This year’s famous Hollywood movie “Avengers: Infinity War” has again fuelled the discussion about population control being the ideal method for saving the universe. This same concept was endorsed by the famous English thinker Thomas Malthus, who in his essay titled “ An Essay on the Principle of Population, published in 1798, wrote – that ‘human population grows exponentially (i.e., doubling with each cycle) while food production grows at an arithmetic rate i.e food output was likely to increase in the arithmetic progression 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and so forth in a series of 25 year intervals and while population was capable of increasing in the geometric progression 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and so on. Therefore, this arithmetic food growth vs simultaneous geometric human population growth predicted a future when humans would have no resources to survive on. To avoid such a catastrophe and in the long run to save the planet, Malthus urged controls on population growth.’ Though his theory was falsified as the advanced countries postponed the stage of diminishing returns by technological advancement that increased the food production, it still remains valid to this day as our resources are limited and we can delay something and cannot completely avoid it. If we humans don’t exercise the preventive checks like population control, then positive checks like famine, war etc. would operate to get back the balance or we would require a madman like “Thanos” who has the “guts to carry it out” because the political correctness would always get in the way to suggest population control as a method to save our planet.
There are other ways also that can help us to save our planet and for which of course the Avengers are not required! These are –
Strong Save Earth Slogans and Sayings
Afforestation-
Plant as many trees as you can and oppose deforestation. Dams and other hydro-projects though are indicators of development but they destruct forests and biodiversity and should be avoided. This is not about being pro- or anti-development because in the past we did have other methods of irrigation and water harvesting that were more eco-friendly than the ones we use today. For instance, the Kulhs of Himachal Pradesh and the water reservoirs of Dholavira, an ancient city of the Indus- Saraswati Civilisation.
The Three R’s-
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, though it sounds cliché it is the key to save our world. Reduce the use of non-renewable resources like coal, petroleum. Recycle things that require a lot of energy in their creation, for example, metallic things. Reuse things, this method is even better than recycling because it requires lesser energy, for instance, reuse the jars that come along with the jam for storage.
Conserve water-
It’s predicted that the third world war would probably be because of water. So, try to save every drop. Repair the leakages, turn off the taps when not required for example while brushing your teeth. Install rooftop water harvesting systems in your homes to collect the rainwater, if you don’t want to use it then guide it to recharge the underground water, as it is a better source of water when compared to other sources as it is away from contamination by faeces, mosquitoes etc and it gets filtered through the layers of soil as it percolates down.
Support Climate Change Initiatives- Help the respective Government to reach the targets that it has promised to achieve in the various international climate change treaties, it has signed. For instance, these treaties emphasize setting firm deadlines for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and they often place caps on the amount of carbon dioxide that can be produced. We can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by methods like carpooling, using public transit, using bicycles to go to nearby places, using e-money, using energy sources that are less polluting like solar energy etc.
Small initiatives by normal humans can save our planet, for this, you don’t require superheroes or super villains. Do your bit and help save the planet before it’s too late.
