The This Day Tonight program on the 25th January, had a piece on this subject which I feel inclined to comment upon as follows.

It would appear that the population problem is really matter of having an available area for expansion whilst keeping the needed space to support that population within the confines of a finite fixed area without destroying the environment for all other life forms.

We have evolved to a degree where we are now the first life form that has the option of controlling our reproduction or breeding our selves to extinction. Mr Rudd has formed the opinion that we will be better off with a bigger population. This is based on the impossible belief that we can have everlasting growth; which would need everlasting growth of population. Since there is only a finite space available, adoption of a policy of everlasting growth will inevitably lead to our extinction as a species!

It is not now necessary for human beings to breed flat out to obtain the survival of the species so we should now be working out what we do want from life and how we can balance our breeding to obtain this state, in balance with the rest of the environment, such that we can have a long term future for ourselves and the rest of the life forms!

When I say long term I mean thousands of years not fifty years, one gets the impression that our world leaders feel that they only have responsibility for looking after the events happening within their life span whereas I would hope that, such a magnificent life form as we have evolved into would be able, by application of this powerful brain, ensure that life goes on as long as our planet will support it.

Frankly, I don’t think that the world is yet ready to address the problem of over population, they have too many religious and personal freedoms hang-ups and not enough responsibility commitments. It will need a realization that there is a fast approaching apocalypse to jolt the masses into a state of action and this may well be too late!