Is the world overpopulated?

Truths4yer

New member
Yes, the world is seriously overpopulated and getting worse.
WorldPopulationGrowth.jpg


Gerland et al. 2014, Science, 346(6206), 234-237, DOI: 10.1126/science.1257469
"The world population is unlikely to stop growing this century. There is an 80% probability that world population, now 7.2 billion people, will increase to between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion in 2100... Much of the increase is expected to happen in Africa, in part due to higher fertility rates and a recent slowdown in the pace of fertility decline."

Currently we've been able to expand at the expense of species other than our own. E.G. Walsh et al. 2003, Nature, 422(6932), 611-614:
"Rapidly expanding human populations have devastated gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) habitats". "The next decade will see our closest relatives pushed to the brink of extinction".

Eventually our expansion will start to cause us issues however. Issues related to exhaustion of finite resources (phosphorus, fossil fuels etc) and those related to disease transmission rates, climate change, loss of animal species that we feed on or that form essential parts of the ecosystems that we rely on etc.

One key point to get across is that the expansion of the human population is almost completely without benefit and is 100% unnecessary. I don't believe in the garden of Eden but if there were such a thing, you have it here on Earth... and you're destroying it, needlessly.

Far more on this can be found at my essay at the following link, on a related topic;
http://homoresponse.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-detriment-of-heterosexuality.html

P.S. I haven't watched the video in the OP yet but plan to.
 

BOLCATS

BANNED
Banned
Yes, the world is seriously overpopulated and getting worse.
WorldPopulationGrowth.jpg


Gerland et al. 2014, Science, 346(6206), 234-237, DOI: 10.1126/science.1257469
"The world population is unlikely to stop growing this century. There is an 80% probability that world population, now 7.2 billion people, will increase to between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion in 2100... Much of the increase is expected to happen in Africa, in part due to higher fertility rates and a recent slowdown in the pace of fertility decline."

Currently we've been able to expand at the expense of species other than our own. E.G. Walsh et al. 2003, Nature, 422(6932), 611-614:
"Rapidly expanding human populations have devastated gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) habitats". "The next decade will see our closest relatives pushed to the brink of extinction".

Eventually our expansion will start to cause us issues however. Issues related to exhaustion of finite resources (phosphorus, fossil fuels etc) and those related to disease transmission rates, climate change, loss of animal species that we feed on or that form essential parts of the ecosystems that we rely on etc.

One key point to get across is that the expansion of the human population is almost completely without benefit and is 100% unnecessary. I don't believe in the garden of Eden but if there were such a thing, you have it here on Earth... and you're destroying it, needlessly.

Far more on this can be found at my essay at the following link, on a related topic;
http://homoresponse.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-detriment-of-heterosexuality.html

P.S. I haven't watched the video in the OP yet but plan to.

All of the points your article brings up are moot. Will mankind be able to feed itself and clothe itself and have average lifespans over 50 when the population is 11 billion? Yes. This makes your other points meaningless.
 

oatmeal

Well-known member
It depends on what you believe is being threatened. Too many people? It appears the world population will level out at 11 billion by 2100. Too many poor? There is evidence the world is growing richer for everyone. There is even evidence the gap between rich and poor is narrowing in some countries.

What I foresee some people objecting to in this rosy scenario is the issue of ecology or "saving the planet". They will post charts showing how the vast majority of the planet surface is dedicated to providing for human beings with very little planet surface left to support a growing population. Yes, extinctions will continue to grow as mankind grows, but, as I pointed out, the population will eventually level out.

In order to support 11 billion people at $10 bucks a day for the vast majority, there needs to be a greater supply of cheap energy. I'm sorry, but renewables just don't cut it. You must have fossil fuels alongside nuclear and hydrogen. Wind and solar are costly and a drop in the bucket.

All the hysteria about global warming and the draconian cutbacks in fossil fuel use that its proponents demand will kill and impoverish
vastly more people than any "disasters" that "climate change" will ever bring about.

Much of my claims are found in the following film:
" The Overpopulation Myth" http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+over+population+myth&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=99A585D82076B7D7568899A585D82076B7D75688

When fear instead of God's ability becomes the motivation and modus operandi then all kinds of disasters seem viable.
 

BOLCATS

BANNED
Banned
When fear instead of God's ability becomes the motivation and modus operandi then all kinds of disasters seem viable.

I'm not a Christian and this seems like a much more reasonable philosophy to take. The world is constantly changing. Sure, its sad to lose species and a pristine world but, which is more important? A pristine diverse planet or a booming planet of humans with tremendous potential?
 

whitestone

Well-known member
In the old days there was the "old world",the old world is an arbitrary statement based on the term "new world",that is when the new world was discovered(Americas),,,

The old world was overpopulated until land for farming was premium. In that day whether to raise sheep,cattle ect. verses growing large crops was a majior concern. When the new world was discovered most who lived in the old world could then live on their land and it didn't matter as much what they grew or raised because cattle,produce,cotton ect. was being raised/grown in the newly discovered bread basket.

When the new world no longer exist,then the food supply being sold/exported from the new world to the old world will cease. When the food supply grown in the new world ends and is no longer being shipped to the old world the old world will descend into mass starvation(=no food coming to old world&old world overpopulated),,,

I guess I could just blurt out "Yellowstone",,but it's better if one figures it out on their own. I could blurt out "pin number in your forehead",,,but who will believe it unless they spend the time doing their own studies to prove or disprove it?,,,,
 

Truths4yer

New member
All of the points your article brings up are moot. Will mankind be able to feed itself and clothe itself and have average lifespans over 50 when the population is 11 billion? Yes. This makes your other points meaningless.
In a hypothetical scenario, you are placed in a small windowless cage. You are only allowed out for a few hours a week in to a larger cage, with some windows. You are provided with bland food and clothes and will live past 50.

1) Is this a good life?
2) Is this a life that you would be as happy with as your current one?




On another note, every animal population tends to fluctuate (in numbers) up and down repeatedly over time, as depicted in the below image. As it peaks, there is an abundance of food for that population's predators, so they increase in population and consequently kill more of their prey.

The food source for the primary population may also become more scarce as the population peaks and therefore consumes more, causing starvation/malnutrition and increased death/disease as a result of increased population density/transmission rates. Humans have overcome large predators but are still susceptible to pathogenic microorganisms.
Figure_45_06_01.jpg


The fall in population on the chart is characterised by significant suffering for the species as they're torn apart by predators, starved or overcome with illness. In the case of humans, this may include being drowned by natural disasters imposed by anthropogenic climate change and needlessly living on fault lines/near active volcanoes due to overpopulation.

Human arrogance is such that in some cases, we think we can needlessly continue to expand, as depicted in the image in my previous post. The higher that peak goes, the more we're living on a knife's edge in terms of the strain we put on the planet and the harder and more painful the fall will be. Our technology has enabled us to avoid the fall for now at the selfish expense of other species but it seems very unlikely that we will be able to do that indefinitely, especially given that the Earth's resources are finite. There are indications of impending consequences already, such as climate change and antibiotic resistance.

With this in mind, it must not be forgotten that having a human population in the billions is entirely needless.
 

Aimiel

Well-known member
Every single soul on the earth could live on an acre of land in the State of Texas and there would still be land left over. Could it be that there's still more room left elsewhere on the earth? :duh:
 

zoo22

Well-known member
Every single soul on the earth could live on an acre of land in the State of Texas and there would still be land left over.:

You think there are 700 billion acres in Texas?

Unbelievable.

TOL is a real treasure trove.
 

Jonahdog

BANNED
Banned
Every single soul on the earth could live on an acre of land in the State of Texas and there would still be land left over. Could it be that there's still more room left elsewhere on the earth? :duh:

Math not your strong suit? There are about 172 million acres in Texas, and about 7 billion people on earth. I think that work out to about 40 "souls"/acre. About a thousand square feet each person. 40' x 25'. Where do you put your house? your garden? Got a car?

But does sound like a great thing to do with Texas.
 
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