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This is very interesting, and unexpected at the surface level. Especially with all the doom and gloom we've always been fed about the world population getting o
by 40four 6y ago
This is very interesting, and unexpected at the surface level. Especially with all the doom and gloom we've always been fed about the world population getting out of control, consuming all the resources, polluting the planet into oblivion, etc.
I was expecting to read about medical/health reasons why men and women are literally becoming less fertile, but it's not that. It sounds like it's a side effect of countries/societies advancing technologically and socially. It makes sense, but I just never visualized it like that in my head. Wow, what a great problem to have!
But as you say, it is a problem, just in other ways we might not have considered before. It will be interesting to see how we figure out how to restructure society as the demographics shift. But this seems like it could be a very good thing for the environment, climate change, resource management, etc. Overall, seems like positive new to me!
- sumedh 6y ago> Especially with all the doom and gloom we've always been fed Which is still true, if the billion Indians and Billion Chinese start having American lifestyles, that is just not sustainable for the planet.
- corysama 6y agoI fully expect the Indian and Chinese population coming into wealth will go through a period of fairly outrageous conspicuous consumption. I have a hope that it will be fast-forwarded compared to the past 70 years of American history. Hopefully after a decade-long warmup and another decade of settling in, the novelty will wear off and there will be a move away from focusing on "More Stuff!" and toward focusing on "Less Clutter, More Experiences!"
- ZephyrBlu 6y ago> Hopefully after a decade-long warmup and another decade of settling in, the novelty will wear off and there will be a move away from focusing on "More Stuff!" and toward focusing on "Less Clutter, More Experiences!" The western world hasn't even moved past that stage, so I highly doubt developing countries will move through it quickly.
- arvinsim 6y agoIronically, it is cheaper to have "more stuff" than to have "less clutter, more experiences!".
- lotsofpulp 6y agoIf those experiences involve moving mass long distances (such as flying to South America and hiking the Andes), then it’s all the same. I don’t see any environmental reprieve short of drastic reductions in consumptions, including travel.
- sudosysgen 6y agoGood thing that high-speed rail and other land transport infrastructure is being built in order to connect the entirety of Eurasia and eventually Africa, with sufficient throughput to feed multiple US economies.
- scarmig 6y agoIndia and China are both projected to have a <1B population by 2100.
- kmonsen 6y agoI think by 2100 we have either solved this problem or is too late. I guess most likely the latter but there is still hope.
- newyankee 6y agoThese projections do not account for increase in life expectancy. India is projected to peak at 1.7 b, if you consider Indian subcontinent as an entity, it puts the population of South Asia at 2.25 b. Not a good sight when coupled with unreliable climate, water scarcity, unlivable summer temperatures and no direct opportunities which means corruption may lead to feudalism of the yore.
- scarmig 6y ago> These projections do not account for increase in life expectancy. That's inaccurate. The study in the link, which has those predictions: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30677-2/fulltext#seccestitle80 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... See the Mortality section. Yes, India will peak at 1.7 billion, but then begin to decrease. That peak happens in 2050, which is closer to our 2020 than 2100.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- swiley 6y agoHeh, they killed a lot of their women so that really puts a cap on how quickly they could grow.
- 40four 6y agoI suppose that is a possibility. Declining population doesn’t necessarily guarantee declining resource usage.