One recurrent problem with discussions of population control is how they generally veer toward fascism--toward "culling" populations deemed (by the comfortable elite) to be expendable. But that is a slippery slope!

For this reason, we must always couple discussions of population growth with (1) per capita resource use and energy expenditure (the ecological footprint) and (2) educational opportunities for women. Countless studies have shown that as women become better educated and have more opportunities in life, their birth rate goes down.

The other big change we need to make is to stop thinking of ourselves as only a parasite, living at the expense of nature--but rather as symbionts, using our innate intelligence and adaptive flexibility to work WITH, not against, nature, to enhance the health, competence, and resilience of all the systems--social and biological alike--that sustain us.

Unfortunately, the "Four Horsemen" are still likely to take their toll. But if the rest of us make a concerted effort to grow regenerative gardens, grow harmonious communities, and grow ecological awareness and responsibility, we may yet have a chance to send the Cancer of the Earth into spontaneous remission. That cancer is rooted not in population growth per se, but in our toxic and exploitive attitudes toward each other, and toward our magnificent, irreplaceable biological support system Gaia.