population problems

[Thomas Micklewright]

Hey there.

Over Population is the biggest threat to humanity. By 2050 there will be 9 billion people. When do you think governments will be forced to act on this issue?

[DJKillaQueen]

What can governments do though? Even in China where there is a one child law, thousands of babies are abandoned every year.

[Heinz]

Nevertheless it did stop demographic explosion

[Chick]

When you eat meat. Have you considered the OPT?

[silverfox]

Vegetarians are the biggest threat to humanity. If they stopped hogging fertile land growing nutritionless mung beans and soya there would be more room to graze cattle, sheep and geese (for fois gras) etc to feed the growing population

[Townleygreen]

:)-D

[DJKillaQueen]

If the issue is about food production then yes half od all grains are grown to feed animals, but a sizeable chunk is now also grown for bio-fuels.

Human population growth has more to do with how clever we have been in eradicating and controlling disease as well. Also if we look at where population is growing fastest it is in countries where women are not educated (and men often too). High infant mortality is less of a factor than it has been in the past.

I do think there are too many of us, and a breaking point will come, but can't see what governments will be able to effectively do, to stop the innevitable catastrophe.

[Loz]

I read an article once that showed how breeding patterns change in humans. Essentially, humans in third-world countries breed lots, as mortality rates are so high. Those in first world countries barely breed enough to replace the population. But, as a country moves from third to first world, breeding stays high (as that is what they are culturally used to), but mortality rates drop. This gradually changes to first-world breeding patterns over a couple of generations.

The problem is this: in the transition period, the population of the country explodes. Usually, this is problematic for the country involved, but not to the greater planet. The problem now is that two of the biggest countries in the world - India and China - are just starting the transition process. China is at least trying to stem the problem early, but India's population could rise very quickly over the next 40-50 years.

[mockney piers]

Interestingly China's one child policy is also prematurely giving China the sorts of problems we're facing, with a top heavy ageing population such that the young people can't generate enough wealth to pay for the pensions and care of the old.

I'm not sure how much of a safety net India has to be honest. In some rural parts it's definitely zilch.

[DJKillaQueen]

That's an interesting point regarding China MP and one that had never occured to me before.

India and China have similar problems in that the gap in inequality is very large. That is kind of a factor in the early stages of all economic/ industrial revolutions but I think it leaves us with a sour taste to see it.

Education is definitely a factor in dropping birthrates. In countries where women feed into higher education and work the birthrates drop significantly (for obvious reasons). But India China and parts of Africa are still a long way from matching the rest of the world on that. And then of course you have those cultures where women are cut of from education and careers on religous or other cultural grounds.

Infant mortality is an issue still but so too is the issue of having lots of children because they can work. Although India has laws regarding the use of child labour, they are not efffectively enforced, so the irony is, that having more children is seen as a solution to poverty as well. Of course we all know that it's not but if children can work (and effectively pay for their keep) then there's no disincentive to have less children.

[The Minkey]

It would be a good start if the Vatican were to overturn their ban on contraception. One down..

[TheArtfulDogger]

Logan's run had the right idea

[The Minkey]

Biscuit with your tea, Vicar?

[mockney piers]

"Logan's run had the right idea"

If you're referring to the idea of dressing Jenny Agutter up in a see-through skimpy dress then I'm with you all the way on that one!!

[Loz]

Logan's Run + Soylent Green = problem solved

[DJKillaQueen]

mockney piers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If you're referring to the idea of dressing Jenny

> Agutter up in a see-through skimpy dress then I'm

> with you all the way on that one!!

Funnily enough me too! :))

[Salsaboy]

And me. Hubba hubba.

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> mockney piers Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > If you're referring to the idea of dressing

> Jenny

> > Agutter up in a see-through skimpy dress then

> I'm

> > with you all the way on that one!!

>

>

> Funnily enough me too! :))

[Loz]

I think American Werewolf in London had a better idea for a suitable costume for Jenny A.

[maxxi]

stoppit stoppit stoppit!!

[Townleygreen]

There's plenty of signs that many developing countries in Asia are fast decreasing their birth rate, often through mothers refusing to have any more children because they want to get a job. Saw an interesting programme on Bangladesh where this was the case. The way to bring the birth rate down generally is to empower women, educate women, and improve health care. This has been done in Kerala, the SW Indian state which has had a low birth rate for some years.

[Ridgley]

MP wrote

---------------------------------------------------------

"Logan's run had the right idea"

So when will you be popping off this mortal coil then I am sure you have passed the age of 30:))

[mockney piers]

Ridgley Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> MP wrote

> --------------------------------------------------

> -------

> "Logan's run had the right idea"

>

> So when will you be popping off this mortal coil

> then I am sure you have passed the age of 30:))

Believe you me, I'm long past that already.

It was actual Arftul Dogger who did the above quote, I merely used it as an opportunity to have inappropriate thought about a young Jenny Agutter.

There I go again....

[Ridgley]

Wow MP you do sound young from your threads:))

[mockney piers]

Oh, thanks. Most people are surprised how young I am when they meet me as I sound like such a miserable old sod on here!! :)

[nashoi]

Surely the answer to this problem is obvious. We just need to break the golden rule of military history and march on Moscow. By we, I do of course mean the entire global population, all 6.8bn of us. If we do this Russia will still only have a population density somewhere around that of England and the Netherlands. I've been to Holland and didn't feel crushed or de-valued and the beer was cheap, England's not too bad either.

This will mean that we only have to develop about 15% of Russia, leaving 85% as greenbelt and the whole of the rest of the world empty. The huge efficiency gains from only having one country will mean that The New Utopia could support any population increase, but this is unlikely to arise as the world's wealth would be far more equitably distributed, leading, apart from anything else, to better education for all, specifically women, so no population explosion.

However, England may be fine to live in, but it is not self sufficient in food, so I recommend, China and India be earmarked for continued cultivation. After all you can't have a utopia without curries and building utopias is likely to be thirsty work, so we we're going to need all that tea. The rest of the world will be subject to strictly temporary mineral exploitation and tourism, except Australia, which will be allowed to return to its natural state as a penal colony.