In this blog post, we will look at how the phenomenon of increasing human lifespan is affecting nature and human society, and whether it is a blessing or a disaster.
The world’s population continues to grow. If you visit the “Population Clock” website, you can see the number of people in the world in real time. This website shows the number of people changing every moment. As of April 6, 2025, the world’s population is 8,215,605,964. The world’s population is growing at an astonishing rate. There are many factors that contribute to population growth, but it is thought that the increasing average life expectancy of humans has played a major role.
These days, the phrase “the age of 100” is often used. This is an expression that refers to the fact that human life expectancy is increasing due to the development of science and medicine. The phrase “the age of 100” that often appears in newspapers is not just a buzzword. Human life expectancy is increasing and we are now approaching the age of 100. The “age of 100” that had only been talked about has actually arrived. It is said that the average life expectancy of humans in the primitive age was around 10 years. Compared to the present, this is almost a tenfold difference. Since then, the average life expectancy of humans has steadily increased, reaching the current level. However, is it a blessing to increase the average life expectancy of humans, in other words, to live longer?
First of all, it is thought that for nature, humans living longer is not a blessing. A recently published paper titled “Socioecological Predictors of Invasive and Endangered Species Worldwide” can predict the impact of increasing human lifespan on nature. This paper applied Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” to predict the health of nature. The researchers examined the economic and social factors that change nature among various human activities and condensed them into 15 variables, then applied them to changes in endangered species and invasive alien species of birds and mammals to see which variables produced the most accurate prediction results. As a result, the variable that showed the most accurate results in predicting changes in endangered species and invasive alien species was “human life expectancy.” As human life expectancy increases, the population grows, and almost all areas are touched by human hands, which is predicted to rapidly deteriorate the natural environment of the area. Ultimately, this study revealed that as human life expectancy increases, the burden on nature increases, and the life expectancy of nature decreases. This clearly shows that the biggest enemy threatening the health of nature around the world is “human life expectancy.”
Moreover, humans have considered nature to be something that must be conquered when defining the relationship between humans and nature. Since the relationship between humans and nature has been defined from this human-centered perspective, humans have not felt much guilt about changing and damaging nature as they wish. On the contrary, it was taken for granted. For example, we can see how humans view nature through cases such as indiscriminately logging a large part of the Amazon, called the “lungs of the Earth,” for the benefit of their own country, or overfishing endangered animals to protect their own health. In this situation, increasing human lifespan and population is by no means a blessing for nature.
So, is living a long life a blessing for humans? I don’t think it is a blessing for humans either. With the development of science and technology and medicine, human lifespan has gradually increased, and we can now live longer than before. “Healthy life expectancy” is the period that reflects the “quality of life” from the average life expectancy, excluding the period when people are unable to work due to illness or injury. Healthy life expectancy is used as an indicator of people’s happiness in the health sector. Currently, there is a gap of about 10 years between the average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in Korea. This means that the period of time during which people cannot lead a normal life due to injuries or diseases is 10 years. The ultimate goal of health policy is to live a long and healthy life, but the world is only interested in living long. Research on the subject is insufficient in Korea. Living a long life is important, but living a long life in good health is more important. Is an increase in life expectancy without a healthy life worth it? If the increased life span is not guaranteed, old age is never a blessing.
To sum up what has been said so far, living longer is not a blessing for nature or humans. However, it is a problem that can be overcome and a challenge that must be solved. In order for humans to live longer without threatening the health of nature, the relationship between humans and nature must be properly defined. Humans are not in a position to conquer nature, but are just members of a huge ecosystem called nature along with other living things. Above all, we must bear in mind that humans cannot survive without nature. Therefore, humans must step out of their selfish perspective and respect the right to survive of animals and plants as members of nature and view nature. Doing so will not make humans a blessing to nature, but at least it will not be a disaster.
In addition, for humans to truly be blessed by living longer, as pointed out by Choi Byung-ho, President of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, we should focus not only on simply living longer, but on living longer and healthier. Academic research should focus on living longer while enjoying a high quality of life, and health policies should be aligned accordingly. Individuals must manage their health steadily to increase their “healthy life expectancy” in line with the increasing “average life expectancy.” If you don’t want to end your life just lying in bed, you must make steady efforts to live a longer life healthily and actively and enjoy it. When we increase our healthy life expectancy on our own, rather than relying solely on our average life expectancy, we can achieve a disease-free life, not a life of being bedridden.
It is instinct for humans to live long. However, humans today are so faithful to their instincts that they do not look around and just run forward to live long. Humans are too harsh on nature and themselves. Now, we should not just follow our instincts, but look around us and think rationally. I hope that humans will live longer and longer, and that this will be a blessing for both nature and humans.
