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All these erudite arguments do not really acknowledge that the situation is serious NOW, and has been for decades, if not longer. The earth can really only support half a billion people or so, and here we are, well over the six billion mark. Almost everyone I have talked with complains about overcrowding and traffic, pollution and environmental destruction, less affordable or desirable places to live, more competition for jobs, too many immigrants, etc. All one has to do is look around to see this happening before our very eyes. The problem is here NOW, whether or not it will eventually take care of itself with plague, natural disasters, or warfare. I think NOW is the time to start implementing laws and incentives to prevent overpopulation as well as over-consumption of natural resources. Otherwise, we certainly are in danger of blowing ourselves up for good.
I think it's obvious that the situation is serious now. I pointed out shortages of resources in China and LordBalfor went into excellent detail about where the real problems lie.
Overpopulation problems are worse and most serious in developing countries. If you really want action, you shouldn't complain on a forum full of rich, computer-literate people. You should go to developing countries and do something about it, or give money to people who will do something about it. If your aim is to proselytize to the forum masses, perhaps you should tell them how to help instead of just kicking up dust.
China's One Child Policy has stabilized the country's population growth, but it has a severe side-effect. Because of their Confucious heritage that prizes the first-born son, many Chinese families have opted to have a son if they could only have one child. This has led to an increasingly drastic imbalance between male and females, and many are worried what the future ramifications are if Chinese males can not find marriagable females.
India's population growth is still largely unchecked, and will soon be the world's most populous country. I believe they are at 1.12 billion people right now.
Interestingly, the developed countries are greying and will soon have a shrinking population. Western Europe, Japan and South Korea all have negative birth/death ratios. The United States grows largely due to immigration. But, the fact is, that it's just too costly to keep a large family currently in a developed nation. And new birth-control technologies comes out each year.
With a shrinking workforce in the developed world, large immigration patterns from less developed countries may be needed to keep these countries' economies alive.
Unless of course, your like Japan, and is trying to advance technology fast enough to have a robotic workforce to take care of their aging population.
They have a robot vacuum cleaner that will clean rooms door to door and even uses the elevator. How cool is that?
Interestingly, the developed countries are greying and will soon have a shrinking population. Western Europe, Japan and South Korea all have negative birth/death ratios.
Reading my post above, I realized what I wrote is not worded correctly.
Western Europe, Japan and South Korea and other developed countries do not have NEGATIVE birth/death ratios, just very very low ratios and low birth rates.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE OVERPOPULATION DEBATE?! Other than obvious GREED and IGNORANCE, OVERPOPULATION is the cause of most problems the world over!
Let's start talking about preventing overpopulation! Why are we not setting up incentives for having less children instead of rewarding those who continue to overpopulate an already completely overwhelmed planet?
Please post your thoughts and ideas.
Uhh... because there isnt a problem? We have enough food to feed ourselves, just poorly distributed. I don't see what the problem is.
Less people less problems. Isn't that obvious? Food, water, energy, pollution, conflict, etc. All countries should work on reducing population. The result would be a better life for all, not to mention the animal population.
....Let's start talking about preventing overpopulation! .......Please post your thoughts and ideas.
Can you tell me where, specifically, you feel "the land" is overpopulated? As I travel about I see huge blocks of unoccupied land that would obviously sustain life. So do we merely have areas where the population density is too heavy? Is that it? Should "we" possibly move people around a bit? Or should "we", in our primal wisdom, intervene in society to prevent other people from having more kids?
Or is there another problem that creates a symptom that mirrors overpopulation, possibly as Marodi posits? May we dialogue on this a bit further? It might prove to be interesting.
Uhh... because there isnt a problem? We have enough food to feed ourselves, just poorly distributed. I don't see what the problem is.
So, since you are a professional, what do you suppose the carrying capacity for Earth is? At what point do you suppose we implement global population control?
Of course knowing human history, we will first plow up every land available, then ration food, then mass starvation and death will occur before we ever actually do something.
Not to mention on the road to the mass deaths, the planet will be living in deplorable living conditions as natural resources will be prohibitly expensive for most, even ones taken for granted now like water and electricity.
I imagine before all the above occured humans will naturally act like trapped rats on go on a massive killing spree, we will wipe out hundreds of millions, if not billions over the control of the limited resources of the future.
Nice scenarios that are likely to happen just because many people feel the need to pump out kid after kid.
Can you tell me where, specifically, you feel "the land" is overpopulated? As I travel about I see huge blocks of unoccupied land that would obviously sustain life. So do we merely have areas where the population density is too heavy? Is that it? Should "we" possibly move people around a bit? Or should "we", in our primal wisdom, intervene in society to prevent other people from having more kids?
Or is there another problem that creates a symptom that mirrors overpopulation, possibly as Marodi posits? May we dialogue on this a bit further? It might prove to be interesting.
I guess you beleive that every bit of free land should be "developed" for human use with nothing left to spare save for a little park in the middle of one massive city. Plus you forget all the fintie resources people consume and the scarcity of the resources as more and more people consume them.
Remove any and all incentives to have kids and the situation will work itself out, no direct gov interference needed.
I guess you beleive that every bit of free land should be "developed" for human use with nothing left to spare save for a little park ]in the middle of one massive city.
Not a bit. We need greenspace,. growing space, etc. I'm talking about areas that are NOT in current use and are not already "reserved" for other purposes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by k350
Plus you forget all the fintie resources people consume and the scarcity of the resources as more and more people consume them. Remove any and all incentives to have kids and the situation will work itself out, no direct gov interference needed.
So as I understand it, you think government incentives are the reason folks have children. OK, I can see why some might think that way. But I think there are other reasons, too. How do you propose "working that out"?
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