While the global population is gradually stabilizing, it is still increasing significantly and is predicted to surpass 10 billion people before reaching its peak.
Population ecologist William Rees from the University of British Columbia in Canada has cautioned that huge mass of people could lead to an imminent “population correction.” In simpler terms, if our growth continues at its current pace, we may face an unpleasant surprise because we are placing significant pressure on the Earth’s limited resources.
According to Rees,”Humanity is exhibiting the characteristic dynamics of a one-off population boom-bust cycle. The global economy will inevitably contract and humanity will suffer a major ‘correction’ in this century.”
Thanks to industrial agriculture and fossil fuels, humanity has been able to expand its population rapidly for a few hundred years by over powering nature in various forms. But all that energy required to support this many people has to go somewhere, which means that as we keep using resources, waste gets thrown back into the environment.
According to Rees, the end result of a collapse could be devastating, with as few as 100 million people remaining afterward.
So where does that all leave the fate of humanity? Rees argues that it’s “unlikely” humans will go extinct given technological advancements. But the toll could still be grim.
It’s not just humanity on the line. Earlier this year, Stanford biologist Tony Barnosky warned that the world is facing the worst global mass extinction episode since the dinosaurs.
Reference- Journal Earth, National Geographic, Futurism, World Population website, BBC Earth