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The population physically cannot grow limitlessly so there must be a point at which you level off. If you wait longer you're increasing the number of people th
by hnaccy 7y ago
The population physically cannot grow limitlessly so there must be a point at which you level off.
If you wait longer you're increasing the number of people that have to suffer during the transition period and increasing the ecological load of the stable population's lifestyle.
- pcwalton 7y agoI don't think people fully understand just what failure of the social safety net actually means. Without population growth, Social Security and Medicare collapse. Even worse, government pensions in the United States are near insolvent already. A steep decline in population growth will bankrupt many states and municipalities.
- hnaccy 7y agoThen they will inevitably collapse...
- snuxoll 7y agoSigns point to the 10 billionth (concurrently living) human being never being born, birth rates have begun to stabilize worldwide as more countries modernize. Remember, more educated populations with better health care reproduce less. It’s not an issue of limitless growth of the population, it’s an issue of the population consolidating into a smaller footprint (which from an ecological perspective is a Good Thing) and stupid policies blocking it from happening.
- hnaccy 7y agoWe're already over the carrying capacity if the world wants first world lifestyle.
- Karrot_Kream 7y agoWhat is "first world lifestyle"?
- hnaccy 7y agoThe life style of a well-to-do member of America or Western Europe.
- Karrot_Kream 7y agoI think you'll find that not everyone wants this lifestyle, and trying to force everybody into it because you want it is a silly form of reductionism.
- snuxoll 7y agoDebatable, a large issue is land use and for all the land we have here in the US alone large swathes of it are used for single family homes promoting horrible density. We dump carbon into the air, have less arable land, and destroy more natural habitats than necessary because of poor planning and regulation. There is more issues to be solved, yes - but reversing wasteful land use is a HUGE component of preserving our planet and quality of life.
- hnaccy 7y agoIf you think we can't sustain every couple/person on earth having a single family home then you're agreeing with my statement.
- nostrademons 7y agoOnly if they want a first-world lifestyle, though. Cut out meat, suburban lawns, and the cars that go with them, and the earth could support 10B people right now, at the living standards of a typical Millenial in a cosmopolitan metropolis. Unfortunately, there's pretty good indications that most people on earth want those meats, suburban lawns, and cars, so I think it's more likely we'll get war instead. But it's totally doable, at a standard of living that people will grumble at but could abide.
- CydeWeys 7y agoViable meat replacements are right around the corner. I don't think this is a blocker.
- MiroF 7y ago> meats, suburban lawns, and cars Can I opt out of the coming war if I don't want these things?
- nostrademons 7y agoIf you can get enough of your like-minded friends to settle an area that doesn't have many of the desirable resources that'll be fought over (water, fertile land, nice climate) and doesn't have many people who do want those things, probably. Just be Switzerland.