Scientists Push Plan to Slash Global Population by 4 Billion
by Frank Bergman
A group of international scientists is pushing a chilling plan to slash a staggering 4 billion people from the global population of humans to achieve what they describe as a “sustainable” future for those selected to remain on Earth.
The scientists made the call in a newly published study, reigniting alarm over the global depopulation agenda after the researchers argued that the Earth’s population should be cut roughly in half.
The study, authored by roughly a dozen researchers led by Columbia University’s Mark Keegan, contends that the world’s population must be culled to approximately four billion people by the year 2200.
“We show that slowing and gradually reversing population growth to ∼4 billion or less by 2200, while moderating per capita impacts, is the path toward sustainability,” the authors wrote.
The researchers also called for reducing “per capita impacts,” a reference to lowering individual consumption of energy, resources, and other goods.
Researchers Blame Humanity for Environmental Problems
The study argues that population growth is driving a wide range of environmental issues, including declining wildlife populations, rising carbon dioxide emissions, greater energy consumption, increased freshwater use, expanded mineral extraction, plastic production, pesticide use, and a growing ecological footprint.
“Global environmental problems are caused by people, nothing else,” the authors asserted.
“The more of us there are, the greater our overall economic demands and the greater the associated environmental problems.”
They concluded that continued population growth is fundamentally “unsustainable.”
Using United Nations population projections, the researchers argued that humanity is on course to peak at between 9 billion and more than 11 billion people by the end of the century; levels they claim pose an unacceptable threat to long-term sustainability.
Calls for More Population-Control Policies
To accelerate population decline, the study recommends expanding access to what it describes as “reproductive health services,” a term that commonly includes abortion alongside contraception.
The authors also call for improving girls’ educational opportunities, particularly in developing nations, as part of their strategy for reducing birth rates.
Beyond reducing population growth, they advocate additional government intervention aimed at lowering consumption through stricter land-use policies, pollution controls, energy-efficiency targets, and expanded limits on the extraction of natural resources ranging from fisheries to forests.
The researchers argue that even stronger measures may ultimately be required at the local, national, and international levels.