Ever-increasing levels of population and resource consumption are not in the interests of future generations, scientists warn
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Researchers estimate that halving the Earth’s human population gradually over 200 years could ease our negative impacts such as decreased wildlife populations and increased carbon emissions. Biodiversity loss, resource consumption rates, and pollution levels are strongly linked to human population size, they observe in the study published in the journal Sustainable Development. The progression to lower populations will also improve the economic well-being of nations, they say, observing that many countries with declining populations have seen increases in per capita GDP, work participation, and real wages. Population growth can be reduced via higher education, female empowerment, delayed marriage, and extensive access to voluntary family planning. “Helping population growth end and gently and justly reverse, while also moderating per capita impacts, is our best hope to secure a sustainable, desirable future worldwide,” scientists concluded. submitted by /u/relianceschool |
