Tragedy of the Commons vs. Sustainability in Population Growth

Statements:
1.   Because our population will soon be at seven billion people and continues to grow, we need to
expand land area available for living and growing food by cutting down the rain forest.
2.   Without reducing rapid population growth, it will be impossible to solve the world’s global
challenges.
3.   With seven billion people commuting from one place to another, drilling for more oil is necessary
to fuel more cars.
4.   In order to feed our population, we must use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified crops to increase farm yields.
5.   With new technologies used to gather fish, we must have international laws to ensure seafood is
harvested sustainably.
6.   The Earth can support seven billion people now and will be able to support any number of human
in the future.
7.   In an effort to feed a population of seven billion, people in developed countries should reduce the
amount of meat they consume.
8.   Science and technology will ensure that food production and energy supplies keep up with the
demands of a growing population.
9.   With human population at seven billion, we must protect endangered species habitats by not
developing on them for any reason.
10. There is nothing I can do to help alleviate population pressures.
11. Governments in countries with fast-growing populations should make laws to limit the number of
children that couples can have.
12. In a real crunch, jobs are more important than environmental quality.
13. With seven billion people on the planet, water pollution is inevitable and we should not waste
money trying to prevent it.
14. Even though I am only one person in seven billion, I still have a responsibility to keep the Earth
healthy; what I do makes a difference.
15. Automobile makers in this country should be required by law to make all their vehicles fuelefficient, even though the vehicles may become more expensive.
16. If China and India can each take care of over a billion people on relatively the same size land as the
U.S., then the U.S. should accept immigrants until it reaches a billion people as well.
17. All high schools should be prohibited from distributing contraceptives to students under the age
of 18.
18. Arable land should never be used for housing, businesses, or other non-agricultural uses because
we need all available farmable land to produce food.


Taken from Worldof7Billion.org