A Deep Transformation Network live monthly meeting with Jeremy Lent and Nandita Bajaj, ED of Population Balance.

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Population Balance: https://www.populationbalance.org/

Discussions about human population are often fraught with difficulty. Ever since Paul Ehrlich brought the issue to public attention in the 1970s with his bestseller The Population Bomb, the topic has frequently generated more heat than light, with vehement disagreements even within progressive circles.

With a bleak history of coercive national policies and frequent racist undertones to discussions about rising human population, many progressives prefer to avoid the topic altogether. There are powerful arguments behind this, especially the fact that the minority wealthy countries of the Global North are responsible for the vast majority of ecological and climate disruption, suggesting that it's misguided—and even perhaps disingenuous—to focus attention on those countries in the Global South where population is still growing.

However, the fact remains that the presence of 8 billion humans on Earth—likely rising to about 10 billion before the end of the century—is a major factor in the ecological devastation occurring across the world. And one of the most important findings from those who study this issue is that the education of girls, along with the social, economic, and political empowerment of women across the Global South is not only an intrinsically beneficial policy, but is also the most significant driver of reduction in rates of childbirth. When women are given the choice, the vast majority of them choose smaller families.

So how should we think—and talk—about population? Is it a problem that could "solve itself" if other enlightened policies are initiated? Or is it something that should be close to the top of the pressing issues contributing to the existential metacrisis facing our civilization?