181 Essays on Infinite Lifespans   Max More output. Fewer people are starving despite higher populations. This does not mean they are feeling satisfied. Millions still go hungry or are vulnerable to disruptions in supply. We need to push to remove trade barriers, abolish price controls on agri- culture (which discourage production and investment), and pressure governments engaging in warfare and collectivization to change their ways. POLLUTION Nor should we expect pollution to worsen as population grows.  Contrary  to  popular  belief,  overall  pollution  in  the more developed countries has been decreasing for decades. In the USA, levels of lead have dropped dramatically. Since the 1960’s levels of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and organic compounds have fallen despite a growing population. Air quality in major urban areas continues to improve, and the Great Lakes are returning toward earlier levels of purity. [17] This is no accident. As we become wealthier, we have more money to spare for a cleaner environment. When you are longing for food, shelter, and other basics, you will not spare much thought for the environment. So long as mecha- nisms exist for converting desires for cleaner air and water and space for recreation into the things themselves, we can expect it to happen. Most effective at spurring the positive changes are markets – price signals creating incentives for moves in the right direc- tion. If polluters must pay for what they produce because their activity intrudes on the property rights of others, they will search for ways to make things with less pollution. Pollution problems do exist. Most of them can be traced to a failure to enforce private property rights, so that resources are treated as free goods that need not be well managed. Fishing in unowned