Reader Responses to Growing the Arts at Brown

“Overcoming Inertia in Climate Change,” From the Office of the President, January-February 2021. In the analysis and recommendations of various approaches to limiting climate change, there is rarely any mention of including efforts to limit population growth. While I think technology can enable the planet to support many more people, a stable population would make solving climate change easier and perhaps solvable at all. Perhaps looking at the effects of non-coercive policies that encourage limiting families to two offspring, such as increasing the child care credit for the first two and eliminating it for more, improving access to family planning, or media efforts to emphasize the impact of additional people, could be added to the coursework.

A stable population would also contribute to reducing issues with water, food, housing, transportation, energy generation, forest preservation etc. A no cost bonus. Relatively inexpensive, simple, and likely as or more effective than many other approaches.