Concerns about population growth are emerging again. A 2020 survey found that 39 percent of youth worldwide are hesitant to have children in the future because of climate change.

Even Ehrlich is still at it. In October 2021, he wrote to the editors of Nature that scientists needed to get off of their “peacetime footing” to limit and prevent overpopulation. His letter declares: “All discussions of sustainability should address overpopulation.”

These dire environmental predictions about population growth are wrong, just as Ehrlich’s doomsday predictions have repeatedly proven to be. In fact, we should see population growth as a vital part of the solution to environmental problems.

People don’t just consume, they create

Environmental concerns about population growth treat people primarily as consumers. This is a mistake. People are not just bellies to fill or a carbon footprint to minimize. People create solutions.

Ehrlich believes that more people create scarcity. For every new person, there is less for everyone else. At some point, the Earth’s carrying capacity will be exceeded and cause desolation. What Ehrlich misses is the ability of people to create new ideas and solutions that continue to increase the carrying capacity of Earth.

Andrew McAfee tells the story of Earth’s expanding capacity in his book, More from Less. In it, he demonstrates that humans have been getting more value out of fewer resources over time. As McAfee points out, “A great reversal of our Industrial Age habits is taking place. The American economy is now experiencing broad and often deep dematerialization.”

For example, your phone has replaced a whole collection of goods that you would have bought separately 50 years ago—cds, GPS, clocks, calculators, and cameras.

We continue to produce more wealth from fewer resources. Recent data shows that many countries have separated economic growth from carbon emissions. We’re still growing, but growing without causing the same environmental problems. If you don’t believe it, then you can check McAfee’s work, it’s all online and public.

from The environment needs more people, not fewer