Can we really continue our life on earth as we have since around 1900, with the same Western world expansion around the whole planet? It will simply not be practical or safe for us to have 6 billion people all consuming the same as our current 1 billion Westerners do – or even more scary – the 9 billion people who are expected to live on Earth by 2050. Consider the demand on our planet if we continue our current way of life.

So what can we do? What desperately needs to be done? Can we place our faith in technology to save the planet? Maybe. Afterall, technology has given us anti-cancer drugs, 800-seat airliners, the internet and missions into space. But with all this new technology, we also continue finding new ways to exploit the Earth. The hardcore reality is that we simply cannot continue the demands on the planet that we are making. Our current way of life is simply not sustainable.

Countries like China and India are now using more and more packaged products. They are now facing incredible waste management challenges, beyond what the Earth has ever seen before – and these are nations who are not yet familiar with or practising recycling. While it may seem barbaric or limiting to some, China’s one-child policy may not be so crazy afterall in managing population growth. The Earth simply does not need anymore people, no matter what country they live in. While it might seem controversial, many people agree that past major wars, as well as disease epidemics, kept population growth under control. While this seems a grim viewpoint, the reality is we need a smarter strategy to sustain healthy human life on Earth.

Let us know what you think.