Overpopulation
Or:
Why We're Really Screwed
Joint statement on overpopulation by 58 of the world's scientific academies.
Overpopulation was one of the first environmental problems that gripped me as a kid. I've largely given up hope that we'll do anything about it in time, especially since it's now politically incorrect to even mention it.
Or:
Why We're Really Screwed
Joint statement on overpopulation by 58 of the world's scientific academies.
Overpopulation was one of the first environmental problems that gripped me as a kid. I've largely given up hope that we'll do anything about it in time, especially since it's now politically incorrect to even mention it.
posted by Winston Smith at
4:43 PM
3 Comments:
Hmmm? Did you notice the bit about "peaking?" And while current demographic trends may not be in line with the most optimistic prediction, they support a good deal of optimism; it does seem like population will reach a high point in the middle of this century and decline thereafter. Since we're nowhere near the maximum population the Earth could feed, and still won't be at the predicted peak, I'm not sure that there is an overpopulation problem. I suppose that there are other problems that would be less bad if there were fewer people, but they all could be addressed more efficiently in more direct ways.
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2010/04/19/population_crash_ext2010
maybe this will help simmer you down. Or not.
A--
Well, if you think a peak at 9 billion (though some predict 12) is comforting...well, then, I guess that will comfort you.
M--
Well, if this one fellow is right, then that's good. However, one does have to worry about the moral motivations he professes here. He--as is so common now--largely assumes that people concerned about population growth are concerned because they hate brown people. He's also pushing a certain pro-feminist agenda (it's largely feminism that has saved the world according to him).
Now, I'm certainly concerned about racists who are worried about population growth...largely because I'm always concerned about racists, but also because they're making it impossible to talk about the population problem without people freaking out. And I think feminism (*real* feminism--*liberal* feminism...not the loopy radical feminism of the current university) *has* kinda sorta already saved the world by setting in motion the inexorable death of (though I detest the term) patriarchy. If it saves the world from population growth, too, I won't exactly be surprised.
But this is the only guy I've seen who seems to think that the population will fail to hit the mind-boggling 9 billion mark.
If he turns out to be right, I will literally (a) burst into tears of joy, and at least figuratively be (b) dancing in the streets.
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