The human population continues to grow by more than 75 million people annually. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, emission rates have remained steady at about 1.2 metric tons of carbon per person per year. Unfortunately, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has had little measurable effect on these per-capita emissions, even in the countries that have agreed to national targets. More than any other factor, population growth drives rising carbon emissions, and the US Census Bureau and United Nations both project that the global population, currently 6.6 billion, will surpass 9 billion before 2050. The implication is that one of the best strategies for reducing future greenhouse gas emissions is population stabilization, as quickly as can be achieved by noncoercive means.