Sometime today the human population reaches 7 billion people. For many in the U.S. halloween is the perfect day to reach this milestone, "over population" scares people, and it gives an easy answer to "what is wrong with the world?" and to the cause of environmental problems, including global climate change. "It's those people out there."
But population is a red herring in many ways. The developed world uses most the energy, produces most the food, and emits the most carbon. Yes, aspects of population cause problems but an environmntal and social justice movement that runs with this headline and platform isn't looking deep enough.