wealthier nations on average have much lower fertility rates than poorer nations. For example, in the United States the average woman in her childbering years will have one or two children while the average woman of this age group in Niger will have closer to seven children. There are many reasons for this difference. One reason is that there is no economic advantage for women in more developed nations to have children, but there are in poorer countries in which it is more common for children to have jobs that contribute to the household finances. On the contrary, in the most developed nations it is more expensive to raise children and they are not expected to contribute financially to the household. Another reason for this difference is that in more developed countries there is a higher chance that children will live into adulthood while in poorer nations this is less of a given. Therefore, families will sometimes have many children in hopes that some of them will live into adulthood. In countries where a child reaching adulthood is extremely likely, parents often choose to devote their time and resources into raising fewer children. Some developed countries are even experiencing negative growth rates, such as Italy and Japan, as many have found it more desirable to not have children at all and to move internationally. Let us now transition from a discussion on the potential future of the human global population, and discuss the current one instead.
According to World-O-Meter’s World Population Clock, there are about 7.8 billion human beings on this planet right now. The current distribution of this huge population is fascinating. Approximately 53 percent of people live in urban areas which take up only 2.8 percent of Earth’s land! The other 47 percent live in smaller towns or rural areas. The relationship between the city and the countryside can be characterized as follows: the countryside is where most food and raw materials for manufacturing are grown and then transported into cities for consumption. In essence, the countryside serves the city. This relationship has become unsustainable as the greenhouse gases emitted from the constant long-distance transportation of these goods, the mass amounts of toxic chemicals used to produce such vast quantities of these goods, and the ecosystems destroyed to have more space to produce these goods for growing urban populations have all contributed to the planet’s rapid warming over the past century. Since we are already experiencing the early effects of climate change, we must envision new ways of living, relating to one another, and consuming. People in the Global North consume at vastly higher rates than do people in the Global South. I am talking about the consumption of everything: food, clothing, energy, etc. Also, these same super-consumers produce the most waste. So, the problem is not really the poor who barely consume enough to simply live (as unfortunately I find the textbook tries to insinuate by focusing so heavily on their growth rates), but rather the people in the over-consumptive North.
As I mentioned in my first blog post, if everyone lived the way the average American lived, we would need 5 Earths to support us. This is unsustainable. We need to start imagining new visions of what it means to be successful and a new way of living more as a community rather than a collection of people who buy stuff to try to make themselves happy. There are many avenues of change and people who truly have their mind set on helping this world order into the sustainable one it could become will find a way no matter which avenues they choose! For example, there is a growing number of people calling for a change in the way we measure the economic success of countries. Instead of continuing to use the current model of measuring Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and always striving to increase this number, many propose striving for a steady state (no-growth) economy or even economic degrowth. To clarify, imagine if instead of constantly expanding markets, we aimed to simply maintain some of them and minimize some others on a national scale for the sake of the planet’s health. I agree with these movements because I believe it is illogical to think that economies can grow infinitely when we do not have infinite resources on this planet. Some focus more on the way we organize ourselves more so than on the economy. One interesting organization that is trying to help people reimagine the future is the Transition Network. There are Transition Towns in about 50 countries, but what are they? While there are many different ways in which these communities can manifest, in summary they are communities that bring their vision of the future into the present. To elaborate, these are communities of people that experiment with different ways of living to see what works for them. One town might run on 100% solar energy because the people pooled their money together to buy enough solar panels. Another town might have everyone growing food in their front lawns that everyone freely shares with their neighbors. Some groups have even created their own currency! These towns strive for self-sufficiency, a sense of community, and all-around sustainable living. It is a wonderful grassroots movement in my opinion because they are courageous for going against the mainstream unsustainable societies they live within. Also, they are showing people that they can take power into their own hands to create the world in which they want to live in!
Personally, I resonate with the sentiments expressed by people who claim that we need to curb our consumption in order to live more sustainably because I am in fact one of those people. I do not merely preach this, but have been living like this for the past two years! I do not shop mindlessly or just for fun. I only buy something new when I have definitively answered ‘no’ to the following questions: “Do I have something already that is like this or can substitute for this?”, “Do I know someone who I can borrow this from?”, “Could I buy this second-hand?” Living voluntarily simply has not only greatly reduced my personal carbon footprint, but it has also had wonderous effects on my mental health. It is much easier for me to keep my room clean, I fill what would be ‘shopping time’ with more enjoyable activities and work, I have more money to donate to causes I support and to spend on the more expensive eco-friendly options of things I need (i.e. toilet paper from recycled paper, Dr. Bronner’s biodegradable soaps, etc), and I have more money in my savings account. Overall, it just feels better for me to know that I am treading more lightly on this earth while encouraging other people to do so as well. I like to be an example to show my fellow upper class people of the United States that it is possible to live this way and that it is enjoyable. I hope that more and more people in the Global North and especially in the United States realize that they can make changes to their lives that are better for the planet. It can be done and it must be done! How do you think more people can come to this realization? Why might it be so hard for some people to give up their materialistic lifestyles? Word Count: 1448.
Miller, Tyler G. and Spoolman, Scott E. Living in the Environment. 19th edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2018.
A Thoughtful Animal 