I accidentally scheduled this to go out at 3:35 pm instead of midnight and can’t find a way to change the scheduling! Apologies if you were looking for it earlier!
A week ago I read this.
Professor William Rees, of the University of British Columbia, in Canada, known for coming up with the concept of “ecological footprint” of human actions, talks about a “massive population correction”.
Many people, I suspect will completely ignore this, saying it’s panic-mongering. The comment that I found the most telling is that there is the science to do something about it, but not the political will.
This (overpopulation) has been ignored by both individuals and governments. It’s somewhat obvious to me that the more people there are, the more we consume, thus increasing the pressure on land, for food production, increasing the release of greenhouse gases (more ‘things’ need to be produced to satisfy demand and more transport) and depleting the Earth’s resources. This is the only place we have to live and get all we need. If that goes, we’re sunk.
What do you think are the likely scenarios of the next 100 years? Do you agree with the viewpoint of these scientists? I would love to hear what you think.
Please add your comments in the comments box.
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Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 
Let’s treat this like the moon race, and take action now. We can consume and reproduce less as a species.
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Absolutely.
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Personally, I believe in the power of human innovation and collective action to address these challenges and create a more sustainable and equitable future.
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I sincerely hope you’re right, Alexx.
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For a long time, I’ve thought that overpopulation is the root of most of our problems and difficult challenges. Improvements in agriculture and medicine have helped, but the Earth can only sustain so many people and we’re already past that point. Now I do not support efforts for widespread abortions and “helping old folks” to end their lives but we can encourage better, ethical birth control and dial back the constant striving to expand the economy, etc. that fuels population growth. It’s a tough problem because people have to be convinced to voluntarily do their part to slow, then reverse population growth. God (or whoever or whatever you revere) help us!
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Yes, one problem is the economic system. I’ve no answer, but neither capitalism nor communism have worked. If we have 2% growth this year, we’re consuming more. If we grow 2% next year, that’s 2% of a larger number, so consuming even more than before. Thus the continued emphasis of growing the economy increases consumption, therefore more use of Earth’s precious and dwindling resources.
Fewer people to consume would obviously help.
And when I passed my driving test, I, and everyone I knew had to ask to borrow the family car. One car per family. Any family with two cars was considered well off. (Of course, not every family had a car!) Now, every individual has a car. Even 17 year olds who’ve just passed their test.
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Powerful message.
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My honest opinion: The world isn’t over-populated. Cities are. Government is over-populated. People need to empty out of cities and find their way. 90% of what government and media are telling you is a lie. Believe them at your own peril. They seek full control over you. But… Earth will take of itself. Fear not, the reduction of population of Earth is coming.
Within the next 10 years, a Carrington-like event will take place. If you don’t know about 1859, look it up. The power grid will go down and within a year, 90% of the people will be dead, mostly from starvation. I encourage everyone to learn to live like it’s 1850 with no power, no grocery store and no oil. You’ll have a better chance of surviving.
To add to this wonderful news, somewhere around 2044, a crustal shift will take place. Greenland will slide down to the equator, into tropical conditions (hence why they find woolly mammoths with plants undigested in their stomachs in northern locations) The flip happens every 12,500 years, and we’re due for another. Of the 10% who survived the grid going down, only about half will survive this catastrophic event.
So, rest at east. Worry not. Ignore the news and government and enjoy life. Personally, I’m loving life. I’m getting ready to sit back in my log cabin and enjoy the show. Things will get nasty, but I’m prepared.
If you didn’t want honesty, ignore my comment.
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Well, that’s a gloomy picture, Diane. However, Malthus predicted overpopulation would result in war, famine and disease leading to the deaths of many. Sound familiar? Yes, I agree, Earth can protect herself, and will.
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Gloomy? I guess it depends on how you look at it. I’ve lived all my life out of step with society. I’ve always felt I had been born in the wrong time. Now I know I’m meant to be here to preserve the ways of the past, ways that will see a new age of humans after the ‘lights go out’ for good. The whole idea of reverting back to the 1700s brings a peacefulness to my soul I can’t explain. I can accept this future.
What I can’t accept is a future that continues on the current trend, one that detaches from nature, one built on money, power and material goods. One where governments promote the murder of unborn children, the deliberate confusion of children regarding their sex, the encouragement of drugs (both medicinal and recreational), the poisonous foods said to be healthy, the destruction of lands for monocrops and cities… The intentional murder of a large number of people to bring about a ‘satisfactory population number’ in the name of a ‘climate emergency’ (aka climate scam).
You do understand the only way to reduce the population
fast enough to please the ‘powers who want to control the world’ is to murder millions of people? Are you okay with that? Where shall we start? Kill everyone over 60 years? Kill all prisoners? Sterilize half the population and/or forced abortions? Kill the mentally insane? Or hold a lottery? I’m not okay with any of this.
Nature always finds a way.
Malthus was wrong. We produce enough food to feed the world. The problem is distribution. Wars are brought on by many reasons, and the population need not be great. Look at the tribes in North America before the 1600s. They were at war with each other yet they had vast areas of land and nowhere near the population currently in North America.
I am enjoying these days, and I will enjoy the ‘gloomy’ future because I walk with nature. What will be will be.
PS: CO2 is the gas of life. We need more of it, not less.
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I agree with a lot of what you say, Diane, but you are wrong about carbon dioxide being the gas of life. If you are a plant, yes, but animals, no. Oxygen is the gas that is essential for animals to live. Put an animal in an atmosphere of mainly carbon dioxide and it will suffocate. There is a minimum limit of oxygen for life to exist. That limit is 19.5%. Oxygen reacts with the food we eat to produce the energy required for everything we do. Including thinking. Carbon dioxide does not react. Try burning something in carbon dioxide. You must have seen, at school, a flame put into carbon dioxide. It is extinguished. This gas will not react with food in the body to produce energy required.
And, I did not suggest, nor imply we should resort to euthanasia of the elderly, mentally ill, forced sterilisation or other forced means. Those ideas are anathema to me. I actually said I don’t know what the answer is.
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I’ve felt for a long time that overpopulation is a major cause of many of the troubles we have on this earth. I suppose if we keep having wars we will soon blow up enough people that it will solve the problem.
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It’s something I think a lot of people feel, but daren’t talk about.
The idea of wars sorting things out is scary though. I have 2 grandsons in the age to be called up in the event the UK becomes embroiled in a war. It frightens me.
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It is a very scary thing – the world situation as it is now. Adding to the problems is the fact that most of North America is practically leaderless. It is like a rudderless ship heading into bad weather.
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