Population - Nubblies.net Forums

thekremlin · 04-01-2012, 11:32 AM

Right now, the growing population on this planet is an issue that gets discussed now and then, and everyone is mildly aware that at some point it's going to be a problem. I think twenty years from now, it's going to be the most important topic anywhere, because in general nothing is being done about it. I know there are controls in some countries, but certainly not anywhere in the West.

Life expectancy has gone up 6 years in just the last 25 years. That's not going to slow down, it's only going to speed up. We're already seeing one big effect of that; social security is pretty much society's joke on our generation. Even my mid-50s parents just assume they won't see a penny of that money. But I still think the failure of social security is going to be just a blip compared with the effects of overpopulation within our lifetime.

I'm not even saying I have any idea of what a solution looks like. Population control laws suck a major dick. Growing up, we had our cats neutered because "there were already enough strays in the world." We had that common sense, but my parents still had two kids, and I'm obviously glad they did, and to be honest, I hope to have multiple children myself someday. Of course, given that I'm concerned about overpopulation, that's selfish, but there it is.

So given that I don't see any type of solution... what's the trade?

f3lix · 04-01-2012, 11:42 AM

If every family only had 2 kids, the population wouldn't grow. It's that ".3" added to it that gives us the problem.

Saint DH · 04-01-2012, 03:18 PM

People have been talking about over-population for decades. This falls into the same doomsday syndrome category as global warming and all other types of apocalyptic predictions.

Paul Ehrlich wrote a book called The Population Bomb about this same topic in 1968. In the book, he preaches doom and gloom as he predicts that by the 1980s there will be massive famine that will wipe out a significant portion of the population.

Yet he failed to take into account the impact that technological advances would have on his doomsday theories. Most notably, he did not know (nor could he have known) that something called the "Green Revolution" would shortly revolutionize the agriculture industry, thus increasing the output of farms by many times. The Green Revolution was basically when modern agriculture began. Through the use of capital-intensive methods such as selective breeding, genetic engineering, advanced irrigation and fertilizers, mankind was more than able to feed the expanding population and still is today.

The dangers of population are not inherently in growth or an "explosion". The dangers are in the age distribution of the population, or the "peaks and troughs" of a population distribution graph, if you will. This is especially true for social welfare programs like social security. Here is a graph to show what I mean by the peaks and troughs.

Although the US graph is slightly different than other first world countries, they are quite similar. A third world country's graph looks much different, with more of a triangle shape to it (because they have a lot of kids and many die young).

Riley103 · 04-10-2012, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thekremlin

Right now, the growing population on this planet is an issue that gets discussed now and then, and everyone is mildly aware that at some point it's going to be a problem. I think twenty years from now, it's going to be the most important topic anywhere, because in general nothing is being done about it. I know there are controls in some countries, but certainly not anywhere in the West.

Life expectancy has gone up 6 years in just the last 25 years. That's not going to slow down, it's only going to speed up. We're already seeing one big effect of that; social security is pretty much society's joke on our generation. Even my mid-50s parents just assume they won't see a penny of that money. But I still think the failure of social security is going to be just a blip compared with the effects of overpopulation within our lifetime.

I'm not even saying I have any idea of what a solution looks like. Population control laws suck a major dick. Growing up, we had our cats neutered because "there were already enough strays in the world." We had that common sense, but my parents still had two kids, and I'm obviously glad they did, and to be honest, I hope to have multiple children myself someday. Of course, given that I'm concerned about overpopulation, that's selfish, but there it is.

So given that I don't see any type of solution... what's the trade?

I also think so.

angry pancake · 04-10-2012, 09:25 PM

first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I'm muthafucking FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSST!

Beebs · 04-10-2012, 10:39 PM

I think as India grows as an economy that it will slow down their population growth, and the rest of the worlds with it.

Saint DH · 04-10-2012, 11:11 PM

I think you're right. In third world countries, children are assets, especially males in rural, agriculture-based areas. Females can help with many of the household chores as well. As the economy develops, children will slowly become a liability, as they are in America, and population growth will decline.

04-01-2012, 03:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
Saint DH Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 6,147 Internets: 284753	People have been talking about over-population for decades. This falls into the same doomsday syndrome category as global warming and all other types of apocalyptic predictions. Paul Ehrlich wrote a book called The Population Bomb about this same topic in 1968. In the book, he preaches doom and gloom as he predicts that by the 1980s there will be massive famine that will wipe out a significant portion of the population. Yet he failed to take into account the impact that technological advances would have on his doomsday theories. Most notably, he did not know (nor could he have known) that something called the "Green Revolution" would shortly revolutionize the agriculture industry, thus increasing the output of farms by many times. The Green Revolution was basically when modern agriculture began. Through the use of capital-intensive methods such as selective breeding, genetic engineering, advanced irrigation and fertilizers, mankind was more than able to feed the expanding population and still is today. The dangers of population are not inherently in growth or an "explosion". The dangers are in the age distribution of the population, or the "peaks and troughs" of a population distribution graph, if you will. This is especially true for social welfare programs like social security. Here is a graph to show what I mean by the peaks and troughs. Although the US graph is slightly different than other first world countries, they are quite similar. A third world country's graph looks much different, with more of a triangle shape to it (because they have a lot of kids and many die young).
	Last edited by Saint DH; 04-01-2012 at 03:25 PM. Reason: fucking comcast piece of shit

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04-01-2012, 11:42 AM	#2 (permalink)
f3lix Gangnam Style Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DH's Massage Parlor Posts: 6,383 Internets: 213510	If every family only had 2 kids, the population wouldn't grow. It's that ".3" added to it that gives us the problem.

04-10-2012, 10:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
Beebs Poor Sport Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Indianapolis / Middlebury / Long Lake Posts: 5,306 Internets: 127341	I think as India grows as an economy that it will slow down their population growth, and the rest of the worlds with it.

04-10-2012, 11:11 PM	#7 (permalink)
Saint DH Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 6,147 Internets: 284753	I think you're right. In third world countries, children are assets, especially males in rural, agriculture-based areas. Females can help with many of the household chores as well. As the economy develops, children will slowly become a liability, as they are in America, and population growth will decline.