Attenborough Supports Human Population Control
A group seeking to cut the growth in human population has received an official endorsement from legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, BBC News reported.
Attenborough said he joined the group, called the Optimum Population Trust, because growth in human numbers was “frightening”.
The broadcaster, who has been the host of numerous British natural history programs, has long been vocal about the need to reduce the number of people on Earth to protect wildlife.
The Trust said it was delighted to have Sir David as a patron.
The Optimum Population Trust accuses governments and green groups of observing a taboo on the topic of human population control.
Attenborough has been making documentaries on the natural world and conservation for over 50 years.
The Trust released a statement in which Attenborough was quoted as saying: “I’ve never seen a problem that wouldn’t be easier to solve with fewer people, or harder, and ultimately impossible, with more.”
Founded in 1991, the Trust campaigns for the UK population to voluntarily decrease its numbers by no less than 0.25 percent a year.
Its well-known “Stop at Two” online pledge is meant to encourage couples to limit their family’s size.
Jonathan Porritt, chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and Dame Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall institute, are also supporters of the Trust.
Population control is a fraught area of debate, with libertarians and some religious groups vehemently opposing measures by governments to influence individual fertility, according to BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin.
But the Trust claims policy makers and environmentalists are conspiring in a “silent lie” that human numbers can grow forever with no ill effects.
Sir David revealed in January 2009 that he had received hate mail from viewers for not crediting God in his nature programs.
One of his more recent documentaries covered how Charles Darwin built the theory of evolution and why it remained important today.
Image Courtesy Royal Society of Chemistry
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