> benefiting from the level of unprecedented wealth and prosperity we live in, which came from humanity spreading around the globe and ingeniously utilizing its

> benefiting from the level of unprecedented wealth and prosperity we live in, which came from humanity spreading around the globe and ingeniously utilizing its resources, and now wanting to pull the ladder of life itself up away from the next generation. Uh, where else on the globe do we have to spread? What new resources are there for us to discover? The time period where a growing human population could grow their standard of living by moving into pristine lands and exploiting their natural resources is basically over. Lands are either already being exploited, or are intentionally protected. And the side effects of exploitation are starting to balance against the benefits. We can't think about burning the next 1,000 tons of coal, the same way we thought about the first 1,000 tons of coal humanity burned. I think you've got the idea that a growing human population was a major factor in building wealth and prosperity, which is not really true. Our ability to adapt to and exploit new areas of the Earth allowed us to grow wealth and prosperity despite steep population growth. I'm not advocating for forced sterilization. But it is absolutely true that humanity cannot continue to grow its standard of living by just keeping on with what worked 100 years ago.