The Australian Senate this week voted not to consider the challenges of population growth. Greens leader Bob Brown put a motion to the Senate, calling on the government to develop a white paper to address the challenges of supporting the projected stable population of 9-10 billion people on a planet constrained by climate change and finite resources. He also moved that the White Paper consider the capacity of Australia to support a larger population.
Liberal leader in the Senate, Nick Minchin, voted against the motion despite having spoken early in his parliamentary career on the importance of limiting population growth.
There is a scientific consensus that the planet cannot support 10 billion people at the level of consumption enjoyed by today’s western countries but widely differing political views as to what action should be taken to avert disaster.
The Generator News – Week ending December 5th,2008