…before we dare look at this problem which is, if not the source, a large contributing factor to food shortage, deforestation, massive species extinction, pollution, carbon emissions etc….

Doctors’ advice to Britons: have fewer children and help save the planet | World news | The Guardian
British couples should consider having no more than two children to help reduce the environmental impact of the rising global population, doctors have said.

An editorial in the British Medical Journal today calls on GPs to encourage the view that bigger families are as environmentally dubious as owning a patio heater or driving a gas-guzzler.

Here is a worldclock that shows the constant growth of population:
worldclock

Here is what I imagine is a typical reply – don’t tell ME what to do.

Nicholas Lezard: Why are doctors urging Britons to stick to two children? – guardian.co.uk
God, am I tired of doctors telling us what to do. First they tell us not to smoke. Then they tell us not to drink a bottle of wine a night. And now they’re telling us how many times men can impregnate their partners. The phrase “rank impertinence” springs to mind.

Well, it took a while, but eventually we ALL understood that smoking IS indeed bad for you.

And here is a comment found below the above article:

Doesn’t take a genius to work out that over-population is a critical issue. The world’s population is due to be 10 billion by 2050 because we keep over-reproducing.

All the proposed action on carbon emissions, biofuels, food shortages, deforestation, population migration blah, blah, blah is totally irrelevant if we keep doubling the worlds population every few years. Not sustainable. All the facetious wittering about kiddies bickering better in large groups won’t change that.

The environmental elephant in the room is over-population. Patronising people who point this out isn’t going to help.

What do I think? I think that time is the most precious gift, because time is the greatest teacher. Given time we all come to a greater understanding eventually. I think over-population takes away time from future generations – because it causes deforestation, lack of drinking water, lack of food, and eliminates so many species (more than 50,000 species become extinct PER YEAR due to human interference)…

Time is the most precious gift.

And I am glad the discussion has started.