The Population Bomb: How We Survived It

[kennyc]

The Population Bomb: How We Survived It

ScienceDaily (Apr. 1, 2011) — World population will reach 7 billion this year, prompting new concerns about whether the world will soon face a major population crisis.

"In spite of 50 years of the fastest population growth on record, the world did remarkably well in producing enough food and reducing poverty," said University of Michigan economist David Lam, in his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America.

Lam is a professor of economics and a research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research. The talk is titled "How the World Survived the Population Bomb: Lessons from 50 Years of Exceptional Demographic History."

In 1968, when Paul Ehrlich's book, "The Population Bomb," triggered alarm about the impact of a rapidly growing world population, growth rates were about 2 percent and world population doubled in the 39 years between 1960 and 1999.

According to Lam, that is something that never happened before and will never happen again.
........

From:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0401203436.htm

[DixieGal]

Again, I say that humanity must get off this rock. The Google X Prize is very exciting to me. We are too clever as a species to keep crowding onto the Earth like this. The universe is waiting for us out there, and it is time to go.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Again, I say humanity must reduce its population growth. I disagree with Lam: We have not done that great a job of feeding the world and reducing poverty; we've essentially opened up new agricultural possibilities, but in unstable areas that are already at risk from global warming, the loss of agricultural allies (bees and other insects), and, yes, population growth. A major failure of the crops in any of these regions is likely within the next 10-20 years, and will affect a huge swath of the population.

Further, the rest of the industrial system is not keeping up with the needs of everyone, and further increasing global warming as it tries.

Lam must be ignoring the longer population trend, wherein we increased our population 3,000-fold in 200 years.

In short, the only reason we've "survived" is that we haven't been hit with the bomb's fallout yet.

The population is forcing humanity to put more and more of its support capacity on credit, and when the bill comes due, humanity will be in for a rude awakening.

[kennyc]

I think I'm more in your camp Steven.....I'm very worried about the next century.

Dixiegal I also agree. We need to continue looking for ways to survive in space. Unfortunately this doesn't appear to be a real possibility for the the foreseeable future -- still that is even more reason to work towards it.

[wyndslash]

i agree with steven.

but my solution is probably the most drastic :P

i feel we should all die and get off this rock. i don't think we're a clever species; just cruel and destructive D:

[DixieGal]

But Steve, if population were to dramatically decline, how would the current high population continue at this high level of civilization? And birthrate restriction is horrible to me. We wanted children so badly, but it was not meant to be. So I see restrictions on numbers of children per family as barbaric. That leaves disease, war, or some catastrophic event as the other ways of reducing population. I'm just not crazy about any of those solutions.

Still, at this point, we have plenty of space to live in, if we can learn to live in, for example, deserts, if we can learn to live with the environment and not try to bring lush water-wasting lawns and gardens with us.

[wyndslash]

@dixie: i think human beings can adapt. i don't think our current system is perfect; there is definitely ALOT of room for improvement. and speaking from my POV, i'm all for birthrate restriction (or at least, just contraceptives to prevent disease and infant as well as mothers' deaths). i'm sick and tired of hearing about all these starving/dying/drugged up children because the freaking church keeps butting their head in politics.

anyway, don't let my grim outlook of life disturb you xD;

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i agree with steven.

but my solution is probably the most drastic :P

i feel we should all die and get off this rock. i don't think we're a clever species; just cruel and destructive D:

Eek! Eeeek! But crisis (environmental stress) with bring evolution into play, perhaps we'll get better.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

But Steve, if population were to dramatically decline, how would the current high population continue at this high level of civilization?

Our "high level" of civilization would be either higher, or as high for more people, if there were fewer people to which we had to spread everything around. We already know that machines can do much of the work labor produces... we have people who cannot find work... and many people who will never see the things you and I take for granted. A smaller population would more equally share the resources at hand, so there could be less poverty, less need, less homelessness and less ignorance.

Originally Posted by DixieGal

That leaves disease, war, or some catastrophic event as the other ways of reducing population. I'm just not crazy about any of those solutions.

Well, it's either going to be one--disease, war or some catastrophic event--or birthrate restriction. Take your pick as to which one you'd rather see. Me personally, I'd rather see fewer children so fewer children have to die by the ways mentioned above, but that's me.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Eek! Eeeek! But crisis (environmental stress) with bring evolution into play, perhaps we'll get better.

That is already happening, as more microbes are learning to live within our bodies and resist our efforts to eradicate them. Eventually we can expect to see a deadly virus that decimates our population with virtually no way to stop it, leaving behind a more resistant breed of humans and a much smaller population. This could happen, literally, at any time.

Of course, a decimated population that hasn't learned from its past mistakes will only re-breed itself into dangerous numbers again, and possibly kickstart another cycle of die-offs by disease in the future. Assuming enough of a decimated population survives to bring the numbers back up.

[wannabee]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i feel we should all die and get off this rock

I vote a different method please.

Some would like to evolve into smarter life-forms and astral travel to other planes of existence.

I reckon we should just meet at the pub on the corner and talk it out and if we can't work out an agreement then come back and do it every week until we do. this swing is ggod, dood , goog oh well11... see you here next wekl weel wwweeek

Let me off

[kennyc]

I say we all move to New South Wales and have some of what he's having.

[The Terminator]

Isn't this sort of P&R stuff?

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by THE TERMINATOR

Isn't this sort of P&R stuff?

Naw, it's just friends chatting on the back porch on a beautiful sunny Saturday. Pull up a chair and pour yourself some iced tea.

[kennyc]

Ice Tea, that sounds good, it's already over 70 out there today! Hottest day of the year so far!