Why Control the Population?

Abortion. Sterilization. Birth Control for fourth-graders.

These are just a few of the images that come to mind for some when they think of population control. They picture a cold, childless world where playgrounds rust over and guards line the streets swinging whips at lovers whose kisses linger a moment too long. They imagine a Big Brother society where individual freedoms are banished along with joy, laughter, and the warmth of family. But that’s not really what it’s all about. Far from it, in fact.

Population control advocates have a different agenda in mind, one that promotes responsible family planning and concern for the environment. They respect nature as well as humans and realize that for the two to coexist peacefully, changes have to be made. One such change is lessening the strain put on the environment by a booming population. By doing so, the quality of life for future generations will be greatly improved.

Population growth, while slowing slightly since the 1960’s, is still placing the environment in a delicate situation. Conditions in nearly every area are declining as the Earth struggles to supply the growing demand on its resources. For example, each year another 39 million acres of forest are cut down, bulldozed or burned. Already half of the world’s original forests have been destroyed, taking with it the plant life necessary to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Food supply is another issue prompted by population pressures. As land needed for agriculture becomes degraded and overrun with parking lots and housing additions, the demand for food will outweigh the supply. Already in 64 of 105 countries studied by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization the population is growing faster than the food to supply them.

Healthy waters and freshwater supply are facing uncertain futures as well. As oceans become polluted and per capita uses rise, many countries will see shortages as soon as 2025 if, as projected, the world’s population reaches 8 billion. Fisheries are being abused, resulting in a marked decline in both freshwater and marine species, and in turn, a decline in catches.

Global climate change, a dilemma at the forefront of environmental concerns has been linked to emissions of greenhouse gases produced by the human consumption of fossil fuels. As the population increases and more people are burning these fossil fuels through the use of electricity, automobiles, and the manufacturing of goods, the situation will only deteriorate, increasing the effects already being felt by many.

The solution, it seems, is to not only find new ways to maintain our healthy standards of living without destroying the environment, but control the very cause of its demise. By slowing the growth of population, we can give our natural resources time to replenish themselves, and it turn, allow for improved living conditions. This can be done by careful, thoughtful, family planning.

In countries where fertility levels have fallen, such as those in Asia, the government has been able place money in areas such as education, job creation and health care, creating better standards of living and boosting productivity through resource management. Only with careful population control can we hope to reduce pollution, waste, and the depletion of precious natural resources. With the planet experiencing a strain like never before, stabilizing growth may be the key.

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