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We dig into the more fascinating and hard-hitting aspects of sustainable living - including the joy of living sustainably. It’s all about ending our culture’s love affair with “more,” which is not making us happier and is killing our planet. No half-hearted greenwashing here; we share the brutal and joyful truth! Host Dave Gardner directed the documentary GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth, which Stanford Biologist Paul Ehrlich declared “could be the most important film ever made.” Stephanie Gardner earned her masters in environmental law & policy and is a "sustainable energy nerd."

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#15 Do Only Villains Care About Overpopulation?

Jul 10, 2018

In Avengers: Infinity War the villain Thanos wants to solve overpopulation by exterminating half the population of the universe. Whenever overpopulation pops up in the movies, it’s always a villain with an inhumane solution. Dave and Dana discuss whether this helps or harms the cause of achieving a sustainable human population (yes, the world IS overpopulated today, and the forecasts are to add several billion more). Aren’t there humane, noble solutions to overpopulation?

Plus: Are we hardwired to reproduce? Population control, Paul Ehrlich, Thomas Malthus, Dan Brown’s Inferno novel and movie, Soylent Green, ZPG, and Dave’s Top 10 Overpopulation Films also come up. (See links below)

A number of listener comments are included. Thanks for writing in. Your comments are welcome either via posts on the episode page at GrowthBusters.org or Libsyn, on the GrowthBusters Podcast Facebook page, or on Twitter.

Also in this episode: Listener comments about disposable straws and the movie, Downsizing (episode 13 of the GrowthBusters Podcast).

 

LINKS:

Maybe Thanos Was Right (by Sparky, at Medium)

Thanos’ plan in Avengers: Infinity War has historical precedent, but he applies it wrong (by Alessandra Potenza, at The Verge)

Inferno (the novel)

Inferno (the movie)

Soylent Green

ZPG

Top 10 Population Films of All Time