[BROOK]

UK population must fall to 30m, says Porritt
From The Sunday Times

March 22, 2009


Jonathan Leake and Brendan Montague

JONATHON PORRITT, one of Gordon Brown’s leading green advisers, is to warn that Britain must drastically reduce its population if it is to build a sustainable society.

Porritt’s call will come at this week’s annual conference of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), of which he is patron.

The trust will release research suggesting UK population must be cut to 30m if the country wants to feed itself sustainably.

Porritt said: “Population growth, plus economic growth, is putting the world under terrible pressure.
Each person in Britain has far more impact on the environment than those in developing countries so cutting our population is one way to reduce that impact.”

Population growth is one of the most politically sensitive environmental problems. The issues it raises, including religion, culture and immigration policy, have proved too toxic for most green groups.

However, Porritt is winning scientific backing. Professor Chris Rapley, director of the Science Museum, will use the OPT conference, to be held at the Royal Statistical Society, to warn that population growth could help derail attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Rapley, who formerly ran the British Antarctic Survey, said humanity was emitting the equivalent of 50 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

“We have to cut this by 80%, and population growth is going to make that much harder,” he said.

Such views on population have split the green movement. George Monbiot, a prominent writer on green issues, has criticised population campaigners, arguing that “relentless” economic growth is a greater threat.

Many experts believe that, since Europeans and Americans have such a lopsided impact on the environment, the world would benefit more from reducing their populations than by making cuts in developing countries.

This is part of the thinking behind the OPT’s call for Britain to cut population to 30m — roughly what it was in late Victorian times.

Britain’s population is expected to grow from 61m now to 71m by 2031. Some politicians support a reduction.

Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, said: “You can’t have sustainability with an increase in population.”

The Tory leader, David Cameron, has also suggested Britain needs a “coherent strategy” on population growth.

Despite these comments, however, government and Conservative spokesmen this weekend both distanced themselves from any population policy. ”

Please answer this...HOW do they plan on achieving this?

I also must say...there is politics all over this article....pure POLITICS
I keep hearing from you there is this critical need to lower the population....just exactly how do they plan on doing this?

And remember several posts back, I questioned the motives....I keep seeing the same group of aristocrats and political people involved with this organization.
Conspiracies are not the only issue here..there are cold hard facts to consider...one of the members of this organization....
Paul Ehrlich ....wrote a book back in 1968...stating the very thing you are stating now, via this organization.....not only did his prediction NOT come true, but he lost a BET...that key minerals would face depletion due to this problem....not only was he wrong...they actually abounded in key minerals..dropping the index rate in the market. As far as food supply ...well in his time of indicating disaster..the world food supply TRIPLED ....
I want to see some cold hard FACTS..not political agenda here...what do you have to offer us that is NOT tainted by big media, or political agendas. Or for that matter that could not be corrected by Political Change, and investment in mankind instead of big banking.