Brian Jenkins

The following comes to us from the Population Research Institute - PRI. 

We at PRI are proud to announce the sixth episode of our highly popular YouTube cartoon series. Called “Urbanization: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad City?” it talks about why people are crowding into cities in increasing numbers.

Over the past hundred years, half the world’s population has moved country to city. Megacities with ten million or more people have sprung up as countrysides have emptied out.

But urban overcrowding should not be mistaken for overpopulation. Heavy traffic, homelessness, and long lines are not symptoms of a global glut of people, but of people seeking the good life that cities offer.

“Urbanites often complain about overcrowding,” says Steven Mosher, PRI’s president. “Yet they enjoy the economic, educational and cultural benefits that come from living in the city. This video will help them understand that they can’t have the perquisites of city life without the people that provide them. If you don’t love your neighbors you can always move to North Dakota where you won’t have any.”

“The fight against the myth of overpopulation does not have to be a bare-knuckled brawl,” continues Mosher. “These videos are funny and easy to digest, the very opposite of Al Gore's dark and boring pronouncements on the 'dangers' of too many people. Our viewers end up considering the science that supports our pro-people position, often for the very first time. We say to our skeptics: watch, laugh, and learn.”

The latest video, two minutes long, is available below, or by visiting overpopulationisamyth.com. The series has, to date, garnered over 1,500,000 views in multiple languages.