In 1962 there were around three billion people on earth. It was a record and at the same time an inconspicuous turning point. From then on, more people no longer led to faster population growth. Although the population continued to increase, growth rates began to decline. A team led by Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University in Australia is now interpreting this change as an ecological signal. It is a sign that humanity may have exceeded the sustainable carrying capacity of its planet more than 60 years ago.
