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In the 1970s the pressing issue of the time was that everyone thought over population was going to mean we were gonna run out of food (see: The Population Bomb,
by Tiktaalik 4y ago
In the 1970s the pressing issue of the time was that everyone thought over population was going to mean we were gonna run out of food (see: The Population Bomb, Soylent Green). The troubling slant to the discussion of course was that it wasn't our growth that was the problem but elsewhere in the global south.
Of course we didn't starve to death and this fear was completely unfounded.
The problems we face today of course have nothing to do with that. They stem rather from excessive CO2 emissions, and these emissions are dominated by rich nations with relatively small populations. This could have been limited and prevented in the 1970s but people made other choices.
It's possible that there is some point where over population is a real problem, but that is not now, and we can solve our most pressing problems in other ways.
- mytailorisrich 4y agoCO2 emissions are only one aspect of the the issue (and they are rising in all developing countries as they develop), which is a global environmental crisis. This crisi is caused by excessive exploitation of resources, which is still increasing because of a compounded effect: we're rightly eradicating poverty and we're more and more. So yes we are feeding everyone, among other improvements, but we are destroying the planet in the process. Even we're the efforts we're making in rich the consumption of resources is not really decreasing while it is increasing in developing countries. Population is the root cause of the problem. I don't see why this is controversial. Less people enjoying a better life in a better environment sounds like an ideal world.