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TechnoratiAl Gore, speaking to an audience of environmentalists recently, said "The world's population explosion, which by 2050 will reach 9.1 billion, has increased the demand for energy, water and food and has contributed to the problem of global warming." This is a centuries-old argument with dubious origins that culminated in the largely accepted myth of "population explosion" made popular in the 1960s.
The publication of a little pamphlet entitled The Population Bomb by Hugh Moore, founder of the Dixie Cup Company, galvanized this idea and what began as mere speculation became the generally accepted consensus. Moore was no scientist or researcher-he had no facts or data, he simply read a book that moved him to action. That book was The Road to Survival by William Vogt, the national director of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Naturally, Planned Parenthood has a stake in promoting the "population problem," which is the marketing of abortion, but that's another story. In Road to Survival Moore read how population growth was "the basic cause of future wars" and "the spread of tyranny and communism." This then became Moore's lifetime work and passion.
Moore believed that people needed to be scared, really scared, in order to become aware of the "disaster" that loomed before them. And what better way to scare them than with an image of a bomb, and talk of an explosion. These are the same alarmist tactics being employed by those harkening an imminent "planetary emergency," to use Al Gore's words.
What Al Gore neglects to say is that the 2050 global population estimate represents the peak at which point world population will begin to decline sharply. United Nations figures now show that the 79 countries that comprise 40% of the world's population now have fertility rates too low to prevent population decline.
Michael Fumento, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C writes, "The populations of several Soviet-bloc nations already are falling because of declining birth rates and emigration. Japan's population peaked in 2006 and is expected to drop by 14% (almost 20 million people) by 2050. Germany expects a similar decline, while Italy and Hungary may lose 25% of their populations and Russia a third. These nations already are becoming giant 'leisure worlds,' with Depends outselling Pampers."
In the next installment, I will show that while world population has certainly increased this has not impacted natural resources in the way suggested by Al Gore and others. The fact is technological developments have resulted in tremendous improvements related to food production and resource conservation.
In conclusion, a recent Google search revealed more than 79 million results in response to the term "global warming" while "Christianity" produced only 39 million. Clearly this is an important issue dealing with real life and the real concerns of people. The biblical life and worldview offers an intelligent and balanced approach to the subject and should be understood by professing Christians. This installment is the beginning in a series that I hope offers a helpful response to this complex and important issue, again, all for the sake of demonstrating the truth and relevance of Christ and His kingdom to all of His creation.
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S. Michael Craven is the Founding Director of the Center for Christ & Culture, a ministry of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families. The Center for Christ & Culture is dedicated to the reformation and renewal of society through the reformation and renewal of the Church. For more information on the Center for Christ & Culture, additional resources, and other works by S. Michael Craven visit: www.battlefortruth.org
