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Whose children are the problem? Population, wealth and the ecology of inequality Willy De Backer Retired journalist exploring interconnected crises reshaping our world. Digging into social-ecological security, planetary health, & justice within the web of life. December 12, 2025   "If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." With these words, Ebenezer Scrooge became literature's most famous villain. The Ghost of Christmas Present later throws them back at him: "Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die?" Nearly two centuries later, climate science demands we revisit Dickens’ most renowned anti-hero. The wealthiest 10 per cent of the global population are responsible for roughly half of all greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon footprint of the 1 per cent is approximately 175 times greater than that of the poorest 10 per cent. The ecological footprint of an American ...

  Dear Degrowthers, This is a response to Rob Jarvis’ latest under the ‘Gregg’s ideas’ thread in which he mentioned religious influences.  Gregg’s draft document is now available as an online link:  https://poemsforparliament.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FoundationalManualforHumanExistence-V2.pdf I would urge Gregg to share this widely without delay; the appetite for these types of ideas is huge. People are waking up to reality rapidly; they are frantically scrabbling around trying to work out where to go from here. Gregg, let us know how freely you would like this to be shared.  My intuitive assessment is that humanity is now very close to a collective mindset shift that will make suggestions like those offered by Rob, Gregg, Richard, myself, and many others into a viable social tipping point for change.  Any change will be iterative as we experiment and fail, but there is a growing groundswell that is seeking a different direction already. We are a smal...