2 ms·
If you consider resource scarcity as an engineering problem, then removing consumers is only one solution. The other is to just increase the amount of resources
by manmal 9y ago
If you consider resource scarcity as an engineering problem, then removing consumers is only one solution. The other is to just increase the amount of resources available.
Re parents with many kids are draining resources - this holds true for countries like India, but certainly not regions like Europe. Here, farmers are paid by the EU for letting fields lie fallow, because there is only so much produce that is consumed in the EU. Also, consider the amount of food thrown away by supermarkets, which could be used if we were content with eating crooked looking cucumbers. An argument might be that those extra kids still deplete scarce resources by proxy, e.g. oil.. but as we are slowly transitioning to solar and wind power, this might almost entirely go away.
- kpil 9y agoWe can't increase the population forever,in unless we go full Culture-tech, and even then it's not "forever." Meanwhile, while it looks as if most continents are going in the right direction, we need to stop the extremest religious/political warrior movments prevalent in North Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. Eg. In Somalia, a lot of men want 20 kids, and while I can't personally understand why, it's encouraged by religious leaders. It's apparent that Somalia itself won't sustain that in only a generation. This can only lead to conflicts, presumably with richer regions. There are so many pear-shaped scenarios to go to from there, but I leave to your own imagination what a highly industrial neighbouring region could come up with if cornered. Hint: that region have only minor concerns about locking down the borders, setting up incentives that leads to that whole ships filled with people and kids drowing. Ther might be some public lamenting but no policy changes.
- Iv 9y agoI am all for increasing resources. I find it stupid to spend that increase on having more babies instead of making everybody's life more comfortable.