Earthside Comments:
"I've never seen a problem that wouldn't be easier to solve with fewer people, or harder, and ultimately impossible, with more."
The quotation is by Sir David Attenborough from the report below. It is the same message we have been preaching at Earthside for quite sometime. Peak oil, massive debt, suburban sprawl, global climate change, food contamination ... almost every major problem and difficulty confronting the people of the United States and the world has its genesis in the pressures brought to bear by the demands of too many people.
Through persuasion and choice, we must confront this phenomenon or we will face an increasing bleak future. Overpopulation is still nearly a taboo subject in social and political discourse because of the religious and cultural overtones -- yet its centrality to our problems becomes very obvious upon serious examination.
It is encouraging to see, therefore, that at least in Britain, a major environmental activist has stepped up to promote discussion and debate on the overpopulation issue.
First, here are some links to U.S. population organizations.
World Overpopulation Awareness
Attenborough Warns on Population | BBC
The broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has become a patron of a group seeking to cut the growth in human population.On joining the Optimum Population Trust, Sir David said growth in human numbers was "frightening".
Sir David has been increasingly vocal about the need to reduce the number of people on Earth to protect wildlife.
The Trust, which accuses governments and green groups of observing a taboo on the topic, say they are delighted to have Sir David as a patron.
Fraught area
Sir David, one of the BBC's longest-standing presenters, has been making documentaries on the natural world and conservation for more than half a century.
In a statement issued by the Optimum Population Trust he is quoted as saying: "I've never seen a problem that wouldn't be easier to solve with fewer people, or harder, and ultimately impossible, with more."
The Trust, which was founded in 1991, campaigns for the UK population to decrease voluntarily by not less than 0.25% a year.
It has launched a "Stop at Two" online pledge to encourage couples to limit their family's size.
Other patrons include Jonathan Porritt, chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and Dame Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall institute.
BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said population was a fraught area of debate, with libertarians and some religious groups vehemently opposing measures by governments to influence individual fertility.
In turn, the Trust accuses policy makers and environmentalists of conspiring in a "silent lie" that human numbers can grow forever with no ill-effects.
In January 2009, Sir David revealed that he had received hate mail from viewers for not crediting God in his nature programmes.
His most recent documentary focused on how Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution and why it remained important.
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