GrowthBusters

We made it VERY clear that Musk’s worries about population collapse are ill-founded, and that attracted thousands more listeners than usual to our podcast. How did that happen? What kind of comments did we get? Find out in this episode. And get important truths about overshoot and overpopulation.

 Plus, learn how we’ll give YOU the mic for ...

The Michigan Governor is apparently unaware that the world, the U.S. and even Michigan are overpopulated. Michigan population has been growing a little too slowly for her taste, so Whitmer has appointed a Chief Growth Officer and formed the Growing Michigan Together Council. Not surprisingly, her bottom line is to “spur economic growth.”

In an episode you should share with YOUR governor, you’ll get the details and find out why this...

Are many vegans self-righteous, overbearing and insufferable in their efforts to recruit us? Would you believe “overpopulation” is still a taboo word? Or that human population numbers are still an “off-limits” topic at some conferences? This episode continues the conversation we began in episode 79 with five smart people:
 
Nandita Bajaj, executive director of Population Balance
Sarah Bexell, director of humane education at the Ins...

Students in a DU ecological economics class discuss their biggest concerns and how our society might overcome them. Overshoot, polarization, the American Dream, politics, selfish individualism, and the capitalism growth imperative are among the topics explored – as GrowthBuster Dave Gardner sits down with leaders of tomorrow.
 
Dave is joined by Professor Paul Sutton at the University of Denver and students Lilia Davis, Julia Gaine...

Five thought leaders break the silence on the role of human overpopulation in ecological overshoot –with an informed, engaging conversation about the subject. This is what intelligent discourse sounds like.

Why do discussions of overpopulation often elicit emotional responses of fear, anger, or indignation? Are anger and indignation what prevents productive discussion of population? These responses in a graduate college class provide an opportunity to explore how we might pave the way for productive conversations. Our guest in this episode, Professor Christopher Bystroff of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute wonders whether a “global th...

The news that China’s massive population dropped by nearly a million people last year was almost universally reported as a “crisis.” In this episode we unpack the news coverage and take journalists to task for completely overlooking the fact that, in an overpopulated world, population contraction should be greeted with a collective sigh of relief.

Getting take-out in your own reusable container, recycling bubble-wrap properly, and getting arrested – it’s all in a day’s work for an eco-superhero. Stephanie and Dave learn about climate activism with Extinction Rebellion, sharing quirky sustainability life hacks on social media, and the joy of a 58-hour train trip – from Stephanie’s former co-worker...

More men are stepping up and taking responsibility for avoiding unplanned parenthood. Dave celebrates this trend as he shares GrowthBusters plans for the new year in this special year-end mini-episode. A typical vasectomy takes about ten minutes. It’s much less invasive, and less expensive, than the equivalent procedure for women.

Examining news coverage and commentaries about human population passing 8 billion on November 15, we unpack the reasons far too many of us avoid discourse about human overpopulation. Why are we tap-dancing around the very dialogue needed so people around the world can make informed, responsible family-size decisions? We conclude the guilt many feel about their privilege is actually hurting those who d...

While Elon Musk erroneously claims population collapse is our biggest worry, world population is hitting 8 billion, adding the latest billion faster than any time in history. The UN has declared world population will surpass 8 billion on November 15, 2022. We persist in adding about 80 million people to the planet every year, despite overwhelming evidence we’ve outgrown our planet.

World population may peak this decade and start dropping, over 60% of Coloradans are fed up with the negative consequences of growth of their communities, a new online community and resource for sustainability advocates, Elon Musk keeps populating our conversations, and should Dave run for president of the U.S.?

As we approach the 8 billion population milestone, activist/author Valorie Allen thinks it’s high time we stop avoiding the overpopulation subject. Yet here we are, on World Population Day 2022, and the UN is still beating around the bush, journalists rarely report on the subject (and when they do, it's usually with a pro-growth bias), and most environmental groups run and hide from it. Allen believes...

Biologist Paul Ehrlich reflects on the 1972 MIT study, The Limits to Growth, on its 50th anniversary – including the fact that it has been refuted (poorly), ignored, and confirmed. The study was done by a team of scientists commissioned by the Club of Rome to develop a computer model to simulate the interaction of earth and human systems. It revealed that continuation of the then-current trends in population, industrialization, res...

While nary a week goes by that we don’t get a new report of the destruction we’re wreaking on our home planet, the news has been particularly bad over the last few weeks. Plus: Bill Maher, usually praised by us for speaking the truth, needs to get there on the benefits of a shrinking economy. We devote half of this episode to the news, and half to our swelling file of listener feedback.

A reprise of Paul Ehrlich’s candid conversation with us on the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, in April of 2020. We discuss the COVID pandemic, overpopulation, The Population Bomb (including an amusing mistake on the cover), dinner with Johnny Carson, the deficits of our university system, the climate crisis, and human civilization’s prospects (“I'm very pessimistic about the future but very...

Chickens, Tomatoes and Cars: The Wonky Numbers Behind Your Carbon Footprint

Should we be sitting around eating burgers and driving pickup trucks, and just wait for the system change needed to live sustainably on this planet? We attempt here to put to rest the tired and misdirected debate about whether individual footprint-shrinking action is a distraction that slows needed systemic change, and whether it's worth doing.

OK, boomers, we blew it. Our best hope is that younger generations are aware and smart enough to save the planet. What do they know, and what are their planet-saving intentions? We went straight to the source, and sat down with a University of Denver Ecological Economics class to get their perspective. This conversation explores awareness and solutions – for inequity, poverty, hunger, and overconsumption, but mainly f...