An article about fake news at week 2 inspired me to write about overpopulation on our planet. Are we overpopulated?
Source: http://bigthink.com/arpan-bhattacharyya/overpopulation-are-the-doomsayers-crazy-or-acutely-aware-heres-what-aldous-huxley-had-to-say-about-it
Opinions on this subject are divided. Some people think that our planet is overpopulated. Others say that this is not true and they see a conspiracy theory in this. Media flood us with articles that reinforce the idea that people settle our planet like parasites and suck natural resources out of it. They throw a lot of hard to understand phrases about how the world is overpopulated, which in theory may lead to the destruction of the natural environment. They assume that this is an undeniable fact. Their goal is to program us in such a way that we recognize the need for population control. Are we really in such trouble? Is the Earth really on the way to total destruction? In my opinion, no, and we do not even approach this point. Let's look at the facts. When we analyze the data, we will quickly see that the number of human births is falling.
For starters, a lot of countries have a zero or even a negative birth rate, and the rate of human births is below the level of population exchange. Based on these indicators, it appears that Western European countries have a total fertility rate below the population exchange rate. Another example is China, where people bellieve continuing a good policy is frequently enjoyed. Often derided by comparison to rabbits, population has seen a decline in the number of births from 16.12 per 1000 people in 2000 to 12.31 in 2012. It is important to mention that the birth rates for both sexes in India are falling. The birth of girls shows a significantly greater drop there than boys.
Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/china-and-india-could-be-the-key-to-golds-next-big-rally-cm678746
While birth and fertility rates are falling massively, other numbers are growing just as quickly and proportionally. WHO estimates that Alzheimer's disease and other debilitating dementias affect 24.3 million people and are growing in developing countries; WHO announced that the number should double every 20 years. Childhood leukemia and brain tumors are becoming more frequent, and numbers will increase by one percent annually every 20 years.
Autoimmune diseases are like "hits" on the charts. Celiac disease - an autoimmune disease that attacks the small intestine of the body, the main function of which is the absorption of nutrients, now affects five times more Americans than in 1950. According to the American Diabetes Association, the incidence of type 1 diabetes in the American youth increased by 23 percent from 2001 to 2009. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) admitted in a study earlier this year that one in 88 children now have autism. And these are only examples.
To sum up: the numbers do not lie. The number of births from year to year is decreasing in many countries. The number of cases of many dangerous diseases is increasing. Taking everything into consideration we realize that the entire depopulation program is designed to arouse warm feelings in us. The myth of overcrowding has been exposed to public sight many times over the last few centuries to scare people and make people accept this fact.
I encourage you to watch the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZVOU5bfHrM
Sources:
http://www.hangthebankers.com/overpopulation-is-a-myth/
https://www.nasdaq.com/article/china-and-india-could-be-the-key-to-golds-next-big-rally-cm678746
http://bigthink.com/arpan-bhattacharyya/overpopulation-are-the-doomsayers-crazy-or-acutely-aware-heres-what-aldous-huxley-had-to-say-about-it
Questions:
1. Do you think that too many people live on our planet?
2. Should we reduce our population or maybe there is another way to preserve environment?
3. How will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our Planet? What do you think?
I believed that in a past until I heard once that if we gathered all people on Earth into one place, they would take less then 1% of ground area on the planet, so there are plenty free space yet and an overpopulation is a myth. Altough if there are many people in once place, there can be some problems to solve, as maintaining clean environment and supplying all needed materials and food but I think with a good will and modern knowledge and technology it is solvable.
ReplyDeleteWe should focus on renewable energy sources and better law regulating emmision of any kind of pollution. Also governments should pay more attention to make cities more green.
When 15 billion people would live on our planet, all would depend on too many factors to predict all of them. But certainly it depends strongly at least on wether people learned to live in harmony with nature or not. But if they wouldn't I think they wouldn't make number of 15 billion also.
But overpopulation is not only related with ground area that is taken but also with carrying capacity. It is the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely. And with the way we are draining our resources I don't think that we can go on like this forever :)
DeleteIn the way we do it nowadays, yes. But in a way we could do it, we can achieve so much... Recent technology is capable of making unfriendly environments friendly and to increase carrying capacity you are speaking of. We can transport resources from elsewhere or making some place more efficient with obtaining local resources. For those who want (and can), there is no obstacle. But unfortunately and apparently those who can, don't want and that is the problem which has to be solved if we want to survive. Then we can be in number of 50 bilion and nothing wrong should happen to earth and to us :)
Delete1. Do you think that too many people live on our planet?
ReplyDelete– I don't think that too many people live on our planet. In my opinion the overpopulation problem don't consider whole planet, but rather certain areas like for example big cities. I'm from rather small town (around 20k people) and I moved to bigger city like many of my friends and peers. While big cities have a lot of people and some of them are overpopulated, the towns have capacity for a lot more people. More and more people is moving to the same areas, they are lured by better opportunities.
2. Should we reduce our population or maybe there is another way to preserve environment?
– As I mentione in first question we should try to make smaller towns more attractive to live. In the age of Internet there is no longer such a huge need to live in big city or to run a company in big city.
3. How will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our Planet? What do you think?
– It depends. I think that in Poland it won't be such a problem or it might be even not visible. Population varies across countires and it will be noticeable in one place, but not in the other.
I agree that only big cities are overcrowded, not the whole planet.I think it's a very good idea to make smaller cities more attractive to people and that would solve the problem. How we could achieve this in your opinion?
DeleteTalks of overpopulation have been happening since i can remember. In my opinion it is closer to what Karol wrote above, certain areas might be overpopulated but certainly not the whole earth.
ReplyDeleteAny mention of "population reduction" or "controlling births" immediately raise my suspicion. Sorry for comparison but there was this one, not very nice, guy who didn't like Jews and thought they should be exterminated. I think there should be no talks about reducing/controlling population at all. What we can do however is live responsibly, learn and spread the knowledge of how to live with as little impact on our planet as possible!
I will probably be loooong dead and eaten by worms by then. But i do what i can to leave the planet in as good condition for future generations as i can.
In the presentation I wrote about the fact that our planet is not overpopulated. So in my opinion, there is no need to reduce the population. There is plenty of space in the world for all of us. I also did not write anywhere that we should reduce the number of births, so I do not know where did you get such a comparison from :) The question under the article was only to provoke a discussion and as you can see, nobody came up with such solutions.
Delete1. Do you think that too many people live on our planet?
ReplyDelete-I don't think so, in my option the main problem is that people magnetize in mega-cities. But out of these we have a lot of empty space on our planet, without people. For example some part of canada or Russia or even Australia.
2. Should we reduce our population or maybe there is another way to preserve environment?
As you mentioned in article our population is controlling itself with disease. There's no need to preserve earth from people. Maybe it's more important to try to live more eco and then we can live in the harmony with nature. If there's no harmony nature will eliminate us.
3. How will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our Planet? What do you think?
It they live on part of this globe which are empty now we don't feel this difference, but if this number increases on current location this will be huge problem for everyone in each level of life. We need to spread out and then should be ok.
A fact is that in this moment there is the highest world's population ever, but I don't think planet is overpopulated. I'm pretty sure that ~50% of humans live in several known big cities which are overpopulated, but not planet itself.
ReplyDeleteThe diseases you mentioned (Alzheimer or cancer) is mainly caused by living very long which was not a possibility for earlier generations. It's hard to say if for example, celiac disease or other autoimmune diseases are more frequent because earlier, most of people did not even know that something like this exist and did not examine this, or examine very rarely. Now doctors have higher qualifications and better knowing so naturally now number of diseases will increase.
I don't think our lives will change dramatically when 15 billion people will live on the planet. The biggest environmental devastation is caused by big corporations, not by common person.
Alzheimer's or cancer is not only due to the fact that we live for a long time. It also contributes to this bad diet for years and our genes.
Delete1. It's hard to say. There are many empty areas where you can populate. So this is not a problem. you can be worried more about the lack of food or wars.
ReplyDelete2. We should kill each other. No, I think that everyone can live here. Of course if there is region problem like in China I prefer to make some decisions about it.
3. This is a terribly abstract question. I think that it is possible, but fortunately not in our life.
1.Honestly, for me it's hard to answer this question.
ReplyDelete2.I think that the population activities are not the main reason of environment pollution. Large corporations and concerns have the biggest impact on littering our planet.
3.It seems to me that we will not feel it personally.
You're right, it's not just individuals, but whole corporations contribute to the pollution of our environment. Do you think we can stop them? In my opinion, a good solution would be to buy products from companies that are environmentally friendly. We would not buy from corporations that do not follow this rule.
DeleteDo you think that too many people live on our planet?
ReplyDeleteLike many people I thought that was true. There are so many people on the planet, but like you pointed out it is not that bad. That opened my eyes. The problem i show many people live per square meter in some cities like China or India. More than half of population is squeezed in so tiny spaces. That is a real problem. In those areas overpopulation really is a massive problem. Smaller and medium cities still have a lot of space to fit new people there.
Should we reduce our population or maybe there is another way to preserve environment?
I think we should really take care and focus on our environment. Everyone is creating massive amount of pollution. More people equals more trouble for the planet. Good way is to create more eco-friendly things of everyday use that we can use over and over again. I think that also we should try to have fewer babies. It is already a massive amount out there.
How will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our Planet? What do you think?
I can’t imagine that. I could be either crazy or not much bigger difference than it is now. Definitely the most people will stay in bigger cities because it is easier to communicate. When having that many people in the same amount space on this planet this could be a big issue. I hope I can never experience that myself.
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DeleteEco-friendly things sound good for me. I try to use natural cosmetics to take care of our environment a bit. I also segregate trash. Do you think that we can do something more?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. Do you think that too many people live on our planet?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don’t think so. It’s not the population size that is a problem but the way we are draining natural resources.
2. Should we reduce our population or maybe there is another way to preserve environment?
Renewable energy is a good start. Better management of natural resources would also help to preserve environment. On top of that decreasing poverty may also be a solution. Ironically raising the standard of living reduce the population growth rate (demographic-economic paradox). Maybe we also should find a way to adjust aging society instead of trying to increase population growth through government programs?
3. How will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our Planet? What do you think?
No idea. Crowded, I guess :)
I share your opinion. The world is moving forward and we can observe galloping technological progress. Perhaps we are on the verge of obtaining a high-efficiency and clean source of energy, for example atomic power plants powered by the thorium and thermonuclear reactors.
DeleteYes, I believe that overpopulation is possible. Not whole world, not in each country, but in local community. In Warsaw and other cities with hard growing populations have problems with hospitals, schools, parkings etc. I think that, we should resolve problem with growing cities and surrounding cities.
ReplyDeleteOther type of overpopulationg is high education. In a few years any well-educated people won`t found good-payed jobs. At the moment HR have problems with recruting low-level workers. Our country can not grown faster, so we have many scientists, but not have road workers, store employees etc.
Thank you for your opinion. Do you have any ideas on how we can solve the problem of overpopulation in Warsaw?
Delete1. Do you think that too many people live on our planet?
ReplyDeleteClusters of people in cities may give the impression that we are overpopulated, but outside the cities it is empty, in huge areas.
2. Should we reduce our population or maybe there is another way to preserve environment?
The development of technology at some point will make our problems with the environment disappear. Raising geothermal or solar energy will be more efficient and cost-effective than fossil fuels that will be lacking.
3. How will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our Planet? What do you think?
If it was a result of a gradual increase, along with the development of infrastructure it is possible that we wouldn't feel the differences
It's good to hear that our environmental problems may end one day. I hope it will be so!
DeleteAt the moment I’m convinced that earth is not overpopulated. Maybe I’m wrong but my observations during any of my travels shows me a lot of empty places where we can locate people. I think that idea of reducing population sounds a little bit too subversive. We should educate people to make them aware of their place on this planet. Maybe education is also the key to reduce poverty… But when you make me think about living here with 15 billion people I’ve got confused. I think it’s going to look like Warsaw in rush hours but every day and every time. I think that doubling population is not good idea.
ReplyDeleteTravels give us a lot to think about and change our point of view on many things. Thanks to them, we can get a distance. Where do you like to travel the most?
DeleteI don't believe our planet is overpopulated - like you said, numbers don't lie. It doesn't mean our planet is fine, though. Because it's not. People in general don't care about the environment therefore reducing our population is not a solution. Education may be a solution. We should use natural resources wisely, we should take care of them and protect them.
ReplyDeleteI just remembered a video I saw a few days ago and recommend watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYPeu_fdWas
It's a campaign created by the Sea Shepherd organization.You can say it's a bit off topic but... just watch it. It's terrifying, it makes me sad and it also shows our thoughtlessness.
Even if our planet is not overpopulated, doubling the number wouldn't be irrelevant. It would be twice as many people destroying what precious and beautiful we have now.
questions:
ReplyDelete1. Do you think that too many people live on our planet?
No, large clusters of people do not prove overpopulation, and often about the economic factor.
2. Should we reduce our population or is there another way to protect the environment?
I can not imagine the selection of people for the better and the worse. They should survive and those who do not. It's since fiction from movies.
3. What will our lives look like when 15 billion people live on our planet? What do you think?
The number is one and education is the other. Education or social awareness, upbringing. Many years of work would allow Earth patriotism.
I think that it's not a global problem. Some areas are overpopulated, some are not. You can't even say it is a problem of cities, because some cities are a way to crwoded and some of them have problem with people leaving it. I myself live in the most densely populated city in Poland: Legionowo and it's not that bad in the end.
ReplyDeleteSo talking about overpopulation you can show India.. but on the other hand you have also Mongolia.. there is plenty of space on our planet people can occupy.
I have never thought about an overpopulation in global sense. I think that Warsaw is overpopulated, there is too much people. We live in traffic jams here. That’s horrible! We waste so many time for doing nothing! It’s good to know how to fill your time when you are in a bus. I don’t know how it looks globally. I don’t want to look for some information about that in the Internet because it could be fake. It’s exactly how you mentioned it’s only for scare people and make people accept this fact. For sure, the easiest way to preserve environment is to reduce the population but it sounds very drastically. In my opinion we should educate people more about environment issues. It’s hard to imagine how the Earth would look when there would be 15 billion people. The answer is not so simple and I believe it’s depends on exact place where there would be 15 billion people. In overall, it would be hard to live here on the Earth with so many people.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the current amount of inhabitants of the land is adequate, but we must have consciousness, that the size of the Earth will not increase in contrast to the number of people. Recently Netflix has released interesting productions regarding this problem. This film is calling Titian and presents visions of the
ReplyDeleteattempt to create "supermen" inhabiting one of the moons of Jupiter.
In my opinion many many countries should make analyzes and calculations on the amount of raw materials needed to survive. If on our planet would be 15 billion people, then we should limit the number of births and we should think about where we can continue to settle in space on another planet and how it is possible.