TITLE:
Fair Plan 8: Earth’s Climate Future—Pope Francis’ Population Mistake
AUTHORS:
Michael E. Schlesinger, Michael Ring, Emily F. Cross
KEYWORDS:
Earth’s Climate Future, Population Matters
JOURNAL NAME:
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences,
Vol.6 No.1,
January
27,
2016
ABSTRACT: Pope
Francis wrote in his Encyclical Letter Laudato
Si’: On Care for Our Common Home:
“Instead of resolving the problems of the
poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in the birth rate.” … “To blame population growth instead of
extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some is one way of refusing to face the issues.” Here, we test the hypothesis
that population size does not matter. We do so in terms of the effect of the
size of the human population on its emission of greenhouse gases. We find that
the hypothesis is false = PO-PULATION MATTERS. Ceteris paribus, the larger the population of human beings on
Planet Earth, the more difficult it will be to reduce, and finally eliminate,
the emission of greenhouse gases by humanity and, thereby, constrain
human-caused climate change = Anthropogenic Global Warming.