Pablo L. Peña's view on Population and Wealth

 Population and Wealth

Pablo L. Peña

Warner Pacific University

ENV-100A-TF4

October 18, 2022

Population and Wealth

For this week’s paper, we’re talking about population and its relation to wealth. There

are a few things we know to be true surrounding our current environmental crisis, 1) that

the formula for human impact on the environment can be summed using this formula: Impact =

Population x Affluence x Technology, 2) that there are so many people on the planet that we’re

dealing with the issue of the population within the law of large numbers (that is, that small rates of

growth still equal huge growth outputs due to the enormity of the starting balance), and 3) that as

affluence grows birth rates drop but individual impacts increase. Any viable solution to the

problems presented to address our environmental issues must at least tangentially address

population. However, it’s not necessary to talk directly about the population when talking about

environmental solutions.

As environmental writer David Roberts points out:

“When political movements or leaders adopt population control as a central

concern ... let’s just say it never goes well. In practice, where you find concern over

“population,” you very often find racism, xenophobia, or eugenics lurking in the wings.

It’s almost always, ahem, particular populations that need reducing.”

He recounts an anecdote from the Sierra Club where a group of members, funded by

outside donors, tried to take over the national organization. Their principal policy issue involved

supporting closed border policies because allowing immigration from poorer countries would

raise their standard of living and by extension increase their environmental impact. There are

moral and ethical issues with that viewpoint though, not the least of which is the fact that the

conditions on which many immigrants are fleeing to the United States over are issues the US

helped create in the first place. It also ignores the suffering that we’d essentially be condemning

these human beings to by simply turning them away simply so we can continue to live lives that

are opulent and unsustainable without regard of the externalized costs we’re asking others to

bear.

In the end, it is a moral and ethical imperative that we take care of our fellow brethren in

need. Money is a useful tool for organizing labor and resources in a society, but economics is a

made-up human concept, not an inherent quality of life on planet Earth. Good economics and

large bank balance sheets mean very little if there’s no clean air to breathe or water to drink. If

our land is too dead to sustain the life that feeds us. Part of any solution that ensures the

sustainability of our environment has to address the impact our large population has on the

planet, but it also must not explicitly choose winners and losers based on arbitrary factors like

socioeconomics or the geographical happenstance of one’s birth. Those are follies of eugenics.

It seems that ultimately those conversations are unnecessary. It is possible to address the

issue of the population without necessarily needing to ever talk about it. Focusing on issues of

education, especially for girls, is an example of an area where we can directly address the issue,

not mention a word of population control, and lead with equity and justice in the forefront.

Simply giving girls and women education, social and economic agency, and opportunities

naturally, lead to family planning and fewer generation-over-generation births. And the best part

is the solution leads from a position that aligns not only with the goal of addressing the issue, but

also lifts all boats rather than condemns those less fortunate than us to suffer for our privilege.

References

Cunningham, W; Cunningham, M. (2020) Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry &

Application. (Ninth Edition) McGraw Hill Education

Roberts, D. (2018, November 29). I’m an environmental journalist, but I never write about

overpopulation. Here’s why. Vox. https://www.vox.com/energy-andenvironment/

2017/9/26/16356524/the-population-question

How to be an advocate for Climate justice

 We frequently hear that we can't do anything about climate change, that everything we can do is just for self-justification, a feel-good action that is completely irrelevant. Some say that recycling, carpooling, and other individual actions will never stop the severe degradation that humans have caused to the environment. All this is nonsense!

As the whole universe is made of individual atoms, atoms that come together in the form of molecules, molecules that join into substances, substances, that can make organs, and organs become organisms, the key is organization. The vast ocean is made of individual molecules, mostly H2O -water, and is a powerful source of energy and life.

 

Picture from Photos for Class (Creative Commons)

In the same way, we as individuals of this vast human race can organize in powerful forces of change and sources of new ideas and ideals.  Which is the reason for advocacy, over the centuries many have advocated for change in the search for a more just society. Advocates for women's rights, civil rights (including, of course, the end of slavery), nuclear disarmament, the list is huge and has made our world a better place. Now environmental activists are doing the same. We have recognized names like Bill McKibben creator of 350.org who has written extensively about the danger of increased anthropogenic CO2. There are many more authors, teachers, and researchers, some better know than others, but there are many more individuals working at their local level that are not fully recognized at least by the greater society. They are not seeking stardom in our society but only want to do their part. These are the heroes that we need to know about. 

Many religious organizations and individual churches are now getting on board. Some like the Evangelical Environmental Network have a long history as it was created more than 20 years ago. About one hundred organizations came together to form this coalition among them was Warner Pacific University, Jay Barber then president of Warner Pacific is one of the original signatories. At that time President Barber asked me to be the liaison to EEN and so I have been doing it for all these years. To know more about EEN click this link.

The Religious Society of Friends known as Quakers has a long history of advocacy, being one of the first religious organizations to advocate for the ending of slavery in the USA. Now they are an important part of the environmental justice movement. Stewardship has many aspects and one of them, which is critically important, is advocacy. This can be done in many ways, from writing letters to government officers and representatives, to active marching and sittings in government offices and corporations.

What do you think you can do? Or willing to do? Can you give economic support?

The first step is to be informed, and there are many ways to get information. You are taking the first step by reading this post. Get together with other like-minded friends, colleagues, and relatives and start talking about options.

Please write in the comments if you need more information.