Global over-population is the real issue

[maxmaximus]

The carrying capacity of the planet remained relatively stable at under a billion until we started exploiting oil as both a fuel and for the creation of artificial pesticides.

 

Likewise natural gas was used to produce artificial fertilizers.

 

Artificial fertilizers and pesticides formed part of the "Green Revolution" which allowed us to thumb our nose at Malthus (for the time being).

 

Think there's no connection between oil usage and population growth? Look at this graph showing oil extraction and population growth [LINK].

 

Now even if you accept that Peak Oil can be delayed using such oil sources as Tar Sands and methods of extraction like Fracking, the era of cheap oil is clearly over.

 

The easy to reach stuff (and thus cheap to extract) we've pretty much burned it away in a century.

 

Since we rely on these finite and increasingly expensive commodities to fertilize the soil, protect and harvest and ultimately distribute the crops we grow, the more people there are around, using them up, the faster they will be depleted.

 

It's not rocket science. 7 billion people use more of everything than 3 (the earth's population when I was born).

 

 

LINK

 

Unfortunately there is no solution, at least not one that human beings can face or apply (we can hardly exterminate billions of people).

 

But they will die in the coming decades and the culprits will be the usual suspects in any instance where population growth leads to what is called overshoot.

 

War, famine and pestilence.

 

Unless you're one of those who think that the problem will somehow "sort itself out".

 

According to the United Nations, global population will peak in 2050 at 9.2 billion [LINK].

 

Hmmmm... now what could cause a slowing of population growth at that time?

 

A rise in infertility?

 

One child per family laws to be extended world wide?

 

Or is sex just going to go out of fashion ("the desire to procreate was just a passing fad").

 

I'm kind of curious myself.

 

Yes I've wondered why experts think humans will just stop breeding when we get to 9 billion.

 

52 years to increase from 3 billion to 7 billion and they think for some reason it will take another 288 years to increase by another 2 billion.

 

Years

000 1800 1 billion

127 1927 2

033 1960 3

014 1974 4

013 1987 5

012 1999 6

012 2012 7

World population in 2300 could stabilize at 9 billion,

But even small variations in these forecasts will have enormous impacts in the long term. As little as one-quarter of a child under the two-child norm, or one-quarter of a child above the norm, would result in world populations ranging from 2.3 billion to 36.4 billion.

 

I think we will be at their 9 billion estimate in another 20 years but I don’t think the population will keep expanding at its current rate because war, disease and starvation will slow the rate down.

 

---------- Post added 25-01-2013 at 07:46 ----------

 

Well the global antibiotic apocalypse should sort a few overcrowding problems out..

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21178718

 

I watched a program about crocodiles some years ago in which they found that crocodiles didn’t get bacterial infection even when living in polluted water. They were talking about a protein in their blood that can kill any bacteria. I've not eared anything about it since but found some info.

 

New Super Antibiotic Accidentally Found In Crocodiles

 

Crocodile Blood Packed with Super-Antibiotics

 

Crocodiles live rough lives. They live in swamps and rivers that reek with microbes, hunt, kill, and eat animals as large as themselves, and fight each other for territory, food, and mating rights. Even their armor-like scales can’t defend against everything – open wounds are common. And yet, crocodiles rarely get sick.

 

 

Scientists are catching crocodiles and sampling their blood in the hope of finding powerful new drugs to fight human infections.

 

We humans are destroying our environment that fact that we might accidentally destroy the very thing that could save our lives.