Do reasonable, compassionate and responsible human beings have a “duty to warn” of looming threats to future human well being and environmental health, and then to sensibly help one another respond ably to the challenges? Or are we to pose as if we are blind, deaf and dumb to the human-driven global predicament looming before all of us and thereby let the least fortunate, most poorly situated and simply unaware among us suffer the consequences?

What we know thanks to well-established scientific knowledge about evolutionary biology, humankind and the finite physical world we inhabit would lead sensible people to conclude that there is precious little that can be done to change the unsustainable ‘trajectory’ of human civilization. So powerful is the force of evolution that we will “do what comes naturally” by continuing to overpopulate the planet and await the next phase of the evolutionary process. So colossal, reckless and relentless, too, is the unbridled expansion of the global political economy now overspreading the surface of Earth and polluting its frangible environment. Even so, hope still resides within that somehow humankind will make use of its singular intelligence and other unique attributes so as to escape the fate that appears ‘as if through a glass darkly’ in the offing, the seemingly certain fate evolution appears to have in store for us. In the face of all that we can see now and here, I continue to believe and to hope that we find adequate ways of consciously, deliberately and effectively doing the right things, according the lights and knowledge we possess, the things which serve to confront and overcome the ‘evolutionary trend’ which seems so irresistible.

Somehow we have to grasp much more adequately the sum and substance of our distinctly human nature, with special attention given to improving our ‘reality orientation’ with regard to such vital issues as human population dynamics. Although relatively small in number, evolutionary biologists and scientists in other fields of research understand what the best available science indicates to us about the skyrocketing growth of absolute global human population numbers in our time. Research of outstanding scientists indicate that the population dynamics of the human species is essentially similar to, not different from, the population dynamics of other species. We have uncontested, apparently unforeseen and unfortunately unwelcome scientific evidence regarding the ‘placement’ of the human species within the order of living things that is everywhere denied; whereas, preternatural theories (eg, Demographic Transition Theory), political ideologies (eg, Conservatism and Liberalism) and economic theologies (eg, neoclassical economics) are deceitfully and ubiquitously presented as supported by the best available science. To elect to extol the virtue of ideas that have been refuted by scientific research cannot be construed as the right thing to do. Even though ‘political correctness’ is predominant and accepted everywhere as what is real and 'all that really matters', when theory, ideology and theology are directly contradicted by cutting-edge scientific knowledge, then that science must be widely shared and consensually validated. Scientific knowledge must come to prevail over spurious theory, self-serving ideology and specious theology.

There are several things we can at least begin to think about: learn how to live without fossil fuels; adapt to the end of economic growth; substitute a steady-state economy for the endless growth economy we have now; stabilize human population numbers worldwide; and deal with the relentless dissipation of Earth's limited resources, the reckless degradation of its environs, the wanton extirpation of its biodiversity as well as confront other human-induced threats to our planetary home as a fit place for human habitation. In any event, I trust most of us can agree that stealing the birthright of children everywhere, mortgaging their future, and exposing them and life as we know it to foreseeable danger cannot somehow be construed as the right things to be doing. We have to think clearly and as keep our wits about us as we move courageously away from outrageous overconsumption, unconscionable hoarding and big-business-as-usual activities to a way of life that embraces true sustainability. Perhaps necessary and positive changes toward more sustainable lifestyles and right-sized corporate enterprises are in the offing.

With or without the narrow subject of immigration, the colossal global challenge to humanity that is posed by the current size and anticipated increase of the human population on the surface of Earth has got to be acknowledged, addressed and overcome. Billions more people in our finite and frangible planetary home will inevitably become unsustainable in the not too distant future..... and likely sooner rather than later. If the children and coming generations are to have a mere chance for a good life in a place fit for human habitation, then their elders need to do things differently from the way we are doing things now. To think that we can keep up the present rate of per-capita overconsumption, rampant overproduction and unbridled overpopulation with the expectation what is happening now will not keep on happening is one definition of insanity. Unsustainable living now leads to an unsustainable future. If we want to 'change course' toward a sustainable future , then we must not continue overconsuming, overproducing and overpopulating in our planetary home.

On our watch, the human family appears to be unknowingly precipitating a planetary emergency with potentially profound implications for the future of life as we know it on Earth. If a human-driven global emergency is in fact looming before humankind, then it is incumbent upon those leaders in my generation of elders to take the measure of the admittedly huge, complicated and interlocking global ecological challenges that are so distinctly human-forced, so forbiddingly emergent and so rapidly convergent in our time. The extent to which the global predicament already visible on the horizon is derived directly from unbridled overconsumption, overproduction and overpopulation activities of the human species, there can be no doubt that human beings can make such changes in our behavioral repertoire as can humanely alter this dangerous 'trajectory' of our presently and soon to become patently unsustainable activities. That is to say, global threats to future human well being and environmental health that are currently induced by humankind can certainly be recognized, confronted and eventually overcome by the family of humanity. But such necessary change cannot occur, I suppose, without making such behavior changes as are needed to move the human community away from growing an "economic colossus" (ie, global political economy), based on the rampaging increase of unbridled human overconsumption, overproduction and overpopulation activities, toward adopting sustainable individual lifestyles and right-sizing "too big to fail/too big to succeed" corporate enterprises.

Please imagine our human-forced global predicament as a rope made from three strands: human consumption, production and population. Because overpopulation, overproduction and overconsumption activities by the human species are occurring synergistically and on such a gigantic and unsustainable scale, taking hold of one of the strands will not change the course of events. All three strands will have to be simultaneously grasped carefully, skillfully and humanely somehow. What appears before us is a super ordinate challenge.

Much more intellectual honesty, moral courage and humanistic action is needed. For the first time in history, last Fall 7 billion overconsumers, overproducers and overpopulaters were living on a planet where limited resources can be seen dissipating and environs can be seen degrading rapidly. As we observe absolute global human population numbers continue to soar exponentially, despite reduced fertiliy rates in many places, we also recognize that never in the course of human events have so few taken so much from so many and determined to leave so little for others.

A planet with the size, composition and environs of Earth may not be able to sustain much longer the economic and population growth that is occurring on our watch. Perhaps necessary changes away from unsustainable, distinctly human overgrowth activities and toward a sustainable way of living in the world.

Think globally while there is still time and act locally before it is too late for human action to make any difference in the clear and presently dangerous course of unfolding human-induced ecological events occurring in our planetary home. There is no more time to waste and much to do fast.

Thank you.

Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population, established 2001
Chapel Hill, NC

I hear Grey squirrels do not like the red squirrels from taking over their land.

And they have not been allowed a vote on it.

and if they suggest any comment against mass immigration without controls are deemed racist - even if they have not mention either red or grey.

Seems the people that u e the race word when there was not one prior are racist themselves as are using race as a lever to stop democracy.

I just knew there was no chance of a reasoned debate about this subject. Sarah Mulley tries very hard to imply that those who have brought the debate to Westminister are a bunch of racists without the guts to say so directly.

then the usual racists that inhabit these pages in the form of Tory Troll, Pavlova and of course the biggest bigot of them all Robert Taggart and truly drag it into the gutter.

The debate both here and in Westminister should be about the fact that we are the most densely populated country in Europe, with no capacity to cope with our current population, no housing being built, and the worse possible collection of MPs from the three main parties I have ever seen with no ideal how to sort it. Give Branson a call and ask him nicely to sort it for them!

Yeah, lets ignore the facts and talk about somthing else , that will work - DOH, typical lefty crap.

For quite literally as far back as I can remember, the British left has simply sought to close down any debate on immigration and its downside by simply ignoring any of its huge downside, trying to change the subject, putting their fingers in their ears and saying "Im not listening, I'm not listening" and screaming "waaaaycist" at anyone who points out that mass non European immigration has basically been a very bad thing.

All of the social problems facing London and the south east: the phenomonal crime rates in the inner city, the virtual collapse of the state educational system in the inner boroughs, the white flight to the burbs and satellite towns, the environmental degraedation, the population pressure on the green belt - all of these problems are being driven or massively exacerbated by mass immigration.. My home town is now a third world pesthole.

We are taking over and there is nothing you can or will do about it. Inshallah.

40% of under fives in Manchester are non UK born!

Population growth and immigration are inextricably linked, poorly educated immigrants from S.E. Asia, one of our key immigrant populations, have a much higher birthrate than others. All classes of Asians prefer to marry other Asians and I know of numerous well integrated and professional people who returned home to find a spouse, it's the norm. I know of several others who have parents staying with them on long stay holidays that seem to go on for half a year or more. Until recently they sponsored extended family to move here. I also see them supporting a lively illegal immigration black market with fairly bogus student sandwich courses and employing cash inhand labourers earning under minimum wage who speak no English. They see it as helping friends, family and others Asians out. For every valid immigrant, there are a lot of peripheral people that are added to the population.