The eco guide to population growth

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/12/eco-guide-to-population-growth

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The regularity with which I’m contacted by population worriers – people who think it’s pointless discussing green energy, climate change and ethical pensions when the elephant in the room is actually the new human in the room – is impressive. They say that the planet needs fewer people. End of.

The numbers are indeed eye catching. Today there are 7 billion humans alive (twice the number who were alive in 1965) – and each hour we add 10,000 more. By 2050, UN demographers predict, there will be at least 9 billion of us putting a strain on life-sustaining resources.

Some experts suggest we’re at “peak farmland”, – meaning the predictions of cleric Thomas Malthus, who published his population theory in 1798, are coming to fruition. Malthus suggested that our global population would outpace food supplies until war, disease and famine arrived to halt the party.

As a child-free eco type, I could be smug about not contributing any new humans to the planet, but with the exception of beekeepers, I’ve found it hard to find a group that agrees less with Malthus than demographers. Calculations are difficult, fertility theories abound, and the population growth rate has fallen by more than 40%. It’s complicated.

I prefer to be Pollyanna-ish about it: rather than fearing more people, let’s believe that the new ones will make a difference, fix the energy gap, work out how to develop sustainable protein sources and so on.

But eco innovators won’t magically appear. Eco literacy isn’t even on the school curriculums of developed countries, so bravo to initiatives such as Young Green Britons by Ecotricity and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. Nor will solutions come from generations trapped in poverty, which is to my mind the real elephant in the room, along with the overconsumption of “developed nations”. In fact, they’re the two I really worry about.

The big picture: EastEnders goes green

Even by EastEnders standards, it has been a gut-wrenching few months (RIP Peggy Mitchell). But if you can see through the tears to the rolling credits, you’ll notice something new: the soap has lately begun running an albert+ logo. albert+ is the TV industry-led initiative for green film production. Hot on the heels of Corrie, EastEnders has installed low-energy lighting in two of its studios and is gradually bringing in solar power. Another example of British TV leading the low-emissions charge.

Well dressed: the new Bottletop store

I was excited when I heard that luxe ethical accessories brand Bottletop was opening a flagship store on London’s Regent Street – not because I’m sentimental about bricks-and-mortar shopping in these days of e-tailing (well, maybe a bit), but because I knew that Bottletop, which made its name turning aluminum ring-pulls into beautiful accessories, wouldn’t disappoint. The space, with its 3,000 hanging cans, is a showstopper. The shelves are wrapped in certified zero-deforestation leather from Brazil and the alcoves are clad in repurposed sheet aluminium. Go there if you’re at all interested in sustainable design and/or Brazil, where the Bottletop atelier is based. Along with its range of bags (they start at £95, and the bestseller is Misty, at £165), I’m in love with Timothy Han’s new scent, which features fairly traded Brazilian cedarwood. Visit Bottletop at 84 Regent Street, London W1B 5AJ (07519 406492).

Email Lucy at lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @lucysiegle