Even a major war or epidemic hardly dents the rate of growth, and modern wars have tremendous environmental consequences. It is for these practical reasons, as well as moral ones, that Euthanasians support only voluntary forms of population reduction, including suicide, free abortion, and sodomy, which they define as any sexual act not intended for procreation. They are also fiercely vegetarian, and support cannibalism for those who insist on eating flesh.
The planet is a living, breathing organism, and is capable of defending itself if necessary. The Church hopes to avoid the suffering this would entail by achieving a massive leap of consciousness in which human beings begin to think of themselves, not as individuals belonging to races or nation-states, but as a species. This species awareness would be the first step towards what Biodiversity author and population expert Paul Erlich calls "our absolute responsibility to protect what are our only known living companions in the universe."
