As population tops 8 billion, look beyond bomb and crash scare declarations
The following is an excerpt from a maintain what blog post.
in a great post election dispatchauthor James Fallows pushes the political media to reduce “expert” predictions because of how normal it is to be wrong:
No one knows what to expect. At least – it seems – political “experts”. So let’s waste less time pretending to know and invest more in investigating, sharing and learning what actually happened.
I would advise journalists and the rest of us to take the same approach and think about what to think and do about demographic trends. In this context, the focus is more on what can be done today to improve the lives of girls and migrants than on ominous predictions.
There’s no better time than now, as this week marks the COP27 Climate talks continue in Egypt, 2022 International Conference on Family Planning In Thailand – given that 15 November is the day the United Nations has chosen to commemorate humanity crossing the 8 billion threshold.
As the world’s population reaches 8 billion, our human family is increasingly divided.
Unless we close the huge divide between rich and poor around the world, we will face more tension and distrust, more crises and conflict.https://t.co/Vs1LfnsaTR
— Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 11, 2022
loud and sharp arguments about what possible This often overshadows important actions or investments that communities, governments, or other agencies can take on the ground now, when and after population numbers and resource demands peak, to create the capabilities and conditions that will reduce the chances of worst-case scenarios.
To draw attention to underappreciated opportunities, I hosted a dynamic, action-oriented conversation about “more than 8 billion human beings” that I hope you’ll take the time to watch or listen to podcasts.
