We have grown up on discussions about negative impact the ever increasing human population is having on the nature. Some go to the extent of earth being deprived of all resources in few centuries and man looking to outer space as a result.
Ever increasing human population has been more a result of nature's laws as proposed by Darwin.. that the fittest species survive and thrive..
We have never thought what would happen if the above law does not hold good.. i.e. the fittest wont survive. Logically, this seems hardly possible.
Now lets look at the reality for humans. Until a few decades back the human race experienced high birth and death rates.. This was 'good' for nature as the human population did not grow exponentially.. and we could eat very less in nature's resources..
Then the obvious happened. Our death rates started falling drastically and are still falling. This has been the result of advancements in healthcare, immunology etc. and spread of healthcare facilities in under-developed countries. However, fall in birth rates trailed. Even this lower rate of decrease required government intervention by way of 'family planning' programs.
Now comes the best part!
We already know all of the above, sorry for boring you with the essay. However, we are missing the obvious facts. Fall in birth rates now is not dependent on stimulation by government. It started with developed countries but it seems that now people in all countries don't want to have many children.
Its very obvious knowledge that middle class finds use of contraceptives more convenient than raising children. A small family ensures higher disposable income per family member and hence more comfortable life.
The result - We are not raising 2.15 children per family. Yes, that is the number of children required to maintain the population at same level.. at least statistically. The figure is called 'fertility rate' and all developed countries lie below the value of 2.15 children. Infact UK & France have fertility rate of 2, Germany at 1.4 and China has fertility rate of just 1.6! US keeps its respect at 2.1.
Indian fertility rate is 2.65 and world as a whole stands at 2.5 and both these rates are dropping pretty sharply.
So why is world population still rising!
Its simple.. It takes time for actual population growth to catch up with fertility rate. The same time taken for a child to grow up and start his own family. So, we are not doomed as yet.. just as yet.
Doomed because the phenomenon of preference for smaller families of less than 2 children seems irreversible. More educated you are, more money you make.. smaller the family you will want to make. In order to make our lives more comfortable, we are replacing less human beings than the couple (2 nos).
The beautiful balance of nature
Isn't it beautiful at a level, because our exploitation of nature's resources will shrink as a result. We won't drain the world of its beauty. We will reach a more sustainable population level on our own. Darwin's laws shall be broken but for our 'earth'.
Let me know if you like the post.. or atleast.. that u were alive till the last word.
