Earths Population Boom

Ormorof

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So, according to various news sites, theres a lot of us on this planet, and by the end of the year we will reach 7 billion people (thats 7 000 000 000 people)

in 1968 population was 3.5 billion and all was doom and gloom (but that only equates to approx 2.3% growth per year since then which doesnt sound like much), 43 years later and we are now many more...

so whats the solution?

the US and most of South America have been growing GM crops since the 90's and have nearly doubled their yields in some areas, whereas in the UK and Europe (because of the EU ban on GM and the CAP - though the CAP is now abolished i believe) have decreased the amount of food we produce

meanwhile oil seems to be, if not quite running out, then at least becoming damn harder to get to, at least for the west.

soooooooooooooo

Fusion + GM crops + robots to work the fields?!? how long will it take to get that tech i wonder, will it come too late? :)

The population explosion | World news | The Guardian

How can we feed 9 billion? - Telegraph
 

fettoken

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I think we should exterminate large parts of the U.S, India, China, South America and Russia.
 

old.Tohtori

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I've always said that the doom of human race will come from trying to save/feed everyone.

At some point we have to make a really rough choice; push our saving techniques to an unforseen height, or that failing, leave people to die.

Also we need to remove all green earth, eco-friendly, carbon footprint, organic-tofu-munching hippies :flame:
 

Ezteq

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I'm doing my bit by not producing offspring!!

If the world does colapse I can honestly say, it will not be my fault!
 

Ormorof

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but what if your offspring were destined to invent something that will feed us all some sort of chicken-bacon-blob that lasted forever!

then you will have doomed us all! doooom!!

the counter argument to humans running out of food seems to be that everytime theres been a prediction of doom due to population growth, some clever clogs comes up with a way to grow more food with same amount of land, also theres nearly 40 million hectares of unused farmland in former soviet union, plus most of sub saharan africa (zimbabwe etc) has absolutely buttload of spare land for food growth, but due to internal conflict and infrastructure issues it is not used!

grow ze food i tell you!
 

leviathane

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there's gonna be a world war soon enough which will wipe out the majority of us, so until then why threat?
 

kiliarien

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To be a beardy teacher; there are two schools of thought - Malthus & Boserup.

Simply put, Malthus proposed back in 1798 that whilst pop. growth was exponential food production growth was arithmetic and that sooner or later we would not be able to feed the numbers. Other than some very limited examples such as Easter Island this hasn't been proven.

Boserup suggests that 'necessity is the mother of invention' and that changes in systems and technology has allowed us to cope.

BUT, we are quickly running out of marginal agricultural land (overfarming & desertification) on which many of the most needy rely, and we aren't farming our land sustainably, resulting in nitration, leaching, eutrophication etc.

Sooner or later a ceiling will be reached and there will be even more famines. DOOM I TELL YE, DOOOOOOM!! :flame:
 

Billargh

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I'm selfish and will hopefully be dead before shit hits the fan, so, careface.
 

Job

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I think someone worked out the theoretical limit for the planet was 2500 billion, but that includes building over all the oceans and running thousands of nuclear reactors just to run the fans to keep it all cool.
Sort of a death star planet.

Or we could eat each other.
I know the one I'm betting on...reaches for gun.
 

cHodAX

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I'm doing my bit by not producing offspring!!

If the world does colapse I can honestly say, it will not be my fault!

With the amount of pigmeat that baconboy consumes you will still be culpable in a small way. :p
 

liloe

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Hehe, we had a speech from some African GEPA worker and it amused me when she said that basically better healthcare was a major problem for overpopulation ^^ Kinda cynical, but it's the truth.

GMOs might be the answer, but that means using badly tested technology. Then again, we can test it on people in Africa and Asia, while the population declining western world buys more and more bio food. After all they need it now and have no other choice, so we can start some really nice field research. And while we have people in the western world saying "I'm not reproducing" (I'm don't like children as well, tbh), that's of little matter when the biggest part of the world decides to have 5-10 children per family. All it does is taking the unbalanced situation to a new extreme. Then we can sit and watch as other people fight for food, while we just buy what we need because we have the technology and thus the money. Time for popcorn then … bought from slave workers in Mexico of course.

Don't get me wrong, the whole topic is VERY cynical and so am I in that case.
 

cHodAX

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To be a beardy teacher; there are two schools of thought - Malthus & Boserup.

Simply put, Malthus proposed back in 1798 that whilst pop. growth was exponential food production growth was arithmetic and that sooner or later we would not be able to feed the numbers. Other than some very limited examples such as Easter Island this hasn't been proven.

Boserup suggests that 'necessity is the mother of invention' and that changes in systems and technology has allowed us to cope.

BUT, we are quickly running out of marginal agricultural land (overfarming & desertification) on which many of the most needy rely, and we aren't farming our land sustainably, resulting in nitration, leaching, eutrophication etc.

Sooner or later a ceiling will be reached and there will be even more famines. DOOM I TELL YE, DOOOOOOM!! :flame:

Just glad I live in a country with enough quality arable land to sustain the current population should the need ever arise.
 

rynnor

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For once I can be the bearer of good news - in 2009 a new technique was developed called fracking that allows previously inaccesible shale gas to be harvested. With this we gained a few more centuries of stocks of gas and places like china may become self sufficient in a few years.

Never under-estimate the ingenuity of humanity.
 

Talyn

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For once I can be the bearer of good news - in 2009 a new technique was developed called fracking that allows previously inaccesible shale gas to be harvested. With this we gained a few more centuries of stocks of gas and places like china may become self sufficient in a few years.

Never under-estimate the ingenuity of humanity.

Yeah, it's a bit Michael Moore(ish), but here's the other side of fracking - YouTube - GASLAND Trailer 2010
 

rynnor

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Yeah, it's a bit Michael Moore(ish), but here's the other side of fracking - YouTube - GASLAND Trailer 2010

There's always cowboys in the US :p I had heard that they hadnt properly lined the drilling sites in some early wells and they had contaminated the groundwater at a site or two but its a brand new technique and will no doubt be refined.

Its a pretty environmentally friendly fuel - clean burning and minimal impact if done right. There are test wells in cumbria at the moment with ones opening near blackpool soon.

The UK has pretty good geology for unconventional gas - lots of different shale beds and impermeable clay layers like the oxford clay that may also trap gas pockets.

If it pans out you can expect domestic gas prices to start dropping which is good news for everyone :)
 

Shagrat

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Problems are solved.

I'm working on a new processed food called Soylent Green.

as soon as i've rounded up enough "stock" for initial tests ill let you know if its viable......
 

Zenith.UK

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Problems are solved.

I'm working on a new processed food called Soylent Green.

as soon as i've rounded up enough "stock" for initial tests ill let you know if its viable......
Do you get the whole hypercolour sequence with the classical remix of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Grieg as you die? :)
 

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