4 ms·
> While I feel we need to be gradually reducing the number of people on the planet We are on that trajectory now. No need to do anything special. It's baked in
by golemotron 4y ago
> While I feel we need to be gradually reducing the number of people on the planet
We are on that trajectory now. No need to do anything special. It's baked into demographics and unavoidable at this point.
https://quillette.com/2022/08/20/the-unexpected-future/ https://quillette.com/2022/08/20/the-unexpected-future/
- giantg2 4y agoTrajectory to what exactly? I can't find anything about the sustainable carrying capacity, only the max which seems to be unsustainable based on current scenarios.
- golemotron 4y agoTrajectory toward a long, slow population collapse. It's hard to imagine what gets world population back up to replacement rate (2.1 children per woman) once it dips below. Children are expensive and technology makes having them far more optional than it ever has been in history. The world's population is aging out of its fertility years. Once we're below 2.1 the trajectory will be down, short of some severe cultural or societal change. The environment will be ok. Concerns about overpopulation destroying sustainability are 'fighting the last war.'
- giantg2 4y agoPerhaps the relatively short term pains of population collapse will be a net benefit in the long term - forcing economic systems and society to change in ways that support longer term stability with better quality of life.
- golemotron 4y agoMaybe. I just wonder what event will ever push us above the replacement rate (2.1) ever again.