ANALYSIS/OPINION:

During the Copenhagen conference in Denmark, leaders from around the world addressed climate change, carbon footprints and ways to solve the dilemma. However, they failed to address the core issue: human overpopulation.

My friend Richard Heinberg, author of “Peak Everything: Waking up to the Century of Declines,” gave this point about the conference: “The discussions in Denmark took place in a conceptual fantasy world in which climate change is the only global crisis that matters much; in which rapid economic growth is still an option; in which fossil fuels are practically limitless; in which a Western middle class staring at the prospect of penury can be persuaded voluntarily to transfer a significant portion of its rapidly evaporating wealth to other nations; and in which the subject of human overpopulation can barely be mentioned. No wonder more wasn’t accomplished.”

As a six-continent world traveler having witnessed global overpopulation, I see the folly in trying to solve a symptom of the problem without addressing its cause. Human overpopulation is the single greatest issue facing humanity in the 21st century. We solve it or suffer accelerating human tragedy.

FROSTY WOOLDRIDGE

Golden, Colo.

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