I've been wanting to talk about this for a while, and recently several other bloggers beat me to it! All three ladies - Pursuing Titus 2 and Domestic Felicity and NFPworks - do a great job explaining this. And lest you think I'm just trying to push a certain religious views on you, one of these bloggers is Protestant, one is Jewish, and one is Catholic. None use contraception. NFP is for everyone! :)
But back to the topic of overpopulation. If you don't read any of the rest of this post, please at least watch this short video:
Don't believe that? Here's the website where they give more info about what they said. NFPworks also shared this video: check out her two cents.
The recent climate talks spurred more talk about how humans destroy the earth and if we don't change fast, we're all doomed. Now, we can all agree that human activity affects the environment, and we should modify our practices in regards to energy, etc. (Even the Pope agrees! Of course, that's not a huge surprise, as he is all about making the Vatican solar-powered.) But I would like to preempt any arguments blaming "overpopulation." The world is not going to end because there's too many of us. Maybe because of overconsumption, but not overpopulation. And I'll leave it at that and link to Pursuing Titus 2 and Domestic Felicity, who both do a great job pointing out that what is unsustainable is not our population but our consumer culture. Do read them!
What is perhaps funniest to me is that not only is overpopulation untrue, but in fact the opposite is true! The population in many countries, particularly Europe, is actually starting to decline! This is known as the "Greying of Europe." In fact, this is becoming such a concern that some countries are trying to raise their birth rates by providing cash incentives for women to have babies. The only reason this hasn't been reflected stronger in overall population figures is because people are living longer. (With fewer people to pay for their healthcare in old age... )
Replacement level fertility rate is 2.1. Official data from the UN (as of 2007) says "Among the 45 developed countries in the group, total fertility varies between 1.2 and 2.0 children per woman, with only two countries having fertility levels outside that range" (New Zealand with 2.1, Albania with 2.6). Yes, you read that right - all those developed countries are below replacement level. Here's the information in map form (click to enlarge):
The US is right at 2.1. But don't breathe a sigh of relief because we haven't dipped below replacement level. Immigrants are the main thing keeping us growing.
We get most of these numbers from the UN, so I'm not sure why they keep promoting "population control." And as the Vatican wisely pointed out to the UN:
"Unfortunately in some parts of the world today, development aid seems to be tied rather to the recipient countries' willingness to adopt programmes which discourage demographic growth of certain populations by methods and practices disrespectful of human dignity and rights. ... Yet such a practice is by its nature not one of reciprocity but imposition, and to predicate the decision to give development aid on the acceptance of such policies constitutes an abuse of power." (From here)
It's also funny how we Westerners condemn the population control methods in China, but applaud any measures in Africa. (But I'll try not to get into that, because it'll turn towards eugenics, then to Margaret Sanger, and then to Planned Parenthood, and this is already plenty long and link-filled!)
I don't want to sound like doomsday is upon us, because I don't think it is. But sub-replacement fertility is a very real issue. Overpopulation is nothing but a myth. The end.
I wasn't able to cite all the many articles I found. Read the links in the actual post, and then if you're still interested, check these out, too!
- Demographic Winter and Demographic Bomb: I haven't seen either of these films yet, but they look really interesting. Check out the trailers! http://www.demographicwinter.com/index.html
- A good number-filled article: http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0502-rhett_butler.html
- The book Population Control: Real Costs, Illusory Benefits by Steven Mosher looks great. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1412807131/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
- Here's a review of that book from the Washington Times. If you're not gonna read the book, do read the review! http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/27/taking-on-the-overpopulation-myth/
- Fantastic detailed piece on the history of the myth. http://usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/03ruse.shtml