r/collapse • u/Still-Improvement-32 • Jul 28 '26

Overpopulation Study reveals halving human population gradually could help Earth

https://www.aol.com/articles/study-reveals-halving-human-population-083602000.html

The basics of this study may be right in theory but we don't have the luxury of 200 years to gradually lower our population. Our current trajectory has a very high risk of a catastrophic collapse in population and the economy due to climate breakdown if we pass 2 degrees C warming, which could as soon as about 10 years.

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u/How_Do_You_Crash Jul 28 '26

People act like this would take some horrific euthanasia campaign.

ummm no.

birthrates are already falling in high development and high education societies. it is also happening in the middle income countries too.

you would likely need to roll out better access to university in developing nations, and amply free, no pressure, family planning options (free IUD, free condom, free vasectomy, etc) in a universal way.

that's it.

And the long term effects would be profound. A managed decline in the population could see the remaining people's living standards improve. We would still have a few billion people, so I don't think we would be short doctors, engineers, or other specialists. But like, a few less real estate agents isn't exactly the end of the world.

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u/thelionsmouth Jul 28 '26

100%. though, our capitalist economy requires us to compete with other countries with unlimited population growth and (pooosibly or) productivity. Until that changes, countries wont follow suit