Population growth is a complicated topic that has been debated and discussed for centuries by various authors including Thomas Malthus, Paul Ehrlich, and Julian Simon. In turn, the concept of population control provides an ethical and moral minefield that is difficult to navigate. As our global population continues to grow past 7 billion, a range of questions emerge with regard to food security, water scarcity, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Many important questions arise. For example; Will we continue to impact our natural environment at an alarming rate? Will we deplete the Earth of all its natural resources? Will we be able to sustain an increasing population in the face of salient environmental issues? Will our profligacy get the better of us? It seems only time will tell. However, perhaps the most important point that must be highlighted within the wider debate of population growth is the concept of resource allocation. If there is one thing we do know - it is that our Earth's natural resources are not shared equally. In essence, inefficient resource allocation has helped to generate a range of negative externalities that are likely to intensify over time without changes in socio-economic behaviour.
"The number of people does matter, of course. But how people consume resources matters a lot more. Some of us leave much bigger footprints than others. The central challenge for the future of people and the planet is how to raise more of us out of poverty while reducing the impact each of us has on the planet" [Kunzig, 2011]
Ultimately, we must consider what our primary question should be in the context of population growth and environmental sustainability; 'can the Earth sustain our increasing population' or 'can we as a collective society sustain our own condition'?
