To be worried about overpopulation

[tiredofsparkling]

I do wonder if we're going to end up in a position with scant resources not enough jobs animals and plants extinct and yet still adding to our population.

Does anyone else worry about this or is it just me??

We are in that position now, we use the planets resources faster than they can replenish themselves. Its mainly because of the insanely high standard of living we expect in the West, and partly because of all the crap we buy but dont need.

Properly managed, we will be ok.

But we aren't properly managing it as far as I can see?

Sometimes, especially as it is not spread evenly. The UK has 70 million people. However the country only grows enough food to support 40 million.

I don't expect the world will reach a certain point, then war, disease and famine will cause the population to drop to a sustainable level.

WW3 isn't out of the question given the current political climate. That would reduce population levels. As would a flu or measles pandemic.

Yes but that's not exactly comforting!

No it's not comforting but population of animals rises and falls in waves. I don't expect the human population to be any different.

I think Mother Nature will look after the planet

We've past peak child (the time when most children were born). Fertility has been dropping worldwide. Although population will still grow for a while as more people make it to old age, most experts now think the era of population growth is over.

girlrising.com/blog/dr-hans-rosling-the-world-has-reached-peak-child/

World population has doubled in my lifetime, and I can remember in my childhood The Population Boom being as feared as a nuclear WW3. TBH I've never understood how it came to be as swept under the carpet as it is now.

We are in that position now, we use the planets resources faster than they can replenish themselves. Its mainly because of the insanely high standard of living we expect in the West, and partly because of all the crap we buy but dont need.

^^I agree with this. It's consumption of resources that's the biggest problem. Until recently I lived in the central strip of the USA, which is relatively sparsely populated (for example, the state I lived in had a population density of 57 people per square mile. London, where I am now has 11,760). But, holy crap, the consumption of resources was terrifying! Everyone driving for miles to get anywhere, in massive cars with terrible fuel economy. Air conditioning blasting everywhere, to the point where you needed a jumper indoors even where it was 40 degrees outside. People eating themselves into obesity. Maintaining perfectly green lawns during droughts.

We lived in comfort while we were there, and of course we still over-consume here in the U.K. But it was a very vivid example for me about how the biggest threat to resources isn't just overpopulation.

War.pestilence and famine will sort us out unfortunately.

I've said for a long time we're sweeping this under the carpet because it's regarded as a basic human right to reproduce. Even David Attenborough thinks we should be talking about whether we should be encouraging people to have fewer children.

Over population is one of the biggest threats to humanity, one of the many reasons why I chose not to reproduce.

I know this is an older thread but over population is a huge concern because the earth just does not have enough resource as is. I cannot understand why people have more than 1-2 children because they are damaging their children's future by doing so. You cannotrecycle and be environmentally conscious your whole life and redeem the damage caused by that one extra child. What about our children's future when they have a much lower quality of life and less resource than us? Isn't being so keen to reproduce mores actually bad parenting to our existing children I.e. Having a third child when you already have 2?

Quite agree Shatners. It's a problem no one feels at ease talking about.

I think Mother Nature will look after the planet

She tries - through infertility, famine, earthquakes, plagues, illness etc but us humans have been able to over come all these things that years ago would have wiped out large proportions of the population.

Oh bum. It is a bloody old thread

The idea of overpopulation is based on the misogynistic idea that women are baby machines that mindlessly produce humans no matter what. If you give women adequate access to contraception and abortion they control their own fertility just fine because they're actual intelligent humans. It is men who try to force women into being breeding stock. If you're worried about overpopulation, make sure you're a feminist.

David Attenborough is an atrocious cunt.