Population’s Effect on Sustainability

How can we have sustainable communities when we are in a state of flux concerning population growth? This is a difficult subject because on the one hand, people need to be given the right to have as many or few kids as desired. It is a deeply personal decision. But, what happens when your personal decision affects society in such a drastic way?

Let us look at future population growth exponentially. Right now, the present figures are around 6 billion, 7 hundred million. A person is born around every 3 seconds, say that doubles in the next five years. We will be consuming twice as much and putting twice as much strain on the earth’s resources. The limited water supplies, forests, marine life and food will be just too much for the earth to handle. We are already consuming faster than we are producing of these necessities. We already take these things for granted. So, given the increase in population factor, by 2xs the amount, we will be consuming at twice the rate. How will our present miniscule efforts, such as driving hybrid cars and recycling for example pay off, if we have twice as many people consuming at twice the rate?

The most efficient forms of sustainability is what we want to be striving for. Would I suggest that less is more, when it comes to population? Very difficult subject it is. When I look at my daughter and laugh with her and dream with her and even argue with herJ , I would not have it any other way. If a person wants to have more children, no religious order or government should dictate such a personal life-altering decision. But, if we made do with less, as a society, then an increase in population will not have such a staggering impact.

For example, what about reducing our consumption of gas? What is wrong with driving a lot less? How about making due without a car entirely? Many cities are bike friendly and have plenty of dependable bus lines and there is a company called zip-car, that accommodates people who need a car once a week for shopping, etc. All options that we all can consider to reduce our carbon footprint. If you have land and a home, why not consider growing your own food on it? There is also the option of joining living communities that grow at least some of their own food and are usually off the grid.

A possible consideration for housing might be Earth-Cal, where homes are built out of sandbags and dirt. People are educating themselves in how to build their own house, at Earth-Cal, classes are held on how to do it. Self-sufficiency can ease the stress of the rise of population growth. If we consume stuff that is created in factories that is becoming more and more scarce, we will consume at such a rate, that consumption will pass production, and we will not be able to produce fast enough to keep up the increased rate of population.

Anything that communities and families, whether the families are big or small can do, to alleviate the strain on available resources helps to relieve the immediate negative effects that population growth has on nature. The less dependent we are as individuals and groups on the consumer society we live, the better it is for all of us. If we truly want sustainable communities, we will need to make changes in our over all lifestyles to that which is truly sustainable, this will make the population issue, less of a problems, as we continue to encounter ever-increasing Corporate take-over of the world’s people and its resources. The transition to self-sufficiency and an emphasis on sustainable community living, alleviates the pain of over-population, decreases the amount of consumption as a whole, and benefits society at large.