David Attenborough On Overpopulation
David Attenborough is no stranger to the topic of overpopulation and has, for some time, publicly acknowledged the connection between environmental decline and human population growth.
The following are a selection of David Attenborough quotes.
“It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth, or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now.” In an interview for Radio Times, 2013
“In the long run, population growth has to come to an end. There are some reasons for thinking that will happen almost inevitably. But it is very alarming at the rate we’re going, and although people will say, ‘In the long run, we are going to stabilise’, they’re going to stabilise – as far as I can see – at a rather higher level than the Earth can really accommodate.” In an interview for BBC Newsnight, 2018
“We can’t go on increasing at the rate human beings are increasing forever, because Earth is finite and you can’t put infinity into something that is finite.” In an interview for The Independent
“All our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people and harder – and ultimately impossible – to solve with ever more people. Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, perhaps it’s time we controlled the population to allow the survival of the environment.” In an interview for Population Matters
