Our world is overpopulated. There, I said it. Lightning didn’t strike me dead. And you’re still reading. It is okay to mention the word overpopulation. It’s okay to acknowledge population growth is not a sound success strategy for civilization. In fact it’s imperative we recognize the huge role population size plays in our efforts to become a sustainable civilization. I’m raising this issue because today marks the beginning of Global Population Speak Out. During the month of February, scientists, philosophers, statesmen and all manner of people are making an extra effort to raise the volume of dialog about overpopulation.

Global Population Speak Out is the subject of the first installment of my new GrowthBusters talk show on Next Gen. . . .

I’ve interviewed some very smart people for my GrowthBusters documentary, but Chris Martenson has to be one of the brightest. At the very least he is an amazing communicator. If you haven’t seen his wildly popular Crash Course, your education is not complete. If we’d all seen Martenson’s Crash Course instead of reading Tip and Mitten, the world would be in great shape today.

I just caught a great video of Chris’ presentation to the InnoTown Innovation Conference in Ålesund, Norway. I’m going to tell you up front, the presentation is about an hour long. So don’t start viewing if you’re on a three minute YouTube break. I suffer from a short attention span just like everybody else, but I was a half-hour into this video before I even thought to look at the clock. . . .

Metro areas in the U.S. with a stable population are proving growth is not the path to prosperity. Eben Fodor, community planning consultant and author of Better, Not Bigger, has just released a study comparing the fastest-growing metro areas of the U.S. with the slowest-growing, to test conventional wisdom that cities benefit from growth. This study ought to put the final nail in the coffin of the “grow or die” myth that misinforms public policies in many cities. Unfortunately, in most areas this myth is very much alive and well.

According to Fodor, “The slowest-growing MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) outperformed the fastest-growing in every category. The 25 slowest-growing MSAs averaged almost 1% lower unemployment rates, 2.4% lower poverty rates, and a remarkable $8,455 more in per capita personal income in 2009. They also had larger income gains from 2000 to 2009 and saw significantly lower declines in income from the recession (2007-09). “ . . .

Here’s an example of how you can do some growthbusting in your own back yard: I just posted this comment to the state of Colorado’s Draft SWSI 2010 Municipal and Industrial Water Conservation Strategies Report:

In addressing long-term water needs and strategies, the state of Colorado needs to treat population projections not as a fait accompli. Knowing the limitations of our water resource, Colorado has no business doubling its current population – over any time period. Such population growth is not inevitable. It will happen only if the state and its communities continue to pursue economic development strategies that subsidize migration to the state. The strategies focus on attracting business (and in the bargain, population) to the state. The subsidies include economic development incentives and ad campaigns and junkets, but more importantly they sometimes include massive water projects – the cost of which is never completely passed on to the new residences and businesses requiring that water. This must change. If you really want sustainable water policy for the state of Colorado, stop accommodating and subsidizing growth. . . .

An addict usually has plenty of evidence his habit is destructive. Yet he persists. An addiction’s death grip can be so strong – psychologically and physically – that we knowingly march right into the center of the death spiral of destructive behavior.

Thanks to Steven Salmony for bringing this tremendous song to my attention. Steve is a tireless crusader for modern society to stop “buying it.” You can find very interesting information at his website, http://www.panearth.org/.

David Gray wrote this song and he is joined by Annie Lennox in this powerful duet:

Nothing further needs to be said. But I’m putting the lyrics to Full Steam below, and also including this brief video of Annie Lennox and David Gray discussing the song: . . .