Population growth

Earth has existed for 4,5 billion years and most of that time there has been life on it. Human race has been around about 300 000 years.

Most of that we have been in harmony with the rest of the nature: human population has been controlled by the 1) availability of fertile land and 2) diseases like any other species.

We broke free of those natural limits by

  1. learning to make fertilizers from the air 1910 (Haber-Bosch process)
  2. developments in modern medicine since late 18th century (vaccines, medicines and improved understanding of hygiene, bacteria and viruses)

Image and table below portray well the population explosion of the past century.

World population, billionsYear reachedYears elapsed
11804300,000
21927123
3196033
4197414
5198713
6199912
7201112
8202211
9203715
10205720
Table: World population milestones in billions (UN estimates)

Globalisation spread the industrially produced ammonia-based nitrogen fertilisers around the World allowing larger crops, but also causing deforestation as more forests were cut for farmland and export plantations. Thousands of years old traditional sustainable farming methods were replaced by industrial monoculture agriculture for a century. 

Lately “regenerative agriculture” is returning biological processes to farming and bringing back together farming, biodiversity and topsoil generation. It has proven to be economical, efficient and ecological way of food production.

Even though World population is still growing, both rates of growth and fertility have been sinking. With increased life expectancy amount of people is still expected to rise for few decades.

Consider:

Since humanity has caused current overpopulation, we CAN also stop it.

We are over 8 billion people, so changes in what we eat, buy and how we live and commute do really matter. We are past waiting; all of us need to take small steps daily and plan for larger steps on longer run.

Tasks:

1. What is YOUR act of sustainability TODAY? 

Current western way of life creates more CO2 emissions and damages ecosystem far more rapidly than ever before. What could YOU do today to take your personal carbon footprint to the level it was in the 1970’s in your country? Can you share the act with someone?

2. What will you do differently – or leave undone NEXT WEEK?

Longest journeys start with single step – and walking and running are natural things for human. Pace of walking stimulates brains, respiratory and circulatory systems. As being in nature relaxes us in minutes, could you take a walk in a park, shore, meadow or forest?

3. Is there a new skill or hobby that you could start learning NEXT MONTH or YEAR?

Large part of living in current World system is about consuming and enabling continuous growth – of economy and population. Since that is an impossible scenario even in middle term, can you think of ways of enjoying your spare time in a way that would produce less CO2 or even help generating oxygen and life out of CO2?

4. How could you change your life to consume less Earth’s resources?

In past two generations most of us have lost our skill to grow anything; food comes from stores, not from our backyards. As monoculture farming is cutting biodiversity, could you bring some back close to your home? Maybe plant something to a box by your window or to a public place?

Links – read more about current mass extinction:

Population: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

Life on earth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_life

Haber-Bosch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process

United Nations about population: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf

Take action:

United Nations about population and CO2 emissions: https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/world-population-surpasses-8-billion-what-are-implications-planetary-health-and

Population Media: https://www.populationmedia.org/the-latest/overpopulation-cause-and-effect

Regenerative agriculture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_agriculture

Stories:

Stories and tasks

Access to posts covering following topics:

Arctic art Central Australia Colonialism Conservation Consumption COVID-19 Deserts Dingo Diving Drought Economic growth Ecotourism Endangered Environmental education Expedition Fiji Globalisation Helsinki Hiking Ice climbing Kayaking Longhouse Minority rights Mountaineering Nature New Zealand Planetary boundaries Polar vortex Population Possum Rain forest replacing fossil fuels Rock rat Skiing Storm Sunrise Surfing Sustainability Transformation Watersports

Article by Toni Niiranen, 2024