408,000

That’s how much the UK population grew by in 2008. Just imagine: 408,000 new people. That’s basically adding a city the size of Liverpool to our already overcrowded country.

And it’s not immigration that’s the prime cause of this increase either. If you read the BBC report here you’ll find no mention of that most taboo of subjects: that this continued growth in the number of human beings is unsustainable over the medium term, never mind the long term.

The ridiculous speed at which humans have increased our numbers was driven home to me while watching various documentaries of the 1969 moon landings. The astronauts spoke of representing three billion people, the entire population of the planet Earth. Now, just 40 years later, we number 6.7 billion.

Everything that is happening with our climate and environment is down to one statistic: the rise in population. It’s time to stop brushing this under the carpet and start asking the awkward question: when will we wake up to the fact there are too many of us here? And what can we do about it?