The Ghastly Costs of Population Denial | Corey Bradshaw
About this episode
Corey Bradshaw discusses the impacts of human population growth on biodiversity and ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need to address overpopulation and its consequences.
Humanity is pushing life to the brink. Mathematical ecologist, Corey Bradshaw, explains how our growing population and consumption are driving the depopulation and extinction of countless species while pushing Earth's ecosystems beyond their limits. We explore why overpopulation remains politically taboo, why fears of falling birth rates are misplaced given the evidence of better socioeconomic outcomes in aging societies, and why, although the future will be 'ghastly,' it's still up to us to make it 'less worse.' Highlights include: How human activities shrink wildlife populations and genetic diversity, making species increasingly vulnerable to extinction through environmental shocks; Why humanity is likely driving a mass extinction, even though we may never be able to fully measure its scale because most species remain undiscovered; Why rising wealth and technological efficiencies have resulted in more ecological degradation, not less; How the evidence is overwhelming that increased human population density is associated with greater biodiversity threats and ecological degradation - as well as declines in human health; What slowing population growth rates in recent decades…
People in this episode
Guest: Corey Bradshaw
Topics covered
- overpopulation
- biodiversity
- extinction
- socioeconomic outcomes
- environmental degradation
- population growth
Keywords
- population denial
- mass extinction
- ecological degradation
- aging societies
- wildlife populations
- human health
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