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I watched a video last night that was full of optimism. Pointed out that as countries got richer less children died and people had less children. So eventually
by collyw 9y ago
I watched a video last night that was full of optimism. Pointed out that as countries got richer less children died and people had less children. So eventually the population will level off. It seemed to overlook the fact that we are currently using up resources 1.5 times faster than they are being replenished (amongst many other related problems).
https://youtu.be/QsBT5EQt348 https://youtu.be/QsBT5EQt348
- naasking 9y agoThe rate we are using resources is also decelerating with increased efficiency through technological advancement.
- collyw 9y agoHave you got any numbers on that? I am aware that things are becoming more efficient, but we are still adding a lot of people to the world. And more and more people are moving from relative poverty to more western lifestyles and corresponding increased levels of consumption.
- naasking 9y agoThere is some debate surrounding this, known as Jevon's paradox. There have also been some papers where the rebound effect has been studied and found to be low to moderate, so efficiency improvements do have a positive impact: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421500000215 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030142150... Indeed the population is still increasing, but population growth is decelerating. Population will likely plateau within the next 70-80 years, and then possibly decline.