Earth now has 8 billion people—and counting. Where do we go from here?

[F1fan]

The advancements in medicine and agriculture has helped maintain population growth. Right now Kenya is facing an emergency drought and massive starvation. Climate change has affected many parts of the world, but Kenya is being hit hard, and they don't have the resources or money to irrigate. Kenyans are relying on food aid, which isn't adequate. They are panning for gold in fields that used to be farmed, and they are finding little bits here and there, and just enough to sell to buy food every 2-3 days.

They are lucky to not live in a cold climate, but they still aren't getting enough aid to survive very long. Famine is natural population control. Disease is also natural as population control. We as a species see it as moral to fight disease and give aid, but we aren't smart enough to see our excessive breeding as a contributing problem, thus immoral to do nothing. Imagine a disease that can't be cured, but spread quickly and kill off the weak, or a massive global famine that means there simply isn't enough food, who do we choose? The young and strong?

 

[Sand Dancer]

I still remember when traditionaly, big families were a huge status symbol in society , particularly with, but not limited with Catholics and Protestants.

Maybe patriarchal societies value virility.

 

[Sand Dancer]

It's interesting that population is growing the fastest in the areas least capable of sustaining it.

No access to birth control.

 

[Sand Dancer]

In the map I can only see a childless Europe overwhelmed by other prolific continents.

Maybe they can adopt children from developing nations.

 

[Sand Dancer]

I'm just spitballing but, what if we got rid of a lot of the benefits that people got for having children? It'd discourage more people from having them right? But we gave those benefits to people who adopted children instead.

What are the benefits?

 

[Heyo]

I think it's a matter of awareness.

No matter how aware you are, you produce CO2 simply by breathing. You need a place to live, you need water, you need food and you are going to ****. Times 8 billion and you become a problem.

 

[exchemist]

Earth now has 8 billion people—and counting. Where do we go from here? (nationalgeographic.com)

It took humans more than 300,000 years to reach the first billion - in 1804. The most recent billion took only 12 years.





View attachment 68514



View attachment 68515



The growth in population is uneven, with some countries seeing stagnant or negative growth, while others are growing at a more rapid pace. Japan could see declines in population, and even China may see declines. Meanwhile, global warming could make some areas uninhabitable (such as the Middle East). The wealthier countries have supplemented population losses by welcoming immigrants, although that's become a political hot button issue. Other countries, such as Japan, tend to be xenophobic and unwelcoming towards immigration.

View attachment 68516

What is the ideal population for the planet? How many people is enough? How many is too much?

The only relevant question, surely, is whether the Earth will be able to support 11bn, which is the likely eventual maximum, since there is no possible way to limit numbers except by natural self-limiting. The key to that is prosperity (including life expectancy), since it is that which leads to a slowdown in the number of children people have. As with so many things, climate change must be the worry here, since if areas of agricultural land are lost or shift rapidly from one region to another, some areas will be short of food and water.

I don't know the answer to the question about the capacity of the earth, but I don't see a fundamental reason why, if the Earth can support 8bn it can't support 11bn. It is not an order of magnitude change.

 

[Twilight Hue]

No matter how aware you are, you produce CO2 simply by breathing. You need a place to live, you need water, you need food and you are going to ****. Times 8 billion and you become a problem.

It's hard to argue that point without being called heartless and uncompassionate.

 

[Heyo]

I don't know the answer to the question about the capacity of the earth, but I don't see a fundamental reason why, if the Earth can support 8bn it can't support 11bn. It is not an order of magnitude change.

Earth can't support 8 billion. Well, it can, obviously, and it could support 11 - but only for so long as that support is not sustainable. We are already depleting our oxygen and over stress the carbon cycle. We are already over fishing the oceans. We are already burning forests for grazing land. In some regions water becomes scarce.

 

[exchemist]

Earth can't support 8 billion. Well, it can, obviously, and it could support 11 - but only for so long as that support is not sustainable. We are already depleting our oxygen and over stress the carbon cycle. We are already over fishing the oceans. We are already burning forests for grazing land. In some regions water becomes scarce.

Depleting oxygen? Where do you get that from?

 

[Heyo]

Depleting oxygen? Where do you get that from?

Well, producing CO2, more than can be recycled by natural means. It's not that oxygen is going to get scarce, it's that CO2 is becoming a thread. The yeast in wine doesn't die because the sugar is depleted, it dies because it poisons itself with alcohol.

 

[Secret Chief]

I voted
No, we don't have enough people. The world population needs to double or triple
because I'm an idiot.

 

[exchemist]

Depleting oxygen? Where do you get that from?

Well, producing CO2, more than can be recycled by natural means. It's not that oxygen is going to get scarce, it's that CO2 is becoming a thread. The yeast in wine doesn't die because the sugar is depleted, it dies because it poisons itself with alcohol.

We're only talking ppm CO2, so the amount of oxygen locked up in it is trivial.

 

[Heyo]

We're only talking ppm CO2, so the amount of oxygen locked up in it is trivial.

Yes, it is. But the effects of the CO2 are not.

 

[exchemist]

Yes, it is. But the effects of the CO2 are not.

Of course. But this is not oxygen depletion.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Unless I missed it (and perhaps I did) there hasn't been much mention of what standard of living is expected for any greater population, given that it is estimated that we would need between three to five Earths if the population all had the standard of living that Americans seem to have - as to providing the resources to enable this. And that is hardly going to keep climate change in check is it. Unless we are satisfied with the wealth gap simply remaining.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I'm just spitballing but, what if we got rid of a lot of the benefits that people got for having children? It'd discourage more people from having them right? But we gave those benefits to people who adopted children instead.

The countries best placed to pay those benefits match poorly with the countries experiencing population growth via birth rates.
So there's a bit to consider in this.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

It's more than tripled since I was born -- but I swear, I had nothing whatever to do with it!

 

[We Never Know]

Earth now has 8 billion people—and counting. Where do we go from here? (nationalgeographic.com)

It took humans more than 300,000 years to reach the first billion - in 1804. The most recent billion took only 12 years.





View attachment 68514



View attachment 68515



The growth in population is uneven, with some countries seeing stagnant or negative growth, while others are growing at a more rapid pace. Japan could see declines in population, and even China may see declines. Meanwhile, global warming could make some areas uninhabitable (such as the Middle East). The wealthier countries have supplemented population losses by welcoming immigrants, although that's become a political hot button issue. Other countries, such as Japan, tend to be xenophobic and unwelcoming towards immigration.

View attachment 68516

What is the ideal population for the planet? How many people is enough? How many is too much?

8,000,135,000 as of this post

World Population Clock: 8 Billion People (LIVE, 2022) - Worldometer

 

[Balthazzar]

Are we truly concerned with over population and global resources or are we more concerned with bigger pieces of pie? As Noth Americas deer herds continue to populate, an effort to save our national forests and efforts to expand our forests with new plantations are being utilized. Humans - Hmm .......... Hmm ....... Well ....... Umm .....