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you need to understand how evolution works. populations don't control themselves, they are limited by their environment, and thus far the environment hasn't act
by hnriot 13y ago
you need to understand how evolution works. populations don't control themselves, they are limited by their environment, and thus far the environment hasn't acted to limit the species population, but it will. We've not be around that long, give things time. procreation is the only thing that a population does. the rest is fluff.
- maxander 13y agoAs a matter of fact, population growth due to births in developed countries drops very low- IIRC, the U.S. fertility rate is actually below replacement levels, and fertility in Japan is so low that people worry about a majority of Japanese being retirees in coming decades. Furthermore, as still-developing countries catch up, they follow the same pattern. There's every reason to believe that sufficiently advanced human populations do indeed control themselves. Not to say I agree with marincounty's vehemence on the issue, either. The key is to give everyone the opportunity and environment that allows sustainable reproduction levels, not to browbeat them into doing so.
- Daniel_Newby 13y agoIn the long run, there are two kinds of species: those that go extinct and those that hit the carrying capacity. It is the simple math of exponential curves. A steady modest population would require artificial selection. I.e., fertility police who rule with an iron fist.
- ericd 13y agoYou left out the part that happens when the populations get limited by their environment. It's not pleasant for the species... And I don't think it's fair to say that we can't possibly limit our population... strong social safety nets reduce the need for big families, and freely available contraception makes it feasible to limit family sizes.