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Superlongevity Without Overpopulation
bodies of water is an example of this. The desertification of
collectively or government owned land in Africa is another.
We can be reasonably confident that the trend towards less
pollution with greater population will continue. However,
complacency is out of place. We should press for responsible
management of resources by privatizing collectively owned
resources to create incentives for sound management and
renewal.
So long as we continue to allow freedom to generate more
wealth and better technology, we can expect pollution to
continue abating. More efficient recycling, production pro-
cesses that generate fewer pollutants, and better monitoring
and detection of polluters, along with economic incentives
making each producer responsible for their output, will allow
us to continue improving our environment even as population
grows. Assuming that we achieve complete control of matter
at the molecular level, as expected by nanotechnologists, we
will have the keys to production without pollution. Another
product of molecular manufacturing will be the disappear-
ance of most large-scale, clumsy machinery. Less and less land
will need to be used for manufacturing equipment, making
more room for people to enjoy. Some manufacturing will
be moved into space. The result of these and other changes
(some of which are already underway) will be the freeing of
the Earth from unwanted, but previously necessary, means
and by-products of manufacturing.
The population issue raises numerous factual, economic,
and ethical concerns. I urge the interested reader to check
into the sources listed in the References, especially the essays
by Jesse Ausubel [18] and the books by Bailey, Lomborg, and
Simon. [3;19;2025] I have only sketched lines of thinking
showing that we would be severely misguided not to push
for extended life out of fear of overpopulation. Let us move
full speed ahead with extending life span: Once we have