1)Increase nations' Standard of Living. With an increase in SOL, a more prosperous economy, population growth tends to decrease. In lesser developed nations having many children is more of a benefit than a hinderance. They are a cheap source of labor, both agricultural and domestic. Also, the cost to raise a child is minimal compared to more-developed nations. In more-developed nations', children are incredibly expensive to raise. Having fewer children is financially less burdensome(sp).
While I would love to see the eradication of poverty worldwide, I would have to say that it would not (by itself) help the population crisis, or rather the impact on resources, specifically.
It is true that raising the standards of living everywhere would gradually ease the amount of people being born, it would also decrease the amount of people dying. That is important, but not the main point.
My point has to do with resources and the more people we have with disposable income, the more disposable the societies worldwide will become. Which means more plastic/styrofoam packaging, more industrial waste, more
disposable diapers (
Here is another link supporting that claim),more land being used for agriculture and the waste that comes along with that, more land for larger houses for everyone, more natural lands being made into ski resorts, more supermarkets/restaurants/bakeries/etc with the huge amounts of food wasted (just ask a dumpster diver about all the good, unspoiled food thrown out every day), more upscale camping areas, spas, golf courses, etc, and definitely more WATER. We would have more people taking looong showers, running the water while brushing their teeth, running dishwashers and washing machines, using swimming pools/jacuzzis, using lawn sprinklers, going out to eat (water usage and waste in restaurants is obscene), vacationing at water parks, living in developments with those fancy water fountains (I was always appalled that these places were allowed to run their fountains during water shortages in Florida) and the list goes on and on.
Making everyone rich will bring so much more waste and water usage that it will probably negate the lower population, unless, of course, we find ways to significantly reduce this waste and then enforce it.
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