Moratorium on world
population and the fertility rate, and ending population warfare.
Any symbiotical relationship is for the good of all, for the good of the 'other'. It is based on a genuine group concern and unconditional support for the individual's well-being ~ a giant leap in human behaviour. The question is how can we improve the political symbiotical relationship to fulfill its goals? The Charter of the Earth Community promotes the values to achieve its goals. These goals require the promoting and establishment of: global community ethics, mutual respect, respect for life, basic liberties, justice and equity, caring for the 'other', integrity, responsibility and accountability.
Other symbiotical relationships may be based on common concerns and issues such as: the environment, peace, justice, women's rights, human and Earth rights, and many more. There is a whole spectrum of possible symbiotical relationships.
Symbiotical relationships are needed today for the long term future of humanity and for the protection of life on Earth. Humanity needs to slow down significantly world population.
World population estimates from 1800 to 2100, based on "high", "medium" and "low" United Nations projections in 2010 (colored red, orange and green) and US Census Bureau historical estimates (in black). Actual recorded population figures are colored in blue. According to the highest estimate, the world population may rise to 16 billion by 2100; according to the lowest estimate, it may decline to 6 billion.
Continent |
Density
(inhabitants/km2) |
Population
(billions, 2013 estimates) |
Most populous country |
Most populous city |
Asia |
96.4 |
4.298 |
China (1,361,000,000) |
Greater Tokyo Area (35,676,000) |
Africa |
36.7 |
1.111 |
Nigeria (173,120,000) |
Cairo (19,439,541) |
Europe |
72.9 |
0.742 |
Russia (143,700,000;
approx. 110 million in Europe) |
Moscow (14,837,510) |
North America |
22.9 |
0.565 |
United States (317,996,000) |
Mexico City/Metro Area (8,851,080 / 21,163,226) |
South America |
22.8 |
0.407 |
Brazil (201,032,714) |
São Paulo City, Metro Area(11,316,149 / 27,640,577) |
Oceania |
4.5 |
0.038 |
Australia (23,475,992) |
Sydney(4,575,532) |
Antarctica |
0.0003
(varies) |
0.000 004
(non-permanent, varies) |
N/A |
McMurdo Station (1,200) (non-permanent, varies) |
Population warfare: use of a very
high fertility rate to conquer a nation, and that could mean as many
as or more than 2.11 children per family. It is a form of cultural
and/or religious aggression and invasion by having a much too high
number of new born babies. For instance, there has been a rapid
increase in population among Muslims to the extent that in fifty years
all of Europe and North America are expected to be mostly Islamic. The
influx of Latino immigration into the western states of the USA will
also have the effect of a population warfare.
Clearly the environmental challenges facing humanity in the 21st
century and beyond would be less difficult in a world with slower
population growth or none at all. Population is a critical
variable influencing the availability of each of the natural resources
considered here. And access to family planning services is a critical
variable influencing population. Use of family planning contributes
powerfully to lower fertility, later childbearing, and slower
population growth. Yet policymakers, environmentalists and the general
public remain largely unaware of the growing interest of young people
throughout the world in delaying pregnancies and planning their
families. In greater proportions than ever, girls want to go to school
and to college, and women want to find fulfilling and well-paid
employment. Helping people in every country to obtain the information
and services they need to put these ambitions into effect is all that
can be done, and all that needs to be done, to end world population
growth in the new century.
Reproductive health services can help.
Voluntary family planning and other reproductive health services can
help couples avert high-risk pregnancies, prevent unwanted
childbearing and abortion, and avoid diseases such as HIV/AIDS and
other sexually transmitted infections, that can lead to death,
disability, and infertility.
Comprehensive reproductive health services, especially care in
pregnancy and childbirth and for sexually transmitted infections, are
key to preventing disability and death and improving women's health.
Better access to emergency care during childbirth and safe abortion
services would also contribute significantly to lower maternal death
rates. Family planning diminishes risks associated with frequent
childbearing and helps reduce reliance on abortion.
An important obstacle to couple negotiation of contraceptive use
and protection from STDs including HIV is that most women have unequal
access to resources and decision-making. Yet women are more vulnerable
to the consequences of unplanned pregnancies and often HIV/STI's. For
these reasons, countering the prevailing gender stereotypes that
increase risky behaviors and decrease couple communication is a key
strategy for promoting good reproductive health.
Individuals, too, can help bring about a world that is more secure
and more supportive of life, health and happiness. They can educate themselves on population dynamics,
consumption patterns and the impact of these forces on
natural resources and the environment. They can be socially,
politically and culturally active to elevate the issues they care
about. They can become more environmentally
responsible in their purchasing decisions and their use of
energy and natural resources. And individuals and couples can consider the impacts of their reproductive
decisions on their communities and the world as a whole.
Population dynamics are among the primary underlying causes of
forest decline. Poverty, corruption, inequitable access to land
and wasteful consumption practices also influence the decisions of
governments, corporations and individuals to cut and clear forests.
The interaction of these forces is most evident in areas such as South
Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty, rapid
population growth and weak institutions contribute to forest loss and
severe environmental degradation.
The dominant force in forest loss is growth in the demand for
farmland. Subsistence agriculture is the principal cause of forest
loss in Africa, Asia and much of Latin America. Slash-and-burn farming
and other traditional techniques were sustainable for centuries when
population densities were lower. Today they are a major factor, along
with the expansion of commercial farms and livestock grazing areas, in
the permanent conversion of wooded land to agriculture. The need to
increase food production is expected to accelerate the
forest-to-farmland cycle, especially in countries where alternatives
for meeting this demand are limited.
A typical American uses 15
times as much lumber and paper as a resident of a developing country.
Reducing wood consumption in the industrialized world is unlikely to
stop forest loss in developing countries however, since most of the
wood consumed comes from trees in the industrialized countries
themselves. Nevertheless, the consumption model offered to the rest of
the world threatens accelerated forest loss as both populations and
economies grow in developing countries.
Population policies based on human development and the Scale of
Global Rights offer the greatest hope for the future of forests.
This is not an argument for population "control" but for the social
investments that allow couples to choose when to have children and how
many to have. Programs linking conservation activities with family
planning services show promise for achieving both the sustainable use
of forests and greater acceptance of reproductive health services.
Sustainable wood consumption is essential for the future of
forests. Individuals and institutions alike should promote the
ecologically sound and socially responsible use of forest products.
Eco-labeling, or the environmental certification of wood products,
could speed the adoption of more sustainable forestry practices.
Consumer demand for green-certified paper and other wood products is
an important complement to recycling and other efforts to reduce wood
consumption.
The total number of people worldwide could still
double or even triple from today’s 6.7 billion before stabilizing a
century or more from now. Women in most countries are still having
more than the two-child average consistent with a stable population
size. Moreover, so many young people are now entering or moving
through their childbearing years that even a two-child average would
still boost population size for a few decades until the momentum of
past growth subsides. Yet there is reason for optimism. The
combination of access to family planning and other reproductive health
services, education for girls and economic opportunity for women could
lower birthrates enough to stabilize world population well before a
doubling of today’s total.
Motivation, rather than differential access to modern contraception
is a major determinant of fertility. Individuals frequently
respond to scarcity by having fewer children, and to perceived
improved economic opportunity by having more children. Economic
development does not cause family size to shrink; rather, at every
point where serious economic opportunity beckons, family size
preferences expand.
A) Foreign aid conveys to the recipients the perception of
improving economic wellbeing, which is followed by an increase in the
fertility of the recipients of the aid.
B) Migrations from regions of low economic opportunity to
places of higher economic opportunity result in an increase in the
fertility of the migrants that persists for a generation or
two.
The need is not to control population growth. Governments
cannot control childbearing and attempts to do so have sometimes led
to coercive approaches to reproduction that violate human rights. The
need is rather to expand the power individuals have over their own
lives, especially by enabling them to choose how many children to have
and when to have them.
Investing in education for girls helps them to contribute to their
national economies–and to postpone childbearing until they are ready
for a family. Providing credit and other economic opportunities for
women creates alternatives to early and frequent childbearing.
Finally, better access to quality reproductive health services
directly benefits women and their families. These approaches increase
human capacity, providing the greatest long-term return to societies,
individuals and the environment. Moreover, they are likely to lead to
an early peak in world population in the coming
century.
Comprehensive population policies are an essential
element in a world development strategy that combines access to
reproductive health services, to education and economic opportunities,
to improved energy and natural resource technologies, and to healthyer
models of consumption and the "good life."
Policies to
decrease world population:
delay reproduction until later in
life
Delaying reproduction is important in influencing
population growth rates. Over a period of 60 years, if people delay
reproduction until they are 30 years old, you would have only two
generations, while if you do not delay reproduction you would have
three generations (one generation every 20 years).
spread your children farther apart
to have fewer children overall
government commitment to decreasing population
growth
Create policies that help decreasing the number of
children being born. Policies such as income tax deductions for
dependent children and maternity and paternity leaves are
essentially pronatalist and should be eliminated.
programs that are locally designed and that include
information on family planning and access to
contraceptives
educational programs that emphasize the connection
between family planning and social good
The vast disparities in reproductive health worldwide
and the greater vulnerability of the poor to reproductive risk point
to several steps all governments can take, with the support of other
sectors, to improve the health of women and their families:
- Give women more life choices. The low social and
economic status of women and girls sets the stage for poor
reproductive health
- Invest in reproductive health care
- Encourage delays in the onset of sexual activity
and first births
- Help couples prevent and manage unwanted
childbearing
- Ensure universal access to maternal health
care
- Support new reproductive health
technologies
- Increase efforts to address the HIV
pandemic
- Involve communities in evaluating and implementing
programs
- Develop partnerships with the private sector,
policymakers and aid donors to broaden support for reproductive
health
- Measure Progress
More and more young people on every continent want to start bearing
children later in life and to have smaller families than at any time
in history. Likewise, in greater proportions than ever, women and
girls in particular want to go to school and to college, and they want
to find fulfilling and well-paid employment. Helping people in every
country obtain the information and services they need to put these
ambitions into effect is all that can be done, and all that needs to
be done, to bring world population growth to a stable landing in the
new century.
![](images/GClogo.gif)
Introduction to issues of overpopulation worldwide
Authors of research papers and articles on issues of overpopulation worldwide
Authors of research papers and articles on issues of Global Peace
As a species we no longer need to procreate by the millions so quit making children Peoples, for God sake give it a rest ![As a species we no longer need to procreate by the millions so quit making children Peoples, for God sake give it a rest](images/iconxred3.jpg)
For our survival as a species and for God’s sake one child per family is more than enough.
Let us restrain ourselves!
Let the community be the other child our child needs as a companion.
Let the Soul of all Life be our guiding hand!
Perhaps the most important step
towards achieving societal sustainability
this century is to control our population growth.
World overpopulation is now at the turning point and requires from each and every one of us of agreeing about the
statement of rights and belonging to the Global Community, the human family.
Comprehensive population policies are an essential element in a global development strategy that combines access to reproductive health services,
education and economic opportunities, improved energy and natural resource technologies, and to healthyer models of consumption and the good life.
|
Summary
Global problems arising from an overpopulated planet, reducing consumption, control our population growth, and comprehensive population policies
What happens when the energy supply stops growing, but the population continues to grow? More importantly, what happens when the
energy supply begins to decline, as population continues to grow? Peak oil is not simply an issue of learning to conserve or finding ways
to do more with less. It isn't simply about the possibility of economic collapse, war, starvation or global pandemic. It isn't just about
changing our behaviors or our beliefs. It is about turning ourselves inside-out, and not only surviving the transformation, but also being
and living equal and in harmony with all the rest.
Reducing consumption is imperative, but it's pointless to cut out meat and cars while having lots of children. When challenged,
environmentalists have coherent arguments to defend their retreat from the population debate. They insist that the pressure on the earth's
resources - its water, forests, soil fertility - and carbon emissions are all about consumption and lifestyle, not about sheer numbers of
human beings. They rightly point out that the average American produces some 20 tonnes of carbon a year while some of those living in
areas of the world with the fastest growing populations, such as Africa, produce a tiny fraction of that kind of carbon footprint. They
insist that the earth can support the 9 billion now predicted by 2050 (the increase in the next 40 years will equate to roughly what the entire
global population was in 1950) if everyone is living sustainable lifestyles. The focus of campaigning must stay on the consumption
patterns of the developed world, rather than on numbers of people.
We must bring a solution to our overpopulation problem.
Perhaps the most important step towards achieving societal sustainability this century is to control our population growth. World overpopulation is now at
the turning point and requires from each
and every one of us of agreeing about the
statement of rights and belonging to the
Global Community, the human family.
Comprehensive population policies are an
essential element in a global development
strategy that combines access to
reproductive health services, education
and economic opportunities, improved
energy and natural resource technologies,
and to healthyer models of consumption
and the good life.
The rate of world population growth is beginning to decline, but the total number of people could still double or even triple
from todays 6.3 billion before stabilizing a century or more from now. Women in most countries are still having more
than the two-child average consistent with a stable population size. Moreover, so many young people are now entering or moving
through their childbearing years that even a two-child average would still boost population size for a few decades until the
momentum of past growth subsides. Yet there is reason for optimism. The combination of access to family planning and other reproductive
health services, education for girls and economic opportunity for women could lower birthrates enough to stabilize world population
well before a doubling of todays total.
Motivation, rather than differential access to modern contraception is a major determinant of fertility. Individuals frequently respond
to scarcity by having fewer children, and to perceived improved economic opportunity by having more children.
Economic development does not cause family size to shrink; rather, at every point where serious economic opportunity beckons, family size preferences expand.
A) Foreign aid conveys to the recipients the perception of improving economic wellbeing, which is followed by an increase in the fertility
of the recipients of the aid.
B) Migrations from regions of low economic opportunity to places of higher economic opportunity result in an increase in the fertility of the
migrants that persists for a generation or two.
The need is not to control population growth. Governments cannot control childbearing and attempts
to do so have sometimes led to coercive approaches to reproduction that violate human rights. The need is rather to expand the
power individuals have over their own lives, especially by enabling them to choose how many children to have and when to have them.
Investing in education for girls
helps them to contribute to their national economiesand to postpone childbearing until they are ready for a family. Providing credit and
other economic opportunities for women creates alternatives to early and frequent childbearing. Finally, better access to quality reproductive
health services directly benefits women and their families. These approaches increase human capacity, providing the greatest long-term return to
societies, individuals and the environment.
Comprehensive population policies are an essential element in a world development strategy that combines access to reproductive health services,
to education and economic opportunities, to improved energy and natural resource technologies, and to healthyer models of consumption and the "good life."
Policies to decrease world population:
delay reproduction until later in life
Delaying reproduction is important in influencing population growth rates. Over a period of 60 years, if people delay reproduction
until they are 30 years old, you would have only two generations, while if you do not delay reproduction you would have three generations (one generation every 20 years).
spread your children farther apart
to have fewer children overall
government commitment to decreasing population growth
Create policies that help decreasing the number of children being born. Policies such as income tax deductions for dependent children and maternity and paternity leaves are essentially pronatalist and should be eliminated.
programs that are locally designed and that include information on family planning and access to contraceptives
educational programs that emphasize the connection between family planning and social good
The vast disparities
in reproductive health worldwide and the greater vulnerability
of the poor to reproductive risk point to several steps all governments
can take, with the support of other sectors, to improve the health
of women and their families:
- Give women more
life choices. The low social and economic status of women and
girls sets the stage for poor reproductive health
- Invest in reproductive
health care
- Encourage delays
in the onset of sexual activity and first births
- Help couples prevent
and manage unwanted childbearing
- Ensure universal
access to maternal health care
- Support new reproductive
health technologies
- Increase efforts
to address the HIV pandemic
- Involve communities
in evaluating and implementing programs
- Develop partnerships
with the private sector, policymakers and aid donors to broaden
support for reproductive health
- Measure Progress
More and more young people on every continent want to start bearing children later in life and to have smaller families than at any
time in history. Likewise, in greater proportions than ever, women and girls in particular want to go to school and to college, and
they want to find fulfilling and well-paid employment. Helping people in every country obtain the information and services they
need to put these ambitions into effect is all that can be done, and all that needs to be done, to bring world population growth
to a stable landing in the new century.
Table of Contents
1.0 Overview of the problem ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
1.1 Societal sustainability ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
1.2 Agriculture and population increase ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
1.3 Our overpopulated planet ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
1.4 Overpopulation and natural resources ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
2.0 Growth and measurement of world population ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
2.1 Data and terminology ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
2.2 Measurement of world population ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
2.3 Developing nations with low total fertility rate ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
2.4 Developing nations with high total fertility rate ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
2.5 Policies to decrease world population ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
3.0 Global Community overall picture ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
4.0 Overpopulation as social issue ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
5.0 Impacts of the overpopulation ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
6.0 Population control ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
7.0 Action at the Global Community level ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
7.1 Impacts of family planning and health services ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.2 Reproductive health services ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.3 Unintended pregnancies ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.4 Abortion policies ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.5 Nutritional anemia in pregnancy ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.6 Care in pregnancy and childbirth ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.7 HIV/AIDS ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.8 Risk of death in childbearing ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.9 Improving reproductive health ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.10 Biodiversity ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.11 Forests ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.12 Education ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
7.13 Population and hope ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
8.0 Birth Control ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
8.1 History of birth control ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
8.2 Traditional birth control methods: ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
8.3 Modern birth control methods: ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
8.4 Religious and cultural attitudes to birth control ![](images/buttomoverpopulation.gif)
9.0 Action at the local community level ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
10.0 Action concerning fisheries ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
11.0 Action concerning forests ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
12.0 Action concerning agricultural land and food production ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
13.0 Action concerning world hunger ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
14.0 Action concerning natural resources ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
15.0 Action concerning water ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
16.0 Carrying capacity ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
17.0 Overview of results from this report ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
18.0 Conclusion ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
19.0 Recommendations ![](images/buttompopul.gif)
|