Zero Population Growth is a process whereby the population of any given ecosystem is constant. It stems from a theory that the earth has a certain 'carrying capacity,' and the belief that we are either approaching that capacity, or that since we don't know what that capacity is we should stop growth until that number is known and understood.

One of many reasons someone might choose to support ZPG is the idea that it is better for some people to live in decent conditions than for many to live in bad conditions. This is, again, based on the belief that if population growth does not slow or stop then humanity will be subject, as a whole, to abject poverty and hunger.

There are many studies supporting the positions of both sides of the disagreement as to whether there is a real problem, or whether it will become a problem in the next few millennia. At this point it is simply a lobbying effort that supports many initiatives aimed at slowing population growth, such as womens rights (abortion, contraception, etc), UN efforts for human rights (aimed at making all countries nice to live in to reduce immigration), and a broad public awareness effort (propaganda) to sway popular opinion towards treating the earth as a zero sum resource.

ZPG may refer to the system of beliefs surrounding zero population growth, or it may refer directly to the organization (US based) of that name.

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