A killer plague wouldn't save the planet from us

摘要

It's getting overcrowded here on Earth. More than 7 billion people are taking their toll on the planet and the number is rising. What would it take to defuse this population time bomb? Drastic times could, in theory, call for drastic measures. But according to a new study, not even a global one-child policy would make much difference, and neither would a killer plague. Work by Corey Bradshaw and Barry Brook of the University of Adelaide in Australia suggests that protecting the planet will take more than condoms and microbes. Escalating death rates or fertility crashes could only curb human numbers in the long term, they say, so reducing the human population won't work as a quick fix for our environmental woes.