A few hundred years ago, there were not even a billion people on earth. But today the population grows by around 83 million year, and by 2050, we will have almost 10 billion people on the planet. The UK now has around 67 million people (London has over 8 million people).
And by 2025, it’s expected for us to be the second largest country in Europe. It’s already the most overcrowded (way more than say New Zealand, which is one of the least overcrowded nations in the world).
Apart from two years since 1955, the number of births has been higher than the number of deaths (though health care funding is not on a par with the level needed to prevent ‘preventable deaths’ for many diseases). And the average birth rate of (just under 2 births) per woman is not expected to decrease any time soon.
Another scary policy for many countries (and approved by many right-wing MPs) is ‘pronatalism’. This is why everyone is encouraged to ‘marry and have families for the good of society’. As if being a ‘childfree cat lady’ is not something of worth, and of course it gives rise to societies full of prejudice for anyone who is childless, gay or an immigrant.
In fact, the ‘solutions to overpopulation’ are far simpler and more intelligent than that. A blend of:
- Natural safe contraception (including abroad).
- Education (to help reduce unwanted pregnancies)
- Adopting children who need loving homes
- Having smaller families that consume less resources
It’s western consumers (often at the expense of poor people abroad) that are killing the planet. 25% or so of the world is now under 15 years old, so it’s vital to educate on how to live simply for the 90% of young people who live in developing countries – most at risk from floods, droughts and other catastrophes from a warming planet.
Then we have the arguments for and again voluntary euthanasia along with religion banning contraception (and the ethical/moral issue of abortion).
How Overpopulation Impacts Wildlife
Due to humans driving cars using up resources, polluting the earth and oceans and leaving litter everywhere (along with climate change and hunting/poaching), the UK now faces 25% of all its native mammals facing extinction.
Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies
England’s teen births rate is the highest in Europe, often due to a culture more concerned with celebrity and sex, over education and making a difference.
Abortion is not the answer (on any level), what we need is to be like Scandinavian countries and remove the stigma and organised religion around ‘awkward talks’. The Nordic countries not only have the lowest rates of teen pregancies, but the highest happiness rates.
The Real Issue is Overconsumption
Governments remain antiquated in their ideas, and some now resort to criticising immigrants (our country would likely fall apart without them, as they make up the backbone of the NHS and other caring professions).
Most population growth is in just 9 countries: India, Nigeria (growing the most), Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo and USA. Nearly all the world’s people live in Asia and Africa, but they tend to live more simply.
The issue is not really overpopulation, but overconsumption. There’s nothing wrong with a devout Catholic family sprouting 8 children. What is the problem is a family having one child that demands factory-farmed fast food, iPads and iPods, designer trainers shipped in from Asia, palm-oil-laden peanut butter and being ferried around by car.
On a planetary level, the average person in the UK uses 11 times more resources than someone in Nigeria. So a lot of the issue is how we live, not how many people.
One western child often has a far higher carbon footprint than 8 Chinese ones! In just 2 weeks, the average person in England emits as much carbon as a person in Mali does for a year.
GDP is More an Issue Than Immigration
What also does not help is GDP (Gross Domestic Product). This is the barometer used by main political parties (including Labour and the Lib Dems) to measure ‘economic growth’. Which means to buy stuff to throw away.
So this means keeping people sick (hospitals), dangerous (prisons) and polluted (cleaning up oil spills) are all ‘good’ because they create jobs and income. This is bonkers.
The way for society to flourish is to use alternative indexes like Alberta’s ‘Happiness Index’ (created by Canadian economist Mark Anielski). With his model, it’s better to keep people well and safe (so less hospitals and prisons are needed), and build parks and restore nature so people have better physical and mental health, and less money is needed to live.
Why More People Choose To Be Childfree
There is still a lot of stigma in society for those who choose childfree lifestyles, which of course became a real political hot potato for JD Vance, when he referred to American women who chose not to have children as ‘childfree cat ladies’.
I love children. The only problem with children: they grow up to be people. And I just like animals better than people. It’s that simple. Betty White
Do Childfree Adults Not Like Children?
Far from it. Most people who choose to be childfree care deeply about the next generation, and one of the reasons why they often choose to be childfree, is because they are spending their time trying to protect the planet, so that the children of tomorrow have better lifestyles.
It’s funny sometimes how gas-guzzling parents who throw smartphones and other western consumer traps to their children (and then feed them fast food meals from factory-farmed animals) are lost on the premise that it’s often the childfree peeps who are trying to mop up the damage caused by western consumerism.
Overpopulation is not so much the issue, more the fact that the average western child has a carbon footprint around 11 times of say one in Nigeria.
Some people would love children but can’t have them due to medical issues. In which case childfree people always feel empathy. Adoption of course is one avenue, to give loving homes to those who need them.
Moving Away from Organised Religion
Often it’s organised religion and politicians that tend to ‘tell people’ that they should have children. Of course if someone feels that’s their life vocation, then have children. But never have them, simply because a vicar, priest or politician tells you to! It’s your business!
I have no regrets about not having my own children. It is my life. 400 years ago, I’d have been burned as a witch, for not wanting children. Or they’d have dunked me, like a big biscuit. Kathy Burke
Unfortunately politics and religion sometimes merges, when we start getting right-wing MPs saying that we should all have children ‘for the sake of society’.
It hasn’t worked so far, as most older people in England are shoved away in nursing homes when they get old and infirm, unlike say in Indian cultures, where relatives go to live with the family, when they can no longer live independently.
Andrew Ridgley (who has a stepson) does not have biological children. On being asked in an interview recently which living person he most despised, he answers ‘too many to single out, but almost exclusively inhabiting the realms of politics and the clergy’.
Questions Not to Ask Childfree Women!
Journalist Emma Gannon writes how it’s good not to ask these questions to people who choose to be childfree, as you’re likely very off the mark on what their reasons are:
- You’ll probably change your mind.
- Who’s going to take care of you, when you’re old?
- How will you fill your time?
- So, you’re a career woman?
- Do you not like children?
- Are you going to freeze your eggs?
- Aren’t you worried you won’t have true love?
A Few People Who Are Proudly Childfree
- Jennifer Aniston
- Miley Cyrus
- Dolly Parton
- Dame Helen Mirren
- Renee Zellwegger
- Debbie Harry
Sometimes I will meet kids who make me go ‘I want a kid’. And then sometimes I’ll meet children where I go ‘I hope that my sperm doesn’t do anything, because this person is a terror’. Trevor Noah
I’d worry sick about a baby. I have a cat. I check the door three times before I go out. I put food and water in every room in case the door closes, and he’s peckish for 20 minutes. Ricky Gervais
Modern ‘Natural’ Contraception Alternatives
Unless the world and his wife become celibate, most countries en-masse use some form of contraception. The issue with overpopulation is not so much how many children a family has, but how each child consumes. One family in a simple family on a Pacific island, is likely consuming less resources, than the average UK or American teenager.
Years ago, the two choices were having lots of children or abstinence. But today the conctraception industry is a multi-billion dollar business, designed to create immense havoc to our wildlife and oceans (some fish have changed sex, when hormone-rich contraceptive pills have been flushed down loos).
What you believe or do is up to you, but here are some helpful pointers, so alongside your doctor or church, you can make decisions that resonate best for you, and help the planet too.
It’s not just the Roman Catholic church that is against contraception, other faiths are too. Some people are critical of this, but you’re not going to change people’s religious beliefs, so it’s a waste of time.
There are natural birth control methods that don’t intefere with people’s faiths. And for people who use contraceptive methods, there are methods that are safer and better for our planet.
A caveat. Nothing is 100% safe. The real answer (also an alternative to abortion) is to create societies where teenagers are not obsessed or pressured into sex, and end up giving birth at 16, feeling that’s all there is to do in life).
A bit of compassion is needed. One valid criticism of American evangelists who bomb abortion clinics is that many vote for governments that don’t care about dropping bombs on pregnant women in middle eastern countries. Why don’t media pundits call this out?
Did you know that in ancient Rome and Greece, the juice from the Silphium plant was so popular to prevent pregnancy that the birth rate remained low, but the plant went extinct?
Know also that many foods are banned in pregnancy. Other foods should be avoided (high doses of ginger and many other foods) as they contract the uterus and cause early labour/contractions. And anything unpasteurised (juice, blue cheese and miso).
CycleBeads (beads or an app)
CycleBeads were created by reproductive researchers at Georgetown University in Washington, USA. Available in simple beads (used in Africa to prevent unwanted pregnancy) or in an app version, these again tell you the days you are most likely to get pregnant, so you can abstain or use alternative contraceptive methods.
Abstinence!
This is oft-forgotten in our sex-obsessed society. The USA’s Silver Ring Thing program has teens wearing a ring, showing that they are more interested in having fun and studying than sleeping around, until they find true love. It may sound puritanical, but surely there is more wisdom in this philosophy than modern media?
Natural Family Planning Charts
Natural family planning can be up to 99% effective, if done well. But get training from an expert, not from a book!
Basal Temperature Apps
Natural Cycles (where you measure basal temperature each morning) was created by a couple of Swedish boffins. It’s an app that ‘learns your cycle’ then gives you ‘green days and red days’.
Some criticised this app, saying it did not work because a few people got pregnant. But after a legal case, it was found that the ‘window’ of error was correct. Which suggested that some were simply not following the instructions, or not reading that there was a window of error.
Lady-Comp is a German-invented fertility tracker, which again you use to measure basal temperature in mornings. After ‘learning’, it tells you when your fertile days are. It may not work for some hormone-related medical conditions. A similar app is Daysy.
Eco-Friendly Condoms
Condoms are often used these days, but never flush them down the loo, as they are a common form of beach litter and blocked drains (leading to garden floods). Better brands (vegan and Fair Trade) are Hanx, Flo and Fair Squared.
A Hormone-Free Cervical Cap
FemCap is a reusable hormone-free alternative to the cervical cap. This has FDA approval and is available on prescription, with around 92% effectiveness.
If you need lubricants, YES! offers an organic brand free from usual nasties. Sorry if this is a bit rude, but it’s important to list the ethical alternative, to save marine creatures – yes!
Good Books to Teach the Youngsters!
Talking With Your Teen About Sex and Start Talking To Your Kids About Sex are books written for Catholic parents to combine education with morality and faith. Organised in a question-and-answer format,
We Need to Talk is an empowering book for girls and teens, for them to get to know their body. This is not some narcissistic book by a celebrity influencer, instead by a qualified doctor from Chicago, without media or religion (it covers same-sex relationships).
