What do we do about the population crisis?

But why do we never learn the important lesson from this phenomenon? Why can't we learn to apply the brakes when we can still stop the car well before we crash? None of the people who have said something about this subject on this thread are particular geniuses. So if they can see the impending doom, then why can't humanity as a whole do something about it? Or are we just rabbits mesmerized by the headlights of an oncoming car?

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"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." - Charles Darwin.

Human nature. Even the people you refer to only do so half heartedly. They recognise the problem but wait for someone else to sort out the problem - for we all have more pressing concerns this minute. And in the meantime we all party on (with possible spannering around the edges of it like taking our beer cans to the recycling dump or turning off the tap whilst we brush our teeth)We look to politicians and the like but they are no different than us. They recognise the problem but they too have more pressing concerns. It all combines to prevent the level of action necessary to reverse things from occurring (were it indeed possible which I think it is not)The greatest ever coming together of humanity for a common purpose was the defeat of Nazi Germany. It took imminent and potential destruction of a way of life to generate this incredible unity of action. Until the last moment however "Peace in our time" (iow: don't stop the party). Ironically, this unified action was directed at protecting that which threatens to destroy us now. Our freedom to largely do as we please with miminmal interferance.There is no precedent for humanity coming together to dismantle its own, inherent selfishness. And our financial system, Capitalism, is the tool we use to maintain that selfishenss. All empires fail and the empire of capitalism will too - one day. This empire, like all empires must perpetually grow to survive but like winding out a steel cable over the edge of a cliff - eventually the very weight of the wound out cable itself will cause it to snap.History tries to tell us that it will repeat itself. And the repeated lesson from history is that we do not learn from historyEdited by iano, : No reason given.

We all go gay.
or drink poison kool-aid. Stay gay.
or Stop having irresposible intercourse..... We can start by killing all children with autism.
or look for another planet to inhabit....... Nature will erraticate us,
or Jesus will come. Yes, we should.But seriously, I often think about times when you had to work the land for your own food. Back then a over population scenerio would never happen.I guess the real question is, will technology be able to keep us alive, as we continue to overpopulate the earth.

Maybe so, but I don't think we can stop people from feeling threatened by other people. So they make weapons. I was just telling you why people make weapons.

Maybe there is no "population crisis."

You are making a logical error: since there's a seamless transition between the times you speak of and our own time, and overpopulation has in fact happened, it would seem that, back then, an overpopulation scenario was going to happen some time in the future.

By making weapons, we shift the fear to those with lesser weapons. They in turn will make better weapons, shifting the fear back to us. And so on, and so forth.In the mean time, an environmental crisis is creeping up on all of us.How stupid can we get?

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"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." - Charles Darwin.

Wise words, Ian.

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"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." - Charles Darwin.

The wisdom regarding weaponry goes as follows: you must stay generationally ahead of your enemies (real or percieved) in terms of the weapons you hold. There is no point in being comparable in power for that permits the possibility that you may lose. You must seek to stay ahead to increase your chances of success if attacked (or reducing the chances of you being attacked - by same method)Someone gets ICBM's - everyone strives to get them
Your enemy has ICBM's - Star Wars
ICBM's become as numerous as the stars - put satellites up to keep and eye on the silos
Too many ICBM's for Star wars to ever work - develop space based weaponary that can hit missiles as soon as their silo door opens.NASA wants more budget? they come up with a design for the shuttle replacement that has excellent military application (like cheap enough to make many and the ability to deploy space > earth weaponary). The militaries budget is infinite compared to NASAs - all you have to do is tap into the well. Everyones out for their own gain. Thats the problem How about rushing into China and India for the financial killing to be made and awakening these sleeping giants. 2 billion people will soon all want the same level of comfort as the one billion who already have it. Talk about adding fuel to the fire. Try to stop big business doing so would be like trying to stem the tide.Capitalism. We eat of it until we realise too late that it is eating us.

I'm sure there's a limit.But there's not much point in going on about the weapons. You can't stop that.

Bill Gates has the right idea. Mobilize money, talent and ideas. Don't wait for the friggin governments. They can't think past the next election. People of means will regulate their family size based on the economics of raising a family. Nature will take care of the rest through disease, famine and pestilence.The Chinese idea of one child families is having an interesting backlash. Many families opted for sons. So the current generation of males is competing for fewer and fewer females. Not only are they running out of room, they're running out of womb. Nature has a down-sizing mechanism called DEATH. Not much will happen for the Haves. They will surivive at the expense of the HaveNots. Morally? Ethically? Yes. Will we? Uncertain. Tribalism will kick in. Protect your own, first.(:raig

I've been hearing about this crisis my whole life, and it just hasn't materialized.A big question is whether human beings can exist in harmony and large numbers with the earth's environment, and I think the answer is that it can, but we need technological advancement in key areas, most notably in energy production. If we used clean, abundant, non-polluting energy sources (such as the energy within the vacuum or fabric of the universe), then we could largely solve our pollution problems, but if we do not convert to a new energy industry, we will greatly ruin the planet and impoverish the people.

You have an excellent point, rand. Unlimited, renewable, free (or at least really cheap) energy could go a long way to staving off a biotic crisis. Assuming, of course, there was some way of quickly converting the entire planet to the new energy source.Unfortunately, without a concurrent curb on the population growth rate, we're likely to see a doubling of the total population in the next 40 years. Even if the Total Fertility Rate declines to sustainable levels (2.1 per family globally), the statistical "delay" will pretty much guarantee 11-12 billion people on Earth by 2050 (all other things being equal). A perfect energy source and technological advances may make that livable. Here's an interesting chart showing an "optimistic" view. (Source: World Population: Major Trends)Note that the TFR DOES decline to 2.1 (or slightly less) over time, yet the population continues to grow regardless. The ecological footprint of that many people attempting to use increasingly scarce resources (i.e., arable land, potable water, etc), is going to be immense - and even with really radical technological advances, may or may not be sustainable.However, energy is a great first step. Well thought.

Right, my point was that it can happen due to technology.
Technology defines our morals and who/how many we are to a large extent.I am not bashing technology.

Water may be one of the main limiting factors on population growth. Many countries are reaching the limit of available supplies. Australia is surrounded by water, yet our assorted authorities are furiously searching for alternative sources. A referendum on recycling used water was soundly defeated last weekend. Desalination is proposed for our biggest city, Sydney, while, with the shifts in rainfall patterns, some planning is taking place to pipe water from the tropics to southern areas. Cost, as always, seems to be blocking the more adventurous ideas.