Wrote a piece today over at NRO on the news of the 7 billionth person appearing in our midst. What are we to think of this milestone event? How many people are enough? How many are too many?
I look at the data showing that overpopulation is not the problem. You can find a fuller version of the report here.
For instance,
- All 7 billion of us could live in the state of Texas and have a population density that New York City dwellers have today. (And many of them seem to like it there.)
- All 7 billion of us could stand in the state of Rhode Island with enough room to swing our arms around and seldom hit anyone. (We would each have 6.4 square feet to ourselves)
- We currently produce enough grain globally to feed 10 billion people a full vegetarian diet.
- Humans throw out half of the food we produce globally.
- Fertility in very large parts of the world today is woefully under sustainable rates.
These are important things to know, as people are not the problem, but rather how we act as stewards of our resources.
God’s first two commands to humanity are central to this issue.
1) Be fruitful.
2) Govern, rule, manage the earth.
As Christians, we must think critically and truthfully about these topics. What is the right way to be obedient to these commands?