Oh, No! Has the united nations population fund gone "woke"?
It seems numbers don't matter as long as we keep our "xenophobia and hatred of the other" in check.
What's gotten into the
united
nations
population
fund? It used to worry about population growth. Now, as we officially reach 8 billion on November 15, its executive director, Dr. Natalia Kanem,
warns us against "population alarmism."
"Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated, with far too many people and insufficient resources to sustain their lives." You don't say, Dr. Kanem! The
united
nations
population
fund (
unfpa) used to be among those warning us about exactly that. But now, Dr. Kanem says, "I am here to say clearly that the sheer number of humans is not a cause for fear."
That must be a huge relief to the over 800 million people who another branch of the
un, its
world
food
programme, warns us face "
a year of unprecedented hunger." But instead of focusing on mundane matters such as where their next meal is coming from, perhaps these hungry people should "
look beyond the numbers" at the opportunities that a world of 8 billion presents. Indeed – just imagine all the great things that young people can do in their quest to find "transformative pathways" toward "greater equity and solidarity" as they compete with billions of others for food, employment and resources. It seems that the
unfpa has come to believe that if we just use the proper social justice jargon, a "just, prosperous, and sustainable world for all" is within our grasp.
A sober look at empirical realities, however, does little to alleviate the worries that the
unfpa tells us we shouldn't have. Realities such as continuingly rapid population growth, deforestation,
massive loss of biodiversity, depletion of aquifers, diversion, overuse and pollution of rivers, and erosion of soil and desertification, among other environmental catastrophes. Not to mention the untold human suffering caused by hunger, inadequate shelter, inadequate hygiene and medical care, unemployment or marginal employment, displacement, conflict and war.
Chances are that
baby 8
billion will be born in a poor developing country, because that is where most births occur. There is a close correlation between rapid population growth and poverty. The arrival of
baby 8
billion won't change that.
The overall global total fertility rate (
tfr) is 2.4 children per woman. In the more developed regions, it is 1.6, in the less developed regions it is 2.5, while in the least developed (i.e., poorest) countries it is 3.8. These data are from the
unfpa's own
state of world population (sowp) 2022 (table of
demographic
indicators, starting on p. 132.)
Countries with high total fertility rates are having trouble pulling themselves out of poverty. Much of
africa remains impoverished. Its current population of 1.3 billion is
projected to reach over 2 billion by 2050 and 4 billion by 2100. Unemployment levels are high and food insecurity is rising. The boatloads of
african migrants desperately trying to reach
european shores reflects the hopelessness of many about making a living at home and belies the
unfpa's blithe pronouncements of opportunity for 8 billion in a world of social justice solidarity.
[N.S.: They not "desperate," they're ruthless.] The
unfpa would do better to remind us just how much population growth has contributed and continues to contribute to our current crises of environmental decline and increasing hunger. For example, regarding the ongoing food insecurity in the
horn of
africa, it could remind us that between 1970 and 2020,
the populations of
ethiopia,
somalia, and
kenya increased 4.05-, 4.61-, and 4.76-fold, respectively. It could point out that not only are such large increases in population the primary driver of food insecurity but also of environmental degradation in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, and water depletion.
The denial and inaction by our political and religious leaders and by global organizations such as the
unfpa are bringing us closer to a Malthusian future. Malthus' very basic message was that poverty and hunger are destined to remain part of the human condition, because whenever humans manage to increase their food supply, they increase the population. So the gains of increased food production are eaten up by population growth.
Malthus postulated that "this constantly subsisting cause of periodic misery" would "forever continue to exist, unless some decided change takes place in the physical constitution of our nature."
Unfortunately, time has proven Malthus correct in his gloomy prognosis. When he published the first edition of "An Essay on the Principle of Population" in 1798, the world population was about 800 million. Now, as we approach 8 billion, the
number of hungry people is over 800 million, despite the spectacular increase we have achieved in food production.
The meteoric rise of the human population in the 20
th century and beyond got its first boost through the
Haber-Bosch process of synthesizing nitrogen fertilizer, and the second, even more spectacular one, through the "
green revolution" which massively increased crop yields.
Norman Borlaug, the "father" of the green revolution, is credited with having averted a famine in
india. But few seem to realize that Borlaug was very concerned that an increased food supply might, as Malthus predicted, simply lead to more population growth. In his
acceptance speech for the Nobel
peace
prize in 1970, he said, "There can be no permanent progress in the battle against hunger until the agencies that fight for increased food production and those that fight for population control unite in a common effort." Alas, as Borlaug feared, increased food production led to population growth.
india's population, under 560 million in 1970, is now at 1.4 billion. During the same period, the world population more than doubled from 3.7 billion to 8 billion.
Norman Borlaug would not be celebrating the fact that we are turning the
earth into a feedlot for humanity and a concrete jungle. In his
Nobel lecture, he praised Malthus for raising the alarm about food, while noting that Malthus could not "have foreseen the disturbing and destructive physical and mental consequences of the grotesque concentration of human beings into the poisoned and clangorous environment of pathologically hypertrophied megalopoles." And it is into just such a world that
baby 8
billion will be born: grotesque concentrations of slums and metastasizing megacities.
There is some good news. In addition to progress in food production, there has been progress in family planning methods. We can choose to have small families. Although some future growth is inevitable due to the "demographic momentum" of a large number of young people, we could reach a sustainable, much smaller population within several generations if small families were to become the universal norm. A planet with ever fewer humans but more humanity is a goal we can and must work toward.
It is nothing short of shameful for the
unfpa to disparage concerns about overpopulation as "
population alarmism" and to insinuate that such concerns are inextricably linked to the implementation of abusive and coercive population control policies. How is it that the many
success stories of governments that recognized population growth as a problem and implemented ethical, effective and non-coercive programs escaped the
unfpa's notice?
The arrival of the eight billionth human on
earth could have served as a teachable moment for the
united
nations
population
fund to make our leaders and the people of the world understand the threat that human overpopulation presents to ourselves and all life on
earth. But instead of giving humanity a wake-up call, the
unfpa chose to appease the 'woke.' However,
mother
nature doesn't care how woke we are. Our current trajectory of "overshoot" is likely to condemn billions to a life of misery, deprivation, and in many cases violence, while destroying the ecosystems we all depend on.
Welcome Baby 8 Billion – and Good Luck, You'll Need It!
2 comments:
jerry pdx
Liberals and Woke will argue that 1st world countries are the ones really responsible for pollution, global warming etc... because they use more resources than 3rd world people. That's true, but even if the average US citizen uses 5 times the average Indian and Chinese, they're still using more resources and polluting more because they have 7 times the population.
They also claim that fertility is decreasing and population growth is expected to start declining after it reaches a 8 billion. There appears to be contradictory information out about that so it's hard to say what's really true. However, when you consider that population growth is part of the globalist agenda, I would take the decline theory with a big grain of salt. They may well be trying to convince people that that this growth is temporary and will be reversed. As long as they believe in the economic formula: Population growth = economic growth, the push to replace low birth rate Whites with high birth rate non Whites will continue.
" the number of hungry people is over 800 million, despite the spectacular increase we have achieved in food production."
Plenty of food but getting the food to those that need a big problem. Despotic governments use too as a weapon against those they don't like.
Green revolution [miracle rice and wheat] too needs lots of fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide. Green movement does not like that.
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