During the time of Jesus the world population was around 300 million. It reached a billion in around 1800. The 2nd billion in 1927. The 3rd billion in 1959. The 4th in 1974. The 5th in 1987. The 6th in 1999 and now tomorrow we reach 7 billion.
There is not doubt that the issue of population growth is an important social issue, but I believe we can use it as a scapegoat to save us from dealing with the single most important issue that threatens our sustainability on this planet — namely our over-consumption.
Ironically, it seems that the richer we are the more likely we are to blame population growth for the social and environmental troubles of our day. Yet the richer one is, the more one consumes and the more one is a burden to life on the planet.
Here are some facts: “An extra child born today in the United States, would, down the generations, produce an eventual carbon footprint seven times that of an extra child in China, 55 times that of an Indian child or 86 times that of a Nigerian child.”
Oh Lord help us to consume less! Alan
