Overcrowding and overpopulation a health issue

September 1, 2025

Julian Cribb cites overpopulation and overcrowding as the two major causes of a pandemic. Thus, cruise ships and high-rise buildings must be regarded as giant petri-dishes, facilitating the growth of micro-organisms that cause disease.

This is a problem because, while populations grow, we do need to densify our cities. We have to stop urban sprawl, that is, the encroachment of cities onto natural bush or farmland, the latter needed to feed people.

The only solution is to stop further growth of human numbers. Cities can’t go out without destroying other species’ habitats or our food base, and they can’t go up much without compromising the health of their inhabitants.

This is not to ignore the eight other causes of a pandemic that Cribb cites. Travel was the third. Planes are another great petri-dish. Who has not come back from an overseas trip at least once with a respiratory infection contracted on the plane? Intensive livestock industries are a nightmare, not just from an animal rights’ perspective, but also from the increased likelihood of disease transmission. And public health systems? Surely, they are the bedrock of a civilised society, yet we see funds diverted away from them for unnecessary nuclear submarines.