The new documentary GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth explores why our economy and footprint and population can’t keep on expanding forever. It features green luminaries galore — Jane Goodall, Paul Ehrlich, Lester Brown, Raj Patel, Bill McKibben, Hunter Lovins. And, in the decidedly non-luminary category, I make a brief appearance too, talking about population and my decision to go childfree. Watch the trailer:
If you’re in the D.C. area, you can catch the premiere screening on Nov. 2. If not, check out the screening schedule to find out if the film is coming to your town soon. Or buy it yourself on DVD.
Read more on population. Check out our series 7 billion: What to expect when you’re expanding.If you’d like to delve further into our growth dilemma, I recommend the new book The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg, known for his warnings about Peak Oil and Peak Coal. The book may freak you out — our current economic and social systems are poised for total collapse, he argues — but it’ll leave you wiser.
For a lighter and shorter perspective on our growth quandary, listen in on this conversation in David Roberts’ head.
This is the latest in a series of GINK videos about population and reproduction (or a lack thereof). It’s also part of Grist’s 7 Billion series.

The numbers behind the numbers: Meet your 7 billion neighbors
What you don’t know about women, climate change, and population [VIDEO]
7 billion in 7 minutes: Science magazine explains it all [VIDEO]
I am the population problem
Will my baby be the 7 billionth?
Come and get your Endangered Species Condoms
Population math explained: Growth rate is down, total is up [VIDEO]
Women, population, and the age of the ‘Black Swan’
Women’s rights are key to slowing population growth
How environmental and women’s groups can work together
International family planning saves lives. So why is the GOP cutting it?
Where’s the contraceptive for overconsumption? [VIDEO]
Will more attention to climate change bring back ‘population control’?
7 billion? It's time to talk
We can feed 10 billion of us, study finds — but it won’t be easy
An indigenous take on family planning and population
Remember when Americans used to care about population? [VIDEO]
Talking to my son about sex and sustainability
Are Americans more worried about population than climate change?
What if population grows faster than the experts project?
Who you gonna call? GrowthBusters! [VIDEO]
7 billion, unpacked — a comic
Stop the ‘man swarm,’ save the wild world
Is the environmental crisis caused by the 7 billion or the 1%?
Three’s a crowd: Is it unethical to have more than two kids?
Live chat on population 7 billion — ask your questions and have your say-so
Climate change is our biggest challenge, says McKibben — but we need to keep working on population
How to feed 7 billion of us without ruining the planet