4 ms·
People talk about how the Haber process of fixing nitrogen has averted starvation, but I wonder if in a century we'll be talking about how the Haber process cre
by cwkoss 5y ago
People talk about how the Haber process of fixing nitrogen has averted starvation, but I wonder if in a century we'll be talking about how the Haber process created a plague of overpopulation.
- 8note 5y agoRich societies are generally plagued by a lack of reproduction, so I don't think that's likely as more of the world becomes rich
- inkblotuniverse 5y agoI'm skeptical of the overpopulation meme as it exists in modern anglo culture, both in terms of predictive accuracy and origin/motivation. Birth rates plummet as soon as you introduce anglo culture, prosperity, women-in-the-workplace feminism, and perhaps some other secret sauce elements to a country. In the 1960s, western academics were confidently asserting there'd be mass starvation and societal collapse by now! I also think a lot of people have just been taught to hate humans. Misanthropy is mainstream; love for mankind- the thought that all else being equal, it's good for there to be more of us- is currently crass.
- cwkoss 5y agoI don't think it's impossible for humans to provide a reasonable quality of life at this population, but I think it might be impossible to sustain the current growth rate without ever-increasing environmental destruction.