Editor’s note: This commentary is by George Plumb, of Washington, who is a board member of Better (not bigger) VT and the organizer of the 2014 report, “What Is an Optimal/Sustainable Population for Vermont?”
[N]ov. 14 is a very important day. Yes, Nov. 11 is an important day also, but for the sake of the future of the Earth and all life on it, Nov. 14 is a much more important day. It is World Vasectomy Day! And why is this very important? It is important for two main reasons.
One reason is that population growth is the primary underlying cause of all the horrendous environmental problems the Earth is now facing. If the world’s population were at two billion as it was when I was born instead of the 7.6 billion it is now and projected to grow to nine or 10 billion or so in a matter of decades, we wouldn’t be facing anywhere near the problems we are now facing. Ditto the U.S. population, which was at 130 million when I was born and an unsustainable 326 million now and growing.
We have already passed what is termed “Earth Overshoot Day.” That day marks the date when we (all of humanity) had used more from nature than our planet can renew in the entire year. In 2018, it fell on Aug. 1. We are using at least 1.7 Earths. We use more ecological resources and services than nature can regenerate through actions like overfishing, overharvesting forests, and emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than ecosystems can absorb. The U.S. per capita emissions is about 20 metric tonnes which if a person lives to be 75 is then 1,500 metric tonnes.
Not only is the Earth facing catastrophic global warming, unless we act very quickly and very strongly, it is also responsible for the Sixth Great Extinction. Seventy percent of all mammals have disappeared just since 1970, and it is projected that it will take millions of years for mammals to recover from us. There has been a massive insect loss which can even be seen here in Vermont. When is the last time you saw a grasshopper? And the loss of insects has a lot of adverse results including the loss of insect-eating birds and cross-pollinating insects.
The second reason is that, socially and politically, the huge population size in most countries has meant that we are no longer closely connected to each other. As a result, we are witnessing the loss of democracy and the rise of authoritarian/fascist governments based on hatred and violence. Over 50 percent of the countries in the world no longer have democratic governments. How scary is that?
So we very much need better family planning. However, the burden has been placed almost entirely on females for contraception, including potentially harmful birth control pills, a difficult hysterectomy, or that often terrible experience of abortion. A male vasectomy is much cheaper, faster, safer, and more reliable than female sterilization, yet only 9 percent of sexually active men in the United States get one. I got “fixed” when I was 40 and it was a very easy and quick in and out.
It is time for men to own up to their responsibility and get a vasectomy after they have had created no more than two children, and with today’s overpopulation, it is even better if they replace themselves only once.
Men and women in all countries and at all income levels should be able to limit the number of children they want to replacement level or fewer. And they should be able to determine when to have their children if any.
And as a culture we need to talk more about the impacts of population growth. With all the push for population growth these days for a variety of economic, political and social reasons, the word “sustainable” is never ever used. Yes, for the health of the Earth and the benefit of future generations that topic should be constantly brought forth. Better (not bigger) VT has developed the best and most scientific and meaningful definition of “sustainable” that is out there. It replaces the feel-good term that now is commonly used. Check it out at its website.
