We were warned some years ago not to have more than two children for this would feed the problems of world overpopulation. Since we had five more, we obviously didn't heed this advice. The warning today is louder than ever.
Several decades ago, Paul Ehrilich said, "It is already too late to avoid famines that will kill millions, possibly by 1975". Another false prophet said, "I state flatly that the hungry world will not able able to feed itself ten years from now". This was stated in 1967. Yes, the evidence for world overpopulation and its destruction of the earth, has vanished.
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Admittedly world population is constantly increasing. In the U.S. the rate is presently one more person every 16 seconds. We have 3.5 billion more people in the world than in 1950. However, this does not mean it is overcrowded. As proof, how long would you have to drive from your present location to be in wide open places? For us, it would take five minutes.
In the U.S. the population density of the state of New Jersey is indeed 1171 people/mile2, yet 7 states have less than 20 people/mile2 and the same number have fewer than a million citizens. The average population density of the entire country is only 95 people/mile2. The city in which I live can fit comfortably its 65,400 people into 30 square miles, a population density of 2160 people/mile2. The average school classroom, where children spend more time than any other place during the week, has a population density of a million people/mile2. In other words, to be crowded, you have to choose to bunch together. Overpopulation is not caused by a lack of land.
The population density of the world is presently 34 people/mile2, or a full seven and a half acres of usable land for every person on earth. The simple fact is that most of the world is empty. In fact, we could get the entire world population into West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri if everyone lived as close as they do in New York City, about 25,000 people/mile2. If you refer the less crowded suburbia density, everyone could live comfortably in the 48 contiguous states.
The starving people of Bangladesh (2750 people/mile2) or India (890 people/mile2) are often presented as evidence for overcrowding. The crowded conditions are blamed for their troubles. Yet, contrast India with the industrial giant Japan whose density is only slightly less. Instead, the reasons why starvation is rampant in areas include false religious beliefs, unwise political control, corruption, wars, and other man-made conditions, rarely overpopulation. Honestly, most lands, including India, could easily sustain its present population.
Yet the warning trumpets continue to be blasted. "We cannot long continue our present rate of progress. The first check for our growing prosperity, however, must render our population excessive". Does this sound like the result of a recent study? It was written in 1865! "Our number are burdensome to the world, which can hardly support us". That was written by Tertullian in the second century! How comical in light of the fact that India alone has sufficient rich farmland to provide food for the entire world! And food production has increased 1000% in the last 75 years. The danger of starvation is decreasing, not increasing.
What difference does it make whether or not these facts are believed or not? The principle is, if you cause a crisis, you can get just about anything you want. The doom and gloom about world overpopulation has encouraged the justification of abortion since another person will demand food, water, fuel, and the like. Children are a liability to the world and any way to get rid of them is viewed as good.
The medical field is also influenced, as expressed in a leading textbook for training Gynecologists. "In the minds of many, rapid growth of population has become second only to nuclear warfare as civilization's greatest menace. The gynecologist- obstetrician has assumed a leadership role and has recognized the necessity of controlling human fertility... Population growth is perforce temporary; that it will- indeed must- eventually cease, halted either by an increase in deaths or a decrease in births. There is no other way. Thus, people must come to want fewer children". A woman visited a doctor so trained might get what advice if he feels she has had enough children? In fact, at 800,000, hysterectomies are the second most common major surgery each year in the US, yet only 10% are due to cancer.
The heart of the problem is not overpopulation but lack of love for children. They are too often viewed as a hindrance to accomplishing our goals. However, the truth is that children are the future of any country. When properly trained, they multiply the potential of parents and benefit society in a multitude of positive ways. Children are indeed not the cause of the world's destruction, but its future hope.
The Facts on Overpopulation
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