title: Intractable limits to a sustainable human population.
abstract: The pressing need for a much smaller world population arises for two reasons. Humans are emitting about two and a half times as much carbon as the maximum permissible to achieve stabilisation of carbon in the atmosphere. Today's six billion humans, in striving to enjoy at least a basic quality of life, are damaging many vital ecological systems and causing a major extinction of other forms of life. Within the next half century, a new and compelling reason for a smaller human population is likely to arise through the fact that we cannot be at all sure that a suitable replacement to fossil fuel energy is going to be found. Analysis of all these aspects indicates the need for a world population of about 2000 million (2 billion).
authors.affiliation: Optimum Population Trust, Urmston, Manchester. info@optimumpopulation.org
authors.forename: Andrew R B
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Ferguson
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000639:trends*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D006801:Humans; D011155:Population Control / Q000639:trends*