Embracing Fertility Decline| Philip Cafaro

An aging and shrinking population is good for both humanity and the Earth. Philip Cafaro, philosopher and environmental ethicist, joins us. News reports and economists exhibit collective angst about declining birth rates and the resulting aging of populations in many nations. They worry about labor shortages, upside-down pension programs, rising health care burdens and stagnating GDP. A research team at The Overpopulation Project wondered if these challenges are outweighed by the ecological advantage of a population shrinking back to a level that won’t crush the Earth. In this episode World Population Balance Executive Director Dave Gardner visits with one of the researchers, Philip Cafaro, professor of philosophy at Colorado State University and affiliated faculty member of CSU’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability. Up for discussion: Can a contracting population work economically and socially? See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/philip-cafaro   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  *Episodes from 2016-2021 were hosted by former executive director Dave Gardner and later with co-host Erika Arias, and then with co-host Nandita Bajaj. Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance