WITH conspiracy theories linking COVID-19 to population control since the height of the pandemic, I couldn’t help but wonder, is there such a thing as an ideal global population size – a magic number that would keep apocalyptic predictions at bay?
Not that I subscribe to the misinformation, of course; my question is driven purely by a desire to know.
As it turns out, back in 1994, Paul R. Ehrlich, a biologist, and his team estimated the optimum world population to be around 1.5 billion to 2 billion. Along with this estimation, they presented certain goals to be met, namely:
- Decent wealth and resources for everyone
- Basic human rights enjoyed by everyone
- Preservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity
- Allowance of intellectual, artistic, and technological creativity
Right now, the world population stands at 7.859 billion, but with approximately 9,000 more babies born every hour or approximately 1.5 million people added to this figure every week, it won’t be long before we hit 8 billion.
Why overpopulation is a problem
When we mention overpopulation as an environmental problem, we think beyond space.
However, in cities like Baguio, whose population density was calculated at 6,005 inhabitants per square kilometer based on the 2015 Census, the effects of having too many people in a relatively small amount of space are palpable.
Although there’s a minority that lives in spacious homes with enormous gardens, the majority of the population live in close quarters. The city center is understandably crowded, and vehicles compete with people over space albeit temporary.
In our desire to expand our spaces, we have encroached on lands that used to be forests and habitats for wild animals. We have built dams that destroy animal habitats and disrupt ecosystems to provide our energy requirements.
But again, the problem of overpopulation in general goes way beyond diminishing space and its consequences. It’s also about our level and speed of consumption, which requires material extraction, production and distribution – processes that also require energy and other natural resources that are steadily being depleted.
The French scenario
In a 2017 article published on Gizmodo, the author talked to experts comprising economists, geographers, conservationists and population experts, concerning the question about the ideal global population.
What they did was to identify an ideal lifestyle benchmark that would, in theory, embody a good life for every single person on Earth. They chose the French lifestyle.
Based on computations made on the Global Footprint Network calculator, if the 7.5 billion people living in 2017 adopted the French lifestyle, it would take two-and-a-half Earths to provide the resources people need to live that way. Or, as an alternative, the world population would have to be downsized to 3 billion, so everyone can lead a decent French lifestyle.
Had they chosen the American way of living as a benchmark, there would be a need to reduce the global population to only 1.9 billion – an indication that the lifestyle of most people in the USA is less efficient ecologically.
Sustainable living – a practical alternative
Of course, there’s no way we could all start living like the French, and there is only one Earth.
We also cannot downsize the world population.
But as it turns out, we can lead decent lives and live in harmony with the environment if we work on reducing our ecological footprints and lead a sustainable lifestyle – something indigenous people have known and practiced all along.
Opting to live sustainably goes beyond water and energy conservation, and recycling – although these are all important aspects of sustainability. We could work on reducing our carbon footprint significantly by making conscious choices about the food we eat, products we buy and the energy we use.
When you want to live sustainably, you will need to ask yourself certain questions when you’re about to make decisions as a consumer:
- Is this a need or want?
- Will buying this improve my life?
- Will it harm the environment?
- How long will this last?
- Is this reusable, recyclable or biodegradable?
- Will using this increase or decrease my carbon footprint?
What a sad, miserable life, you might think.
Worrying about this and that every day, all the time.
But I say, only hypocrites who claim to love their children and grandchildren would say that.