I am no expert, but when I have brought the subject up or have been part of this conversation, it always seems like it's the theists that get all butt hurt. "The bible says and God commans that we must go forth and populate this Earth". I believe that there was a time when population growth was important to the survival of our species...... but those days have passed. Personally, I think that we might already be fucked! Or, at least half of us, in the next 50 years. But, of course that's just my opinion...... I could be wrong.

It isn't taboo to me. True environmentalists don't reproduce. Catholicism imposing itself and its doctrine of, fuck like rabbits as long as you don't use birth control, on the world is a huge source (the primary source?) of overpopulation and pollution. The planet needs to get rid of 4+ billion people, then there is more than enough to go around and pollution / lack of resources are no longer issues.

I love it when this issue raises it's 7.7 billion heads. Because it hasn't been discussed much anymore everybody thinks it's a non issue and in the end we will all be scratching our heads and said what went wrong. People need to understand the concept of carbon footprint. There are lots of sites that help people calculate their own footprint. It has been proven that climate change is anthropogenic. This means caused by people and the more people the worse it gets. This area is where extreme critical thinking comes into play.

Overpopulation facts - the problem no one will discuss: Alexandra Paul at TEDxTopanga

It is a complicated issue. Perhaps overpopulation is not discussed as much because it isn't directly affecting developed nations. "The UN warned in 2005 that Russia's then population of about 143 million could fall by a third by 2050, if trends did not improve". Many developed nations have declining growth rates. It is just the opposite in less developed nations. I think the effects that climate change (among other calamities) is having and will continue to have on human populations will curtail population growth in humans as well as plants and animals.

Every time I see an article of a family of many children and it says how great they are doing I get mad. Those parents are so selfish. One cannot give all the children the love and attention that they need on an individual basis if one has many children that is just not possible, and don't get me started on the financial aspect of it and the fact that these extra individuals are using up the earths resources. Every women, as soon as she has had two children should have her tubes tided and every man who has fathered two children should have a snip, in every country on this earth. It is incredibly selfish to expect the older children to bring up the younger one, because that is what they do.

People have a hang up with anybody telling them how many, or if they should have children. It a visceral, not an intellectual reaction. A hold over from times when mortality, especially infant mortality was very high.

Why is it taboo? Religion.

This articles gives no data, it's just an uninformed opinion. Lower fertility rates, lower child mortality, higher incomes, the education of women, and the availability of contraception have already caused a very steep decline in fertility rates [ourworldindata.org]. The world population will grow in the next decades but it won't keep rising. There might never be more than 11 Billion human beings living on Earth.
Are there more wars now? I'd like to see the data for that.
Saying that overpopulation is the cause for all the problems in the world is too simplistic a analysis to take serious. Why not say human beings are the problem. Without them there would be no climate change and no extinction of many species. So why is nobody talking about the human problem? Well, there is. It's called antinatalism.

Gloomy bloody subject! I'm a student of Social Sciences - Sociology, Psychology, History, Politics, and a few other things. This question comes up often in our studies.
So, I think we are all agreed our population is too great. This viewpoint can be supported by the great migrations from areas of poverty to richer regions. These exoduses have sudden effects on where they arrive, causing alienation of the indigenous peoples and incomers alike as there isn't enough time for integration and assimilation.
The earth recently passed the limit of human support with our current level of expenditure of resources. Question is, what can we, or must we do as a species to produce a happy sustainable future?
I would not like to see a great 'Exterminatus' forced on us, but that may have to happen, and soon. This may be the most 'humane' way to save us.
Who do we choose? And in what way can humanity secure a future where a 'Final Solution' isn't going to be needed again?
Reduce the birth rate. Only healthy females get ONE pregnancy no IVF? Maximum age limit - please report to your funeral one week after your 70th birthday? Restrict certain healthcare solutions, Ebola, T3/4 Cancer, Autism, Smoker - say goodbye. Death penalty for many crimes? What about murder? Kill two, get out free? Ask for volunteers - reward their families or them? New car every year until 35, then bye, bye?
Not an easy or nice job trying to save the world. As a draconian mind game, very interesting

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was a board member for Zero Population Growth for over 8 years (and have been active in this area for 25+ years). The Seattle chapter was a vibrant and dedicated chapter and the message was getting out. However, forces beyond our control took over. Some industries (PBS report "To The Contrary" with Bonnie Erbe) offered ZPG and the Sierra Club 100 million dollars to drop the immigration part of population growth. One industry, not named in the original report but later showed by another group NumbersUSA was SEIU (Service Employees International Union) was one that funded a lot of pro-immigration. The pro immigration zeal by developed countries is pushed by industries that have something to gain. The problem is, that in the end all will lose, including the immigrants.

I have made many postings and comments on this site regarding overpopulation and yes it is the core issue of all of our serious environmental problems. Liberals are as much to blame as conservatives but, as usual, it is a complicated issue.

It's a political hot potato. No representative could broach the subject without serious repercussion. I keep thinking that our only hope is a pandemic.

Because breeder arrogance and breeder entitlement is a real thing.

Didn't know it was taboo. Have heard people talk about it all my life, although I heard more talk about it when I was young. Also, I heard more talk about the possibility of nuclear war when I was young. Maybe it is just because we are more focused on terrorism, climate change and being replaced by robots. It is difficult to panic about too many things at once.

how is it the 'root' cause of our problems?

sure, population growth is putting a huge strain on resources etc.....

but what about the last couple of thousand years? when the population was considerably less than it is today? For the worlds poor and powerless those years were no picnic

The fact is that a very few people consume most of the worlds resources. I think talk of 'overpopulation' is a way of avoiding dealing with that issue.

What are we going to do when the worlds poor want to consume in the way that we already do?

Way too many reasons but one of course is that many religions encourage their flock to multiply. Then there's the natural human instinct to reproduce their own DNA because they think they are special.

It's taboo because people don't want to look at possible solutions that would pretty much be draconian. They're not exactly solutions that lead to the most individual freedom, and some of the solutions might make some people seem similar to past despots ideas in terms of population control with sterilization etc.

Whenever there is a plague level population explosion the earth comes up with a way to devastate that species .. see it work with locusts, rats, etc .. whether it be nuclear self destruction, disease, loss of vital supplies (air, water, food) or some other mechanism, it will happen at some point. I hope that other species on the earth will not be too badly affected.

I've always felt that it is indeed our greatest problem & yes, the "How dare you bring up that topic" attitude is off the scale.

One reason the topic is taboo:
Migration and high birth rates are mechanisms whereby the "religion" (imperialist ideology) of Islam is subjugating humanity.

Religions prohibit birth control and encourage reproduction because it ensures the growth of their communities. The larger their community, the greater their influence and power.
For example, in the Hassidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, each woman has an average of ten to twelve children. It is considered to be a woman's responsibility to essentially act as a baby making machine. These unfortunately children are then indoctrinated into their cult of ignorance, perpetuating the social ills of overpopulation and religious zealotry.

People have a hang up with anybody telling them how many, or if they should have children. It a visceral, not an intellectual reaction. A hold over from times when mortality, especially infant mortality was very high. May also be a hold pver from religion. Most religions preach "go forth and prosper and propagate".