World population reaches 8 billion

[FireDragon76]

And it continues to climb towards ten billion:

World population reaches 8 billion

"A milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth's eight billionth inhabitant" says U.N. chief.

www.cbsnews.com

Earth welcomes its 8 billionth baby. Is that good or bad news... or a bit of both?

Sometime today, the global population is forecast to hit 8 billion. The U.N. calls it a milestone for humanity, made possible by advances in public health and medicine. But there are also challenges.

www.npr.org

Personally, I don't think this is such a good thing, considering rapid growth has occurred in some of the poorest countries in the world, where many people live in squalid living conditions in densely packed shanty towns, like in Lagos, Nigeria, without running water, and with open sewers. But when you spend decades fighting comprehensive family planning, that's sort of the inevitable result. It is true that people in North America consume far more reseources per capita, but North America's population is a fraction of Africa and Asia, where most of the growth is happening.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

And it continues to climb towards ten billion:

World population reaches 8 billion

"A milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth's eight billionth inhabitant" says U.N. chief.

www.cbsnews.com

Earth welcomes its 8 billionth baby. Is that good or bad news... or a bit of both?

Sometime today, the global population is forecast to hit 8 billion. The U.N. calls it a milestone for humanity, made possible by advances in public health and medicine. But there are also challenges.

www.npr.org

Personally, I don't think this is such a good thing, considering rapid growth has occurred in some of the poorest countries in the world, where many people live in squalid living conditions in densely packed shanty towns, like in Lagos, Nigeria, without running water, and with open sewers. But when you spend decades fighting comprehensive family planning, that's sort of the inevitable result. It is true that people in North America consume far more reseources per capita, but North America's population is a fraction of Africa and Asia, where most of the growth is happening.

Wow! Well, to our minds, it does not look good,but, we need to trust the plan of God.

 

[NxNW]

I remember when we hit 4 billion in the 70s, and that seemed like a lot.

 

[Nithavela]

About 8 billion too many, if you ask me.

 

[Belk]

Wow! Well, to our minds, it does not look good,but, we need to trust the plan of God.

God helps those who help themselves. I think I woulds rather be proactive then simply waiting to see if it all turns out OK.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

God helps those who help themselves. I think I woulds rather be proactive then simply waiting to see if it all turns out OK.

I know how it turns out! And I have no problem with being proactive. But being proactive is a personal thing, meaning a person can only control him/her self and not anybody else.

 

[NinjaPirate777]

With nitrogen-based fertilizers we could feed 16 billion people comfortably. It's just a matter of logistic coordination. Lock up the war mongers and let peace on earth prevail. We'd all live large. There is more than enough for everyone. We would have to take from those who cause us to war amongst one another.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Space-wise, there's enough room.

Resource-wise, there's enough, but we're not using it very well.

I'll use one of the obvious examples of food. If western diets weren't so "meat-dominant", there would be plenty of excess food to go around.

Having to clear massive parcels of land, in order to start a process that equates to using >800 gallons of water and >6 pounds of corn/grains/soybeans for each pound of meat that makes it to the consumer market, is a terrible model for sustainability.
(and that doesn't even touch on the massive impact on regionalized water quality caused by factory farming at its current size and scale)

People being willing to scale it back just a bit and eat 30% less meat (in the countries that are consuming lots of it per capita) would make a huge difference.

 

[NinjaPirate777]

Space-wise, there's enough room.

Resource-wise, there's enough, but we're not using it very well.

I'll use one of the obvious examples of food. If western diets weren't so "meat-dominant", there would be plenty of excess food to go around.

Having to clear massive parcels of land, in order to start a process that equates to using >800 gallons of water and >6 pounds of corn/grains/soybeans for each pound of meat that makes it to the consumer market, is a terrible model for sustainability.
(and that doesn't even touch on the massive impact on regionalized water quality caused by factory farming at its current size and scale)

People being willing to scale it back just a bit and eat 30% less meat (in the countries that are consuming lots of it per capita) would make a huge difference.

People are designed by God or evolution or both to eat meat. There is more than enough for all. It is a matter of letting farmers use pesticides and fertilizers that work to produce the amount we need. The answer is not to eat bugs, research has shown a diet with that much chitin leads to malnutrition. The answer is not to be vegan. The answer is not to dance around the fire naked at the equinox or solstice of any given season in worship of mother gai or father baddy. The answer is letting the famers do their job as best they can in partnership with God.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

People are designed by God or evolution or both to eat meat.

There is more than enough for all. It is a matter of letting farmers use pesticides and fertilizers that work to produce the amount we need. The answer is not to eat bugs, research has shown a diet with that much chitin leads to malnutrition. The answer is not to be vegan.

Which is why I didn't suggest being vegan or eating bugs.

But there's a difference between someone suggesting veganism, vs someone merely pointing out that the human diet doesn't need to be 70% animal products.

Whether you believe in creation or evolution (not relevant to the discussion), one can't deny the fact that metabolically, and physiologically (specifically with regards to our digestive tracts), we're very close to chimps...we're closer to chimps than chimps are to gorillas.

Chimps in nature aren't vegan, they'll happily eat some meat if/when they can get their hands on it. However, their ratio of plants:animals is 94:6.

One could argue that our small intestines (for digesting fat/protein) is a little longer, and our large intestines (for digesting and processing plant roughage) is a little smaller...meaning the ratio wouldn't be the same and we'd be better suited to eat a little more meat than they do...but it's certainly not to the degree that would suggest that we should be eating 12oz of meat and 6oz of veggies in a sitting. At best, we should be 80% plants, 20% animal foods.

Saying "we're designed to eat meat" doesn't mean that meat and animal products need to make up 70% of our diet.

Sure, I could technically survive years eating only bacon and chocolate chip cookies if I absolutely had to and there was no other food around...what one can survive on isn't the same thing as what's ideal...as evidenced by some of the poor health outcomes we see in the westernized world that are 100% diet related.

 

[Nithavela]

People are designed by God or evolution or both to eat meat. There is more than enough for all. It is a matter of letting farmers use pesticides and fertilizers that work to produce the amount we need. The answer is not to eat bugs, research has shown a diet with that much chitin leads to malnutrition. The answer is not to be vegan. The answer is not to dance around the fire naked at the equinox or solstice of any given season in worship of mother gai or father baddy. The answer is letting the famers do their job as best they can in partnership with God.

And then you get huge algae blooms because of the fertilizers and the bees are dead.

Do you think that's also "partnership with god"?

 

[MehGuy]

Wow seems like yesterday it was 6 billion. Believe that was around 2000.

I've read that the total number of human beings ever born is around 100 billion, although that number is probably up to debate.

Overpopulation isn't good... but it'll be an even big party when that asteroid finally comes hurtling towards earth.

 

[rjs330]

Maybe it wouldn't be a big deal if these countries didn't have the violently corrupt governments they have. Honestly it's not the population. The world has plenty of space. What it is is the fact that mens hearts are evil. If we could get rid of those evil governments who steal anything and everything from the people and who refused to allow the west to really come in and help they would be okay.

 

[rjs330]

I wouldn't worry too much. The world's sperm count is way down. That and Transgenderism is up and with homosexuality being more and more accepted we are going to have fewer births across the world.

 

[FireDragon76]

With nitrogen-based fertilizers we could feed 16 billion people comfortably. It's just a matter of logistic coordination.

That sounds more like dystopian sci-fi than any world that would actually be good to live in for the average resident.

Maybe it wouldn't be a big deal if these countries didn't have the violently corrupt governments they have. Honestly it's not the population. The world has plenty of space. What it is is the fact that mens hearts are evil. If we could get rid of those evil governments who steal anything and everything from the people and who refused to allow the west to really come in and help they would be okay.

It's not a question of space, it's a question of resources.

 

[Fantine]

In the past, wars, famines, pandemics and natural disasters have controlled population growth.

Is that why we have so many climate change deniers who are telling us not to get vaccinated against disease or wear masks?

 

[the Vital One]

But when you spend decades fighting comprehensive family planning, that's sort of the inevitable result. It is true that people in North America consume far more reseources per capita, but North America's population is a fraction of Africa and Asia, where most of the growth is happening.

Richard Dawkins wrote that if people want a natural solution to overpopulation then they will get one. It's called starvation.

People being willing to scale it back just a bit and eat 30% less meat (in the countries that are consuming lots of it per capita) would make a huge difference.

There will be less heart disease and people will live longer. We're right back where we started.

I wouldn't worry too much. The world's sperm count is way down. That and Transgenderism is up and with homosexuality being more and more accepted we are going to have fewer births across the world.

LOL.

 

[rjs330]

That sounds more like dystopian sci-fi than any world that would actually be good to live in for the average resident.



It's not a question of space, it's a question of resources.

We have plenty of resources and space. What we also have is evil men controlling their countries and people and refusing to let go of power so their people can actually use the resources that are available.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I wouldn't worry too much. The world's sperm count is way down. That and Transgenderism is up and with homosexuality being more and more accepted we are going to have fewer births across the world.

I don't know that you can project western cultural aspects onto the rest of the world, or if some of them even matter with regards to birth rates.

Birth rates wildly differ across the planet... and whether or not homosexuality is accepted isn't going to have much impact on that. Unless your theory is that a gay dude is going to say "well, since people in my society don't accept this, I guess I'll just sleep with a woman (even though I'm not stimulated by her at all) and get her pregnant instead"

 

[NinjaPirate777]

In the past, wars, famines, pandemics and natural disasters have controlled population growth.

Is that why we have so many climate change deniers who are telling us not to get vaccinated against disease or wear masks?

Climate changes with the seasons. Spending lots of money to fight the predictable weather changes is asinine. Blaming and fining people for the predictable weather changes is dystopian.

Vaccines are great when they don't cause spontaneous abortions, infertility, autoimmune diseases and microclots with a corresponding increase in mysterious deaths related to heart issues. Young healthy people are suddenly dropping dead at an alarming rate and nobody seems to know why. Vaccine deniers who didn't get the covid vaccine seem oddly immune to these mysterious sudden deaths.