What is the solution?

The situation is urgent. Lester Brown, President of Worldwatch, stated in 1998,"The question is not whether population growth will slow in the developing countries, but whether it will slow because societies quickly shift to smaller families or because ecological collapse and social disintegration cause death rates to rise."

The most important thing we as individuals can do is choose to have fewer children.

While cutting back on your personal consumption of resources is laudable and may reduce your environmental footprint by 5%, 25%, or maybe even 50%, having a child will double your footprint, and having two children will triple your footprint. It is virtually impossible to compensate for reproducing by consuming less yourself.

Although most of the population growth over the next few decades will take place in Asia and Africa, global overpopulation is as much a problem for “developed” countries as it is for third world countries. Americans constitute only five percent of the world’s population, but consume 26% of the world’s energy. Because we consume so much more than most people around the world, we can have the most impact when we choose to have fewer children or no children.

Internationally, the United Nations Population Fund works for gender equality, access to birth control, and the education of women. According to the UNFPA, “Some 200 million women who would like to use contraceptives lack access to them.” Women should be educated not only about family planning, but also generally.

World Watch has found, “In every society where data are available, the more education women have the fewer children they bear.”

Similarly, the Center for Biological Divsersity campaigns for "the empowerment of women, education of all people, universal access to birth control and a societal commitment to ensuring that all species are given a chance to live and thrive."

Additionally, raising public awareness is essential. While many environmental organizations focus on small steps with which few can disagree, the topic of human overpopulation is much more controversial. Some claim that there is no problem, while others might see it as solely a third world problem. As with any other animal rights issue, raising public awareness will empower individuals to make informed choices.

Potential Human Rights Violations

The solution to human overpopulation cannot include human rights violations. China’s one child policy, though arguably successful in curbing population growth, has led to human rights violations ranging from forced sterilizations to forced abortions and infanticide. Some population control proponents advocate offering financial incentives for people not to reproduce, but this incentive would target the poorest segment of society, resulting in racially and economically disproportionate population control. These unjust results cannot be part of a viable solution to human overpopulation.