It is nearly impossible to talk about environmental issues and sustainability without addressing population growth as a major core cause of these conditions. The world reached 7 billion people in 2011 and this number is only expected to grow exponentially. There is no doubt that the rising population has negative effects on the environment; more demand for finite resources, increase in air pollution with additional infrastructure and transportation, increase in water pollution with runoff, habitat loss and deforestation to meet the demand for wood and land. Technologies and practices are also developing at a quickening pace to counteract the negative effects of humans on the environment. Advances in technology continue to improve efficiency however, because of the 7 billion people on earth, we continue to produce and pollute more. And the cycle continues.

In order to achieve sustainability, growth must be controlled or else we must rely on technology to solve our problems.

One strategy to control a county’s population growth is by implementing policies and regulations. The infamous One-Child Policy in China has successfully moderated the growth of one of the most populous countries in the world. However, a Chinese government think tank has recently begun to urge the leaders to phase out this policy and allow two children by 2015.  At present, China has 1.3 billion inhabitants; doing away with the one-child policy will mean a large surge in world population in the near future. A draft report suggesting alterations to the policy will be release in a couple of weeks.

Controlling population has proved challenging due to many influences including cultural practices, religious beliefs, and lack of access to contraceptives. And, universally, people want to freedom to make the choice of how many children they have. Therefore, we turn to advancements in technology to counteract the negative effects of 7 billion humans.

There are a myriad of technologies and management practices that mitigate pollution or preserve ecologies however, with a rising population there is a greater demand for resources. Despite employing cleaner energies sources and more efficient appliances, people are using more energy per person. Farming practices have vastly improved but there are more mouths to feed.

It is unrealistic to expect population growth to stop but it is also senseless to assume that technology alone will fix all our problems. It will be interesting to see how the world leaders handle population while working towards more sustainable living.