Should Australians Be Worried About Overpopulation?

by Fraser Orr
(Sydney)

Consider for a moment how many people lived in Australia before the onset of industrial technology. While there’s no written record for us to be sure of the numbers, it’s assumed that only around 300,000 aboriginal Australians lived here before white settlement. This brings up a troubling question: How many people can live sustainably in this country?

Now, we do have a number of advantages. Our technology, of course, can have a great deal of impact on how many people can live well, but is this sustainable? If we were to imagine that all non-renewable resources had been used up, how long would we be able to survive?

These are difficult questions, and they highlight the need for Australia to start investing in renewable technology, especially wind and solar, today. The chances of Australians accepting a China-style one child policy in order to reduce the population are slim to none, so we need to start making an effort to live in a sustainable way.

If we don’t start making changes, or develop new technologies, the only logical conclusion is that the population will be reduced to pre-First Fleet levels. A recent American documentary titled “Collapse” discusses a number of these disturbing possibilities, and should be required viewing for everyone concerned with living sustainably.

Check out the trailer here: