Why None of These People Will Ever Talk to You About Overpopulation and Overshoot

For a species that can calculate derivatives, project ballistic trajectories, and estimate sales volumes, it is astounding that humans stubbornly refuse to even acknowledge the negative effects of what is by far their most destructive, as well as most obvious, impact on the planet: overpopulation.

You won’t hear the Roger Hallams, the George Monbiots, Greenpeaces and Extinction Rebellions talk passionately about overpopulation because they have all censored themselves (I can name more names, I don’t care, there’s more where that came from).  Especially for Monbiot, the usual argument is that the problem is not all humans, but only the rich humans.  As a biologist I can tell you this argument is invalid, because rich and poor humans are identical biologically, therefore they have the same natural propensity for overconsumption, destruction and waste, given the chance.  Aside from that, “poor” humans are equally wasteful to rich humans, when you consider their huge number compared to the rich.  The contribution of poor people to the climate crisis and ecological collapse on this planet is immense, despite the fact that on an individual basis it is negligible compared to rich people.  What matters is total impact on the planet, not per capita.  Come on Monbiot, haven’t you ever taken a basic statistics or maths class? Hmm…

Those claiming that the climate crisis is a problem of the rich 1% are forgetting that without the 99% the rich wouldn’t emit all this CO2. They would have no employees, no consumers to sell to, and they wouldn’t be rich. The climate crisis is a problem of the 100%

At the heart of the self-censorship of the overpopulation debate lies the most   delusional, unrealistic and idealistic belief: that we can make significantly better, more sustainable humans, and that this will be enough to counteract the impact of overpopulation.  This is the most hypocritical, delusional and dangerous BS the environmental movement has ever invented.  You can’t change human DNA.

Let me tell you a brief story: since our beginnings on this planet, we have been natural extroverts and overachievers who always need to have more, and build more.  This is not a nurtured trait but a genetic one which came with the factory settings of our RELD brain (Resource Exploitation Logistical Device).  We will ALWAYS be harmful to the environment, no matter what we do or how we live.  We have come to a point in this civilisation where we depend on so much tech, so much plastic, so much energy use, that it is impossible to do this all sustainably.  We need to stop fantasizing and simply accept that we will continue to be a wasteful and destructive species, however much we modify our behaviour.  This is not about self-hate, but simply about accepting who we are.  We can stop eating meat and stop flying.  It still won’t stop the ecological devastation and pollution which are the results of overpopulation and dependence on toxic materials as long as our population size continues to be what it is. A civilisation which throws out 13 million smartphones a day cannot be described as a civilisation.  It is a spreading infection on its way to becoming consumed by its own waste.

We need to have far fewer smartphones, because we will never be able to manufacture them sustainably.  We need to use less energy, because the energy transition and renewables revolution have already failed.  And for these things to happen we need to have fewer humans, because it is the only way which absolutely guarantees the reduction of our impact on the planet.

It is time the so-called “environmentalists” take their masks off.  Who are they protecting? Who are they afraid of?  Are they afraid society will dismiss them as eco-fascists?  Are they afraid people will call them hypocrites because they themselves are having children?  Are they afraid that the mainstream media who have embraced them, designated them as the official representatives of the environmental movement, will dethrone them? There is a bit of truth on all of the above, I’m afraid. And they are not my representatives. They don’t speak for me, and for a great swathe of others who care about this planet.

to be continued

George is an author, researcher, molecular biologist and food scientist.

Follow me on tsakraklides.bsky.social

Discover my Books Here

Note to my readers: I keep my site FREE because it’s not right to paywall existentially important content during an existential crisis.  But if you appreciate any of the work I’ve done over the years, please consider joining as a paid subscriber so it can continue!  I have minimal overheads, no sponsors to sell myself to, bosses who tell me what to write, or staff I have to pay.  It’s just me.  This freedom does mean though that your support is vital. Thank you so much.