A Child’s Perspective

To the best of my recollection, I was probably in sixth or seventh grade (I was kind of a nerdy, smarty pants kid) when I first saw graphs and charts of population growth. I was deeply shocked just looking at the numbers and seeing the charts that clearly showed the explosion of growth in our very recent history. Mind you, this was back in the mid to late 1950s, when many scientists believed that life on earth was still sustainable. I was truly upset and worried for our future . . . a reaction probably not unlike our present day courageous eco-activist Greta Thunberg, although, in my case it has taken sixty years to move me to visible action. At the time, I felt strongly that population growth was a problem that needed addressing immediately (how I still feel today) and was mystified that people around me did not share the same level of alarm.

Back in the 1950s, it was easier to envision solutions that could forestall disaster. The numbers were vastly smaller at that time. Even so, it did seem imperative to take action, to strategize, to acknowledge, and discuss the magnitude of the problem. I felt people needed to be alerted and so it became my personal “soap box.” What amazed me was that my concerns fell so often on deaf ears back then, and it amazes me even more so today. To the simple logic of an eleven-year-old, it seemed so obvious a problem. If a child can merely look at the numbers and immediately perceive the inherent problem, what, then, is preventing presumably intelligent adults from perceiving that same problem?

After more than sixty years since the time I first became alarmed about our numbers, I continue to see a latent resistance in many of us to see and acknowledge overpopulation as the core problem it is, thus, there is a resistance to taking actions that might help to divert the inevitable consequences of inaction. We are living in the midst of a global pandemic at this moment in time . . . one of the inevitable consequences of overpopulation! Hopefully this moment in time will be a wakeup call for humanity—a time to reset our goals and priorities, to reevaluate the direction in which we are headed. One can hope, and at the same time, do whatever one can to help energize and manifest the actions needed to restore and heal our relationship with the planet. And so, after sixty years, I am moved to write this small book to explore “what the heck is going on” when it comes to talking about population control.