The continuously increasing population of this world is rapidly depleting our limited non-renewable resources. It is also jeopardizing the longevity of some resources that we generally consider as renewable. At the same time it is drowning us in pollution, which further consumes our resources as we try to limit the effects of this contamination on the health of our environment and our people. All of this is occurring at a speed that is increasing daily as the world’s population rockets out of control. This book does not list pages of statistics, they are readily available from any of the environmental groups. Instead it presents the facts that have brought us to this point in the history of the world; and considers the possible scenarios for our future. It discusses the various ways that the end of our civilization may occur and confirms the inevitable chaos that will be our fate if nothing is done to control this ever-growing population. If we look at all the known facts honestly and without prejudice or bias, it is not difficult to understand what is happening in the world. It may well be that we have already left it too late to take effective corrective actions, but certainly if we do not begin immediately, our future is bleak and our end may occur many centuries before nature terminates life on this planet. Hopefully this book will at least help to stir up some concern regarding overpopulation and begin to open public debate and action. When Homo Sapiens first evolved on this world, nature made sure that the species would thrive. The act of procreation was made simple, quick and generally provided pleasure to both parties. The female could be expected, under normal conditions, to give birth to at least one offspring every year during her fruitful lifetime and nature made sure that the male would always be ready and willing to play his part. This natural stimulus was necessary during the major part of the existence of our species as initially life expectancy was short. A high percentage of children never reached adulthood and a healthy birthrate was necessary to guarantee that a sufficient number of people would survive to maintain the race. For thousands of years this system functioned very well and during that time there was little change in the conditions that determined the life span of "Homo Sapiens". Then during the last millennium we began, slowly at first, to develop the ability to control our environment. This dramatically changed the entire situation. These changes are still continuing, but at an ever-increasing rate and at a lightening speed, at least compared to the time scale of nature’s evolution. Over the past few centuries they have completely altered our way of life. As a consequence we have been able to dramatically increase our life span, and there is now no reason for a high birthrate to maintain the species. Better nourishment from the development of farming, clean water supplies, improved housing and sanitation, and above all an ever increasing knowledge of medicine and the prevention of sickness have all played a part. During the past few centuries these advances have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of people in the world. We have now reached the point where the present rate of growth of the world’s population is no longer required to guarantee the survival of mankind. Instead, population growth has become the single factor that is most likely to guarantee the premature demise of our civilization. Unfortunately reducing the number of people in the world or even maintaining a static population strikes at the very foundation of our present political and economic systems. Overpopulation therefore and the effects it has on our way of life, are extremely unpopular subjects for general discussion. They attack so many traditional philosophies, they affect so many political and religious affiliations, that they are rarely if ever discussed openly in any public forum. Almost every edition of The NY Times contains an article on the growing dangers to the environment, or famine in Africa, or global warming and similar subjects. Not one article even mentions the basic cause of most of these problems. That there are too many people in this world. There are a few less than well known organizations that are dedicated to the debate on the effects of overpopulation but generally they are not reported in the media. They make their arguments in a quiet, scientific manner, and are never given the publicity accorded to the more active environmental groups. In total contrast the environmental protection lobby is strong and extremely militant in its demands for the elimination of anything that could be considered as damaging to our environment. However it seems totally unable or unwilling to accept the very obvious fact that the fundamental cause of most of our environmental problems is our ever-increasing population. We read of protesters living in the redwoods to prevent them from being felled or harming the spotted owl. We have reports of marches and meetings to prevent the building of power stations. We hear of the demands to eliminate atomic energy and tear down the dams to allow the rivers to flow freely. We see and hear the outcry to save the rain forest, and preserve the homeland of the gorillas. These are all excellent subjects for discussion, but they all very deliberately avoid any debate on the very simple fact that almost none of this would be necessary if we controlled the world’s ever increasing population. I have never seen or heard any report of our environmentalists demanding that some actions be taken to retard our population growth. When I asked one activist why this fundamental cause of most of our environmental problems is not given the importance it deserves, his response was that "It is not a popular subject". Another said, "We can do nothing about it, so we don’t bother". Unfortunately pretending that the overpopulation of this world does not exist will never eliminate the very real danger that civilization faces today. It is extremely difficult to understand why we refuse to discuss publicly the inevitable fate that awaits the people of this world because of overpopulation. It is incredible that we are unwilling to even consider developing the actions that we will have to implement to prevent it. We dance around the subject of population growth as if it does not matter, as if there was nothing we can do about it and as if we had all the time in the world to correct the situation. We try to pretend that the inevitable crisis will never happen although all the evidence is clearly visible to anyone with an unbiased eye. We spend a tremendous amount of time and effort in attempting to eliminate the environmental problems and the social and political signs that clearly indicate our eventual fate. We appear to be totally unable or unwilling to take any corrective action. For example there are continuing discussions on how to prevent global warming, and avoid polluting the rivers and oceans. These are all commendable concerns, but completely ignore the ever-growing population that is the cause of all these problems. We are like sailors on a sinking ship. Trying to bale out the ocean with a teacup, while ignoring the gaping hole through which the sea is pouring in. My personal experience of the effects of our growing population was for many years limited to my observations of the changes in my immediate neighborhood. >From time to time they raised questions regarding our future way of life, but I became so used to the slow but continuing change that this rate of growth eventually became an expected part of everyday life. Over the last three decades I have watched our villages turn into towns, I have seen the farmland sold for building development, I have seen the country lanes become congested with traffic and lined with homes I have seen quiet roads become four lane highways with traffic lights on almost every junction.. Yet because I have been part of this growth, it has appeared to be the natural sequence of change, a slow and steady movement to a better life. Then for several years I worked in some of the developing countries and the things that I saw and heard completely changed my understanding of the effects of population growth. Four episodes in particular stand out in my mind. I was congratulating a senior official in one of the Third World countries on their improved agricultural program that now fed all their people. He replied wistfully, "But next year there will be a million more mouths to feed, and the year after that another million". His final comment has remained with me over the years. "We are eventually heading for the worst famine the world has ever seen, and there is nothing that we can do to prevent it". While driving through the mountains near Katmandu in Nepal, I was admiring the beautifully terraced fields that climbed almost to the mountaintops. Suddenly I came across a wide expanse of bare rock where all the soil had disappeared. I was told that the trees that had protected the slopes for centuries had been cut down and the rains then washed away the soil. There had always been an ample supply of dead wood for cooking and heating, but the population had grown dramatically over the past few years, there was no alternative fuel and the people had been forced to cut down the living trees. Indeed there was a flood of people from the country to the towns and Katmandu was crowded. While visiting other Third World countries I found walking in the cities uncomfortable and at times almost impossible because of the masses of humanity. The fast growing population in the countryside could find no work and flocked to the cities. The basic services were overwhelmed by this influx of people, and walking became a matter of pushing through crowds of men, women and children. Many were ill nourished, and a large number obviously needed immediate medical attention. I visited shantytowns in two countries. Hundreds of tiny huts were built of any scrap material that could be found. Mud and filth was everywhere in spite of the best efforts of the governments. The most distressing sights were the hundreds of small children who filled the muddy paths. Few had shoes, some were totally naked, most were ill nourished and very many were obviously in need of medical treatment. We were told that there was no work available in the countryside because of the surge of population and they fled to the cities in an attempt to avoid starvation. Back home I began to consider much more seriously the effects of overpopulation. Here in Putnam County, in the state New York, I read almost daily in the papers of the tighter regulations regarding building on the few remaining open spaces. Morning and evening, the country roads are jammed with traffic, triggering the demand to convert them to four lane highways. On a very personal note my home sits on a lake that was a few years ago clean and a popular swimming place in the summer. It is now so polluted that few of the residents will use it. A few decades ago it was surrounded by hillsides that were forest and farmland but are now covered with homes and roads. I also began to consider more carefully the many articles that I read in the local paper as being of "environmental concern". I constantly see reports of action groups that are trying to conserve the few remaining acres of open land. There are frequent discussions on the development of land for shopping centers and office buildings. Nowhere in any of these discussions are the negative effects of an increasing population even mentioned. It is a matter of some pride among our local politicians that the population growth in our town is the highest in the county. Recently I read of the international meeting to discuss new laws to limit the emission of gases that are believed to cause "global warming" and the tremendous cost that this would incur. From time to time we see concerned groups taking up arms to prevent the loss of acres of rain forest to agriculture or mining or similar projects. Ocean fishing that for years was completely unrestricted is now subject to control because the amount of fish available is steadily decreasing. All of these actions are commendable, but no one will even discuss the overpopulation that is the fundamental cause of all of these problems. Overpopulation and the effect that it has on our lives and our future must be brought "out of the cupboard" and debated openly by us all. Until we accept the consequences we will never take action to correct the situation. This is not something that can be delayed for years. We either begin to take action now, or we must prepare for a global disaster way beyond anything we have seen to date, that will totally destroy our civilization as we know it. Those who are left may generate a new and very different society, but that will be generations away. Hopefully this book will raise the degree of concern, initiate discussion and hopefully trigger some corrective action regarding the world’s population. It shows the complexity of the situation and that this problem affects almost every aspect of all our lives. Stabilizing the population at its present level will affect our economy, our entire society and the very way that we live. It we intend our civilization to continue into the future we will ultimately have to reduce the world’s population to that which we can support with our replaceable resources. When we consider this step, we will see that the results shake the very foundations of many of our beliefs and ideas. The results of taking no action however will be even more disastrous.
