I love the catch phrase 'elephant in the greenhouse'.

It is generally agreed that education of women and their access to birth control is the major influence in slowing population increases. Western nations, especially US, pussy foot around about giving aid to access to birth control. While some Asian countries are bringing population increase under control, Africa is a basket case.The two major religions in Africa are Islam and Roman Catholic. People brought up in Western societies ignore the RC Church anti-contraceptive teachings, but not so in low educated countries. Muslims have large families, I don't know whether that is faith, or is it culture, like wearing a niqab.

The problem on the consumption side is that we are wedded to a standard, which even if moderated, is inconceivable if applied to everybody.

Population growth is attended by demand growth and that demand is a key to frustrations of existence.Life is stressful,incapable of satisfying greed or desire. We cling to things we believe will make us happy or keep us safe.

A solution, then, is to stop clinging and attaching. It is only when we see this for ourselves that we can stop grasping.
But when eventually we see it, the letting go is easy. The craving will seem to disappear of its own accord.

But the fact is, you can't simply by an act of will. You can't just vow to yourself: "okay, from now on I won't crave anything." This doesn't work, because the conditions that give rise to craving will still be present.

An answer therefore is to heighten personal awareness of why you crave something and whether that craving could affect others adversely. It is essential to recognise the cause and the effects of your thoughts and actions.
If you try to examine your ethical conduct, what you do for a living, and your moment-to-moment mindfulness, you'll become aware that every action of body, speech, and mind produce measurable outcomes.

Choosing good ones can be gained by a path of exploration, awareness, and personal discipline; a path which can be walked for the rest of your life.

If we invented a new economic paradigm to take into account the fact that unchecked population growth is our enemy, as is endless thoughtless consumption. Designed obsolescence must yield to enduring quality!

If our more rational model relied almost exclusively on finding and ending poverty in all it's forms and guises, wherever we find it, we just couldn't help but make everyone better off.

And if we coupled that to waste not want not recycling, we'd create endless commercial entrepreneurial opportunities for many of us.

And if we coupled that to cooperative capitalism wherever possible. We could rescue our world.

People would finally understand you just don't have to beat joe blow down the road to have a wealthy and thoroughly examined life, and enough of everything, with enough economic activity to keep all the balls in the air.

Private enterprise should simply focus on providing the very best service or product and just let the profits take care of themselves, ably assisted by word of mouth. The real key to enduring success!

We simply can't create a world where fewer and fewer of us predate on the rest and just for very temporary hollow financial gain.

Look, trickle down just doesn't work, however push up could!

And in so doing, literally fore everyone to take several steps up the socioeconomic ladder.

Cheaper energy options like cheaper than coal thorium, and endlessly sustainable biogas production will underpin such changes, hopefully while we still have time. Genuine and inherently fair tax reform will help!

Education of the womenfolk and giving them the right to simply say no! Is the key to getting on top of population growth!

As is compulsory castration of those "men"/animals who would have it otherwise?
Rhrosty.

Rhosty, global warming is rubbish, burning fossil fuels causes global dimming.

ateday, but your children will, left wing poverty creation schemes are killing their hip pocket nerve now.

Aidan, YOUR JOKING RIGHT? white Europeans are not breeding, everybody else is breeding like flies.

ateday, too true, the dumb are breeding & smart are not.

Yuyutsu, 1, NO & 2, YES.

ateday, true again.

Please explain the 'logic' if there is any behind this statement -
"Yet we persist with an inherently counterproductive and fundamentally flawed economic model that requires not only endless population growth and mostly losers; but the consumption of fuel likely to increase the rate of warming!?"

Who is forcing or even encouraging the Arabs, Africans, South Americans and other Third World inhabitants to substantially over breed? What benefit are they providing by increasing their numbers?

Again, I warn, the Islamic expansionism is a far greater concern to the welfare of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren over the next 100 years than the naturally occurring climate changes we are currently experiencing.

imacentristmoderate, the global dimming effect from fossil fuels doesn't last anywhere near as long as their warming effect. Particulates don't stay in the atmosphere as long as CO2 does.

You seem to be ignoring the problem of global warming because you don't want it to be true and therefore assume it to be false. But reality isn't like that. There's overwhelming evidence showing that global warming is a real, very serious (but still solvable) problem.

It is the Right, not the Left, that create poverty. The Left want to end poverty, but the Right don't want to do anything contrary to the interests of the rich.

I'm not joking. There are very few parts of the world where people are still breeding like flies. And last time I checked, white Europeans were breeding faster than the Japanese.