It’s a good idea to think about energy consumption times billions - or 1 kW x 7.2 billion equals a lot of watts. Birth Control can play a big role in reducing environmental and economic problems, but it’s a touchy subject that is often left out of discussions on climate change. It’s seems to be a scary slope between voluntary family planning and a mandate like China’s one child policy. There is a working group of scientists and policy-makers that met at the Woodrow Wilson Center to bridge the gap, but unfortunately there is little funding for that approach even though:
The United Nations predicts population growth to hit 10.9 billion by the end of the century.
Population grows by 3 people per second every single day.
Average life-spans have gone from 51 years in 1960 to 69 years in 2010.
There are 1.43 million unplanned births in the US every year.
At the current growth rate, populations in the least developed countries are predicted to double within the next 31 years.
About a tenth of the world’s population doesn’t even have access to improved drinking water.
http://www.populationconnection.org
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-climate-change-solution-no-one-will-talk-about/382197/
May 31, 2013 (InClimate 151) What we humans do on our planet is multiplied by a world population that is estimated at 7.1 billion. That’s a lot of zeros. In general, first worlders with more stuff do more damage than third worlders with less stuff. When you add just one puff of gas to the atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like much, but remember to “Do the Math”. Maybe think in terms of times 7.1 billion. 1 puff X 7,100,000 = 7,100,000 puffs - or a lot of greenhouse gas.