"The population has doubled again, but still … no apocalypse."

You're kidding, right?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/climate/colorado-river-biden-cuts.html

When the population was half what it is now, we created quantum mechanics and general relativity. I don't think that adding more and more people is the answer.

If the population were only 1B, climate change would not be an issue. Nor would plastic pollution. Nor would ocean acidification. Nor would housing prices.