There is a distinct racist history to how overpopulation is discussed. High-birth-rate countries tend to be low-emissions-per-capita countries, so overpopulation complaints are often effectively saying “nonwhites can’t have kids so that whites can keep burning fossil fuels” or “countries which caused the climate problem shouldn’t take in climate refugees.”
Still, the worst thing you can do for the environment, especially if you are a first worlder (as most reading this are), is have a child.
Stopping burning fossil fuels is much harder than it sounds. We need fertilizer from Haber-Bosch, we need tractors, we need trucks shipping food to population centers. Without fossil fuels, I know I am one of the billions that starve. I will probably eat some neighbors first though.
We can in fact do all those essential things without fossil fuels. For example, there’s a bunch of effort in the US, EU, and China to generate hydrogen via electrolysis from renewables, and then use that as an input to Haber-Bosch, and it’s backed by government policy and financial support.
Chemical fertilizer is not only unnecessary, it’s tied to poor agricultural approaches. In contrast, farmers who practice regenerative agriculture and/or permaculture don’t use it and get excellent yields. A specific example is Gabe Brown, whose farm gets above-average yields compared to neighboring farms and is far more profitable, not needing to take government handouts to stay in business. Meanwhile, the soil at his 5,000 acre farm is far healthier and sequesters many tons of carbon per acre vs. neighboring farms.
For more info, read the book Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown. You can also read a bit here:
There is a distinct racist history to how overpopulation is discussed. High-birth-rate countries tend to be low-emissions-per-capita countries, so overpopulation complaints are often effectively saying “nonwhites can’t have kids so that whites can keep burning fossil fuels” or “countries which caused the climate problem shouldn’t take in climate refugees.”
On top of this, as basic education reaches a larger chunk of the world, birth rates are dropping. We expect to achieve population stabilization this century as a result.
At the end of the day, it’s the greenhouse gas concentrations that actually raise the temperature. That means that we need to take steps to stop burning fossil fuels and end deforestation.
Yup. Also known as ecofascism.
Still, the worst thing you can do for the environment, especially if you are a first worlder (as most reading this are), is have a child.
Stopping burning fossil fuels is much harder than it sounds. We need fertilizer from Haber-Bosch, we need tractors, we need trucks shipping food to population centers. Without fossil fuels, I know I am one of the billions that starve. I will probably eat some neighbors first though.
We can in fact do all those essential things without fossil fuels. For example, there’s a bunch of effort in the US, EU, and China to generate hydrogen via electrolysis from renewables, and then use that as an input to Haber-Bosch, and it’s backed by government policy and financial support.
Chemical fertilizer is not only unnecessary, it’s tied to poor agricultural approaches. In contrast, farmers who practice regenerative agriculture and/or permaculture don’t use it and get excellent yields. A specific example is Gabe Brown, whose farm gets above-average yields compared to neighboring farms and is far more profitable, not needing to take government handouts to stay in business. Meanwhile, the soil at his 5,000 acre farm is far healthier and sequesters many tons of carbon per acre vs. neighboring farms.
For more info, read the book Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown. You can also read a bit here:
https://soilhealthacademy.org/team/gabe-brown/