David Attenborough calls for population reduction

David Attenborough, the UK's most famous naturalist, is to speak at a conference in support of a reduction in world population. According to a report in the Sunday Times:

'Between now and 2050 the world’s population will rise from 6 billion to about 9.5 billion. This is the concern addressed by Attenborough. In his recent series, The Life of Mammals, he said: “Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment.” '

It is a sorry state of affairs when an intelligent and high-profile public figure should believe that the answer to the world's problems is fewer people.

Attenborough: cut population by half