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I'm not making a Malthsian argument. I'm stating a fact. At current levels of consumption (which includes much more than food) we are beyond carrying capacity

I'm not making a Malthsian argument. I'm stating a fact. At current levels of consumption (which includes much more than food) we are beyond carrying capacity of the planet. Technology may eventually make this a false statement but it currently isn't false. There is much more to living than just food. That we can grow enough food is not a persuasive argument that there aren't too many people on the planet. People shit, pollute, destroy, and consume.

CWuestefeld 10y ago
At current levels of consumption (which includes much more than food) we are beyond carrying capacity of the planet. Technology may eventually make this a false statement but it currently isn't false. But this has ALWAYS been true. You haven't given any reason to think differently. There is much more to living than just food. ... People shit, pollute, destroy, and consume. Exactly. Yet we've invented sanitation. And if you look at the trends, our higher standard of living has given us the luxury to curtail the pollution and destruction. America's air and water is MUCH cleaner now than it was when I was growing up (just as the Clean Air Act was getting started). Thanks to smart scientists and engineers, we've learned new ways to do things that that are far more environmentally friendly. In a way you're right. The problems will never be entirely fixed, because nothing is infinite. But a very long history shows that while we're always on the brink of destruction, we're also always on the brink of brilliant new insights that break us through those barriers. The source of those brilliant insights is the minds of the people. Calling for drastic reductions in birth rates would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs: innovation is what's going to keep saving our butts.