The world is growing; what will we do?

Which is the greater problem; population growth or consumption? I believe the more realistic question is which can problem can be addressed. According to index mundi (http://www.indexmundi.com/world/population_growth_rate.html) our population is growing at a rate as of 2009 is approximately 1.133% and other resources indicate it is reaching 2.0% percent in 2011. All Business (http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-louisiana/1140892-1.html) indicates that the US is growing at a rate of approximately 1.8% while countries such as China are growing at a rate of almost 8%. According to Sustainability lectures provided by Dr. Ling it is estimated that the world population by 2100 will reach 14 billion. That doesn’t sound probable; “something’s gotta give” if you ask me. Population growth directly reflects current population size, education, and cultural within a country. This is evident with individual country growth statistics. Cultural norm within the US and North America shows the standard family model; two parents with two children. With educational opportunities, and increasing prices, families are most comfortable supporting this size. Education in the form of contraception also plays a large role in population growth. Under developing countries growing at high rates are usually less educated on contraception, and/or religious views inhibit the use.  We can all agree that the world cannot sustain 14 billion people, also keep in mind those populations that will be displaced in coming years due to climate change. But how can we limit the population? How can we address over population in all developing countries? We cannot. Who is responsible for limiting the number of children per family, and who is responsible for reinforcing it. So what can we do?

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What we can do is focus on preserving resources, and reducing consumption. We can kill two birds with one stone by addressing over consumption. Over consumption is beginning to be addressed through acts of sustainable development. Slowly, North American individuals and companies are turning their focus from over production and consumption, to reductions and sustainable actions. Not only will a focus on reducing consumption through sustainable development create a greater culture within North America, but it will address the issues of population growth. By reducing our consumption we can focus on conserving resources that this growing population will need to survive.



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We can all agree that the world we live in today will be much different than the world we will see in 50 years. It is actually scary to think about having children, what world will they be presented with? All we can do is our individual part. We can change our everyday actions to mimic the future we wish to see, a future we will be comfortable growing a family in. This starts with sustainable conscience, and conducting ourselves in an environmentally conscious way.