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Thursday, November 03, 2011

SUSTAINABLE?

7 billion people.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The earth can barely sustain the population we have now (7 million). The graph is a startling representation of where we are heading. There is a finite amount of natural resources. The biggest nation, China, is no longer a third-world country. AS it continues to develop, its people will demand more of our resources. At least China has adopted the one-child policy; India will soon overtake China, and then what?

Anonymous said...

Of course it's sustainable. Anyone who says it isn't is ignorant of history. As the graph shows, the population has increased dramatically in the past four hundred years. This is also the same time that our standard of living has increased dramatically, too. We have far more people in the world than we had in 1500 and yet the average person is infinitely more comfortable, well fed, and healthier now than then.

There is a finite amount of natural resources, 2:59, but you ignore the infinite resource of human ingenuity. We've figured out new ways to use our resources to support a huge population increase. There's no sign that our ingenuity is going to stop any time soon.

So, yes, population increase is sustainable. More people means a greater pool of ingenuity. We are at no risk from overpopulation.

Anonymous said...

well first there are more than 7 million people on this earth, in fact there are more than 7 million in the USA...

You want to know about "then what"? well I will tell you "what"... China or India or whom ever that would need those resources are more than likely going to just take them...

Rick said...

You could fit the entire population of the world into the city of Dallas and still have plenty of room left. No need to panic.

Anonymous said...

Yes that 7 billion, with a "B". We live longer, we keep alive people who would have died in the past. We no longer allow nature to take its course without intervening. It's no longer survival of the fittest. Children are born as a means of income, without the thought of repercussions in the future. It's the society we have created.

Anonymous said...

The earth can only sustain 5 billion people indefinitely. Rick...do you really think you could fit 7 billion in the city of Dallas? You are a fool to downplay the consequences of overpopulation. Think about this. Plagues are diseases of overpopulation. Starvation is a condition of overpopulation. Overpopulation is a very real problem.

Unknown said...

"You could fit the entire population of the world into the city of Dallas and still have plenty of room left. No need to panic."

No you couldn't. There is no residential housing or zoning there. Great place. Nobody gets mugged after work.

Anonymous said...

To 4:56, since both starvation and plagues have gone down globally as population has gone up, it doesn't seem your theory is on very solid ground.

Again, as the world has become more populated, people are living longer, eating better diets, and there is far less disease. People like those on this thread have been predicting problems from overpopulation dating back to Thomas Malthus. They have continually been wrong.

Anonymous said...

When the population gets to a point where the earth cannot sustain it, nature will take over and reduce said population.

Anonymous said...

Can you imagine how many more there would be if abortion was illegal these last 38 years?