Controlling population is not as important as reducing consumption?

Question

Controlling population is not as important as reducing consumption?

Answer 1

Neither is a problem.  The population of the Earth is less dense then the population of New Jersey.  Everyone on Earth can claim 5 acres of land.  The Earth could easily handle 5 times today's population.

Answer 2

Read the below Planetthoughts article, it has some good thoughts on population. Then check out the discover site for more ideas.

Answer 3

To Dr. Jello:

Not all the earth is like the "garden state". The Earth is largely covered by tundras, deserts, rainforests, mountains, swamps and other places really hostile to life.

Anybody who has traveled a bit might have realized, especially when your aircraft flies over such areas and you realize the earth consists in a lot of non livable surfaces for mankind.

I do not even speak about water problems.

And if we would need 5 times the earth to sustain for all a lifestyle like US citizen, what would it be with 30 billion of people having the same consumption level?

Answer 4

Controlling population is not as easy as controlling consumption.

Talk about population controls and people freak out, and rightfully so. Humans have a pretty bad history when it comes to "reducing the number of us around".

Not every square inch of the surface of the globe is productive farmland. And not every person only uses the resources that can be produced on 5 acres of productive land. And certain lifestyles support certain industry that render formerly productive land poisoned and destroyed.