“There’s too many men, too many people, making too many problems, and not much love to go round. Can’t you see this is a land of confusion.”

— Genesis, “Land of Confusion”

Leave it to an ‘80s pop band to sum up the world’s problems with such lyrical poetry. Believe it or not, the world is in for a really big surprise in the next 50 years or so. In 1999 the world’s population reached six billion people. While that number may not seem like that big of a deal and while we may not see the direct effects of the world’s ballooning population, this fact is one we all need to wake up to.

To properly put this fact into perspective, consider that during the 20th century, the world’s population more than tripled from under 2 billion to just over 6 (“World Population Beyond Six”, Gelbard, Haub, Kent, 1999). This would mean that at similar growth rates the world’s population around 2050 would be approximately 16 billion people.

When considering the human population of the planet, one must bring into account more than just the space that each person takes up. Beyond simply the spatial issue is the amount of resources and goods that each person consumes as well as the various issues involved with how different groups react with each other. Before examining all of the issues involved with overpopulation, let us first consider where the majority of the population growth is occurring.

The developing nations of the world, including Africa, most of South America, many South Asian nations and much of the Middle East, account for the largest population expansion. In addition to the fact that these nations are still in the process of industrialization and economic development, the demographics of these nations in general show that the majority of their populations are young people under the age of 25 (Population Reference Bureau). The important issue this raises is the fact that the largest segment of the population is in their child-bearing or is yet to enter the prime ages for child-bearing. This creates a situation where these nations stand poised to see a dramatic increase in population even if birth rates stop increasing.

So what is so bad about increasing population? Well, for one, it is not the number of people that creates the problem — it is the resources that they use, the waste they produce and the damage they do to the health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. Most nations want to become economically wealthy and independent. They look at the consumption rates of the United States and its vast wealth of material goods, and want a similar lifestyle, or that is what American corporations promote at least. If these nations have the majority of their population consume resources at the same rate as the United States, there is no way that the planet can survive.

So how do we fix the problem? The United States and the majority of the more economically developed nations of the world have relatively low population increase rates, and in some European nations’ population is actually decreasing. What we can and need to do is offer more education and family planning and sustainable development for the rest of the world. We have a strangle hold on the world’s economy, and it’s high time we start giving back to the people we have been stepping on to get to our perch.

For one, birth control measures and education as to the dangers of unchecked population growth needs to be a major priority. As long as people continue to believe that family planning and birth control kills kids, there can be no progress. Many religious leaders still outlaw birth control measures due to antiquated scientific beliefs and superstitious adherence to ancient doctrine. High birth rates may have been encouraged a thousand years ago or so to offset high infant mortality and a short life span. With the extension of modern medicine and the increase in life span, these rules have far outlived their usefulness.

Aside from simply providing funding for family planning programs and birth control and education, there also needs to be incentives for developing nations to develop industries that are efficient, clean and sustainable on the long term. Even before that happens, we must do the same for our own nation. After all, it is not fair for us to be hypocritical and ask them to adhere to regulations we cannot even follow within our own “great” nation.

The fundamental problem is not a myth or hype or an overestimated threat. If population continues to grow endlessly, we will push our productive capacity to the breaking point. The technocratic view that future innovation will solve any problems we come across is not enough to rely upon for the future of the world.

As nature teaches us, a certain environment can only support a finite number of any given species. Our species is not different. Without a change in the way we approach population we could be facing severe environmental degradation, mass starvation and famine — and a general crisis. If we do not encourage our nation to do something more proactive about this issue it is possible we may have a larger problem looming on the horizon than we think.