If you think we can feed 10 billion people sustainably in 2050, why don’t we live sustainably now? Why don’t you?

February 25, 2022 by Joshua
in Nature

The internet is filled with people projecting how we can feed 10 billion people in 2050. Here are a bunch, the result of searching on “how we will feed 10 billion people.”

I ask rhetorically, “If you think we can feed 10 billion people sustainably,” why don’t we live sustainably now? More to the point: why aren’t you living sustainably now? Why are nearly no humans anywhere on Earth living sustainably?

The answer is we can’t live sustainably with 7.9 billion, let alone 10 billion. You can only reach their fanciful results with untenable, unrealistic assumptions, ignoring other problems that overpopulation is already exacerbating and that will increase, like biodiversity loss and desertification.

If you believe I’m wrong, prove me wrong by living sustainably yourself for a year. Even for a month. For a week. Could you live sustainably for one day? If so, I’d love to hear about it. I would bet not one thousand, maybe not even one hundred Americans live sustainably. Please show me I’m wrong.

Moreover I bet Americans are polluting more per person than ever.

overpopulation

We can live more sustainably

I’m not trying to bring you down. I’m trying to get people off fantasies that promote accelerating the problem.

Having reduced my footprint over ninety percent in under three years, I know we can pollute far less. I’m trying to lead a cultural change. I just see nearly nobody moving in that direction. Do you know of anyone living sustainably?

Bigger than me, several nations have deliberately planned and acted to improve their health, longevity, abundance, freedom, equality, and stability by reducing their overpopulation, as I’ve written about. They are role models. In the meantime, we’re stubbornly sticking with ignorance.

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