Overpopulation, Basic Cause Of Major Problems In The World.

[Solitary]

As if this isn't scary enough, read the comments made about it. http://youtu.be/Mz_kn45qIvI  Solitary

[GSOgymrat]

This was very interesting, thanks for sharing. I found the presentation encouraging and was glad to see that fewer people across the globe are having large families and that life expectancy has improved dramatically in most of the world in a relatively short period of time.

I don't read YouTube comments.

[the_antithesis]

So overpopulation is the problem and jesus is the solution. How, exactly? Maybe I expect a bit too much from Grand Funk Railroad, but come on.

[Hydra009]

Sounds like a no-brainer.  Finite resources + increased population + increased resources per person (improved standard of living)  = long-term disaster.

Where's all this super scary...*checks out Youtube comments*  o_O  *throws laptop in a dumpster*

[Hydra009]

I guess I should have put a warning on reading comments. I know how you feel, the stupidly is overwhelming, and the very reason there is over population. My brother-in-law told me we have plenty of room, too stupid to see it is the resources that are the problem not having enough room, even though that is questionable also. Solitary

There's plenty of room if you like living in subarctic, arctic, and desert environments.  Humid continental and humid subtropical, not so much.

[Mister Agenda]

The majority of population growth over the next 40 years will happen in Africa, whose population is likely to double in that time, after which it will gradually taper off, folllowing the pattern of other developing countries. Global population will not double again, and middle-of-the-road UN estimates have it peaking around 2050 and declining very gradually for centuries after. It will be a heavy burden of people, but it's much better than the worst-case scenarios which had geometric growth continuing indefinitely.

[stromboli]

Hey its worse than that, I don't care how scary you paint it. If you want to really be depressed, watch "Years of Living Dangerously" directed by James Cameron on Showtime. This shit should be seen on broadcast TV three times a day, but no, we don't want to scare people. So we put it on a pay TV channel.

You want to see stupid, a town in Texas all but wiped out by drought and the loss of a major source of employment via the cattle industry, and a bunch of religious pinheads all saying "it's a cycle" and not even buying global warming at all. Just about everything, from wiping out rainforests to worldwide use of fossil fuel, continues unabated.

Overpopulation, global warming, loss of resources, looming mass extinctions of ocean resources, more and more super storms, rise of the ocean levels, you name it. You ain't seen shit yet, bro. We are fucking toast. Sometimes I'm glad I'm and old man and won't live to see the year 2050. My sympathies to you that do.

[Hydra009]

The majority of population growth over the next 40 years will happen in Africa, whose population is likely to double in that time, after which it will gradually taper off, folllowing the pattern of other developing countries. Global population will not double again, and middle-of-the-road UN estimates have it peaking around 2050 and declining very gradually for centuries after. It will be a heavy burden of people, but it's much better than the worst-case scenarios which had geometric growth continuing indefinitely.

Yeah, but peaking at 9+ billion is still a pretty bad situation.  We're already facing some pretty serious problems at 7 billion.

[stromboli]

Even if the population peaks- the figure I read awhile ago was 10 billion- there is still the matter of all the combined negative impacts of everything underway, from rising oceans to desertification to continued pollution of the oceans, rivers, to continued release of Methane into the atmoshpere from many sources. As the earth warms, events like Methane gas release only increases. There are so many other factors that could yet weigh in of a negative nature you can't begin to list them.

The entire Siberian Taiga forest, besides being the largest single forest on the planet, is also sitting on a bed of Peat the same size. Peat fires are very difficult, if next to impossible to extnguish. Imagine Peat fires the size of whole cities putting carbon into the atmosphere. Industrial pollution doesn't hold a candle in sheer volume to what the results of mass release of Methane and Carbon just from natural sources can do.

And mass extinction of species in the ocean is already underway. Forget the whales- species far down the food chain are in dire straits.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/oceans-on-brink-of-catastrophe-2300272.html
Quote:
"The stark suggestion made by the panel is that the potential extinction of species, from large fish at one end of the scale to tiny corals at the other, is directly comparable to the five great mass extinctions in the geological record, during each of which much of the world's life died out."

Phytoplanktons thrive in colder oceans. They account for half the photosynthetic activity on the planet. Read: Oxygen.  Coupled with loss of rainforests, growing release of greenhouse gases, not even including any volcanic activity or other negative sources, the shit ain't looking too healthy.

And we are past the tipping point. Even if the entire world got behind a major effort to curb global warming, we are still going to see major changes in our ecosystems. And all the people that ought to be working to that end are all singing hymns and Puh-raisin' Jaysuss in their churches.

[Aletheia]

Seems fitting that climate change which spurred our evolution will be the same catalyst that spurs along our extinction.

Overpopulation tends to be self correcting, even for humans. We'll just go to war, wipe out a huge chunk of the population, cripple the environment, and then start the process over again. Apply, lather, rinse, repeat.

If mankind does survive, I foresee our descendants as being genetically altered with significantly reduced lifespans/quality of life. Adapting to a more toxic environment is not without its price.

[stromboli]

There is an ironic twist to this. Because of advancements in science from past centuries, we have  better control on the potential outbreak of pandemics than ever, and are continually increasing our own lifespans. Prior to the Renaissance and the invention of the microscope, populations stayed fairly constant. Between our science and our idiotic ideologies that insist on birthing large families, we have an ever increasing human growth. Pandemics and unabated diseases of the past, now held in check, do not serve to thin the herd.

We have an ever growing elderly population that is living longer than expected, and the elderly require more health care than any other group, straining our resources further. And as was mentioned in the video, larger masses of population increase the effects of any adverse event, such as drought, food shortages and so forth. Sort of a perfect storm of mass extinction, given every other factor involved.

[Hydra009]

Yeah, a graying of the population, especially in western countries, could exacerbate an already thoroughly exacerbated problem.  Good thing wehave Social Security set up so that every generation pays for its own benefits.  Really dodged a bullet there.

[Bibliofagus]

Thnx for sharing! Will be watching this tonight. Do you guys know the book Collapse by Jared Diamond?

Also: My wife works in the environmental movement, and this topic is a BIG taboo even there. Not many people will even discuss it.

Edit: There is however this nowadays:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/apr/29/environmentalism-dark-mountain-project

Environmentalists who stopped believing the world can be saved and who started discussing how to survive on future earth.

[stromboli]

Thnx for sharing! Will be watching this tonight. Do you guys know the book Collapse by Jared Diamond?

Also: My wife works in the environmental movement, and this topic is a BIG taboo even there. Not many people will even discuss it.

Edit: There is however this nowadays:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/apr/29/environmentalism-dark-mountain-project

Environmentalists who stopped believing the world can be saved and who started discussing how to survive on future earth.

Were I a younger man I could easily be persuaded to do this. But I think I'll de dead before the shit gets really bad.