THE THEME OF THE EQUIPOISE BLOG
Our world groans under man’s impact. Oceans filled with plastic waste, species nearing extinction, poisoned air and water and the inexorable rise in global temperatures leading to floods, droughts and massive storms. But how to reverse this disastrous course? For many the answer is technology. Plans are proposed for switching to renewable energy, for geo-engineering to control weather, for hardening infrastructure to adapt to climate change, for new technologies to reduce waste. But the true key to averting global environmental disaster is rarely discussed. That key is to drastically reduce the size of the human population. Instead of espousing this simple and powerful solution to environmental disaster, recent population declines in some countries have provoked alarmist cries of economic collapse.
The Equipoise blog will explore how population reduction could lead to a sustainable environmental equilibrium while also allowing the evolution of an economy that would provide a healthy and comfortable standard of living on a world-wide basis. In a series of posts this blog will address key aspects of the transition to a reduced global population.
To truly grasp our current environmental catastrophe, it is vital to realize that it is multi- dimensional. Climate change is a very large part of the problem but there are many other aspects as well ranging from deforestation, to over-fishing, to poaching of key species. All of these are linked by the dual themes of human needs and human greed.
Of course, mankind should be using all its technological skills to address the climate crisis. However, technology alone will not avert environmental disaster. First, it cannot be scaled quickly enough to address the enormity of the problem, and second new technology inevitably spawns new environmental challenges.
Instead of over-reliance on technology, we should emphasize the vital role of population control in mitigating environmental decline. Humane population reduction is feasible over a relatively short time frame. Draconian measures like one-child policies or forced sterilization are completely unnecessary. There are well-established models for reducing fertility and slowing or reversing population growth.
A major challenge for a world with fewer people will be how to sustain healthy and fulfilling lives for everyone in the face of reduced total economic activity. There is no one answer to this extremely critical question, but this blog will look to the past and look to the future to suggest possible strategies.
The Equipoise blog will explore these themes by drawing on reliable, factual sources of information, and will seek to analyze that information in a logical manner. The author of this blog is not an economist or a statistician. Thus the analyses performed will be done in a simple, common-sense manner rather than relying on complex formulae.
Epitteto is a biological scientist who has had a long and reasonably successful career in the academic world. In addition to his own focused research activities, Epitteto is interested in how science affects larger societal issues with a particular emphasis on the environment.
Contact Epitteto at Epittetoepitteto@Yahoo.com.
EQUIPOISE 