According to current estimates, in 1800 the population of the planet was only 952 million people. A hundred years later, this number reached 1.6 billion people. 1950 was already showing 2.5 billion and in 2000 we reached 6 billion. In 2022, it was officially announced that there are currently more than 8 billion people walking on Earth.

what’s next

According to the scientist, whose research suggests that this may happen before the end of the century, it is very difficult for our ecosphere to withstand such sharp growth and therefore poses the threat of a “demographic correction.” Population ecologist William Rees of the University of British Columbia in Canada argues that we are using Earth’s resources at an unsustainable rate and that our natural tendencies as humans make it difficult for us to fix this “ecological mess.”

The result may be some kind of civilization collapse that “fixes” the planet’s population. Only the richest and most stable societies will stay that way.

Homo sapiens evolved to multiply exponentially, expand geographically, and consume all available resources. For most of human evolutionary history, such expansionist tendencies met with negative feedback. However, the scientific revolution and the use of fossil fuels have allowed us to realize our full potential for exponential growth by reducing many forms of negative feedback.
– writes Rees in his published article.

The scientist notes that our dominance of the planet makes us forget that we are still under the influence of natural selection. Moreover, our natural tendency to think short-term, which has served us so well in our evolutionary past, continues to cause us to take as much as we can when possible. This has led to overconsumption and environmental pollution, for which part of the current population of the planet is responsible.and will grow with financial security and population growth. Climate change illustrates the tension the planet is already feeling, but this is only a small part of the overall problem of overstress.

While we continue to use large amounts of fossil fuels, we also ignore other signs of overcrowding. From biomass depletion to the disruption of planetary nutrient cycles, all these interrelated issues are leading us to the sixth mass extinction of species on Earth and the chaotic destruction of the planet’s essential life support systems.

The solutions offered by humanity, such as the transition to renewable energy sources, do not actually eliminate the problem of exponentially increasing population, on the contrary, they contribute more to the overconsumption that accompanies it. The real question is whether advances in technology, from tackling climate change to increased food production, can keep up with the increasing demands our consumption places on the planet.

If innovation fails to find a solution, food shortages, habitat instability, war and disease could begin to impact population size, according to the study.

While none of the main symptoms of overcrowding can be adequately addressed in isolation from the others, addressing overcrowding directly will reduce all major symptoms at once.
– Rhys is confident.

The article’s author says we need to be much more aware of the dangers we face and develop ways to strike a better balance between our relationship with the planet and what we give and receive.