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Author | Topic: What do we do about the population crisis? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
randman  Suspended Member (Idle past 4927 days) Posts: 6367 Joined: |
Massive delasination and reforestation of certain areas is what we need to do, but the issue is cost and this goes to the energy technology issue.
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
Nighttrain writes: Cost, as always, seems to be blocking the more adventurous ideas. randman writes: the issue is cost Wrong. That's where I come in again with the argument I already stated: we are spending way too much money on the wrong things. My example was wars and weapons, and a sideline discussion on weapons ensued, but my main point was that cost itself is not the issue, it's our priorities. Apparently, there's more than enough money available, it's just that the Bushes and the Blairs of this world are making the wrong choices in what to spend it on. "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. Did you know that most of the time your computer is doing nothing? What if you could make it do something really useful? Like helping scientists understand diseases? Your computer could even be instrumental in finding a cure for HIV/AIDS. Wouldn't that be something? If you agree, then join World Community Grid now and download a simple, free tool that lets you and your computer do your share in helping humanity. After all, you are part of it, so why not take part in it?
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Nighttrain Member (Idle past 4021 days) Posts: 1512 From: brisbane,australia Joined: |
Nighttrain writes: Cost, as always, seems to be blocking the more adventurous ideas. randman writes: the issue is cost Wrong. That's where I come in again with the argument I already stated: we are spending way too much money on the wrong things. My example was wars and weapons, and a sideline discussion on weapons ensued, but my main point was that cost itself is not the issue, it's our priorities. Apparently, there's more than enough money available, it's just that the Bushes and the Blairs of this world are making the wrong choices in what to spend it on. Just reporting what the politicians say, Para. At present we are revisiting the nuclear vs the alternatives debate. As Q stated, until we develop a cheap source of energy (and we export something like 30 million tonnes of coal each year, mainly to China and Japan), the politicians will meander down a number of paths calling 'Cost. Cost.'Until the shortage of water bites home, the general population will do what they always do--lay back and complain.
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
As Q stated, until we develop a cheap source of energy [...] the politicians will meander down a number of paths calling 'Cost. Cost.' If you state it like that, you may be right. A cheap source of energy might be the cure for a lot of things: for instance, I think desalination of water is a costly process partly because of the energy needed for it. Concerning the nuclear vs. alternative debate, I think nuclear energy is only an option if we can manage to get fusion started. Otherwise, the same problem we have with fossil fuels will occur again in the near future: eventually fissile nuclear fuel is going to run out too. "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. Did you know that most of the time your computer is doing nothing? What if you could make it do something really useful? Like helping scientists understand diseases? Your computer could even be instrumental in finding a cure for HIV/AIDS. Wouldn't that be something? If you agree, then join World Community Grid now and download a simple, free tool that lets you and your computer do your share in helping humanity. After all, you are part of it, so why not take part in it?
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BMG Member (Idle past 237 days) Posts: 357 From: Southwestern U.S. Joined: |
Modulous writes: Make the world rich. That's what I was going to say. Well, similar to that. Two ways I believe will slow population growth worldwide: 1)Increase nations' Standard of Living. With an increase in SOL, a more prosperous economy, population growth tends to decrease. In lesser developed nations having many children is more of a benefit than a hinderance. They are a cheap source of labor, both agricultural and domestic. Also, the cost to raise a child is minimal compared to more-developed nations. In more-developed nations', children are incredibly expensive to raise. Having fewer children is financially less burdensome(sp). 2)Increase the "freedoms" of women. In many nations, women are still seen as second class citizens, as baby-makers and home-makers. This must stop. With an increase in women's priveleges, educationally and financially, more women opt for financial or educational success and the desire to reproduce slightly flags. I don't see the population conundrum as negatively as possibly some other posters on this thread. However, I would be lying if I said everything would be A-OK if these two simple ideas were put into practice. It is a worrying and specifically "human" issue that needs much more attention than it is receiving.
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Mespo Member (Idle past 2913 days) Posts: 158 From: Mesopotamia, Ohio, USA Joined: |
Nighttrain writes: 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.. Hi Nighttrain, You Aussies may well want to send a delegation to Las Vegas, Nevada. Use of recycled water is mandatory in public fountains and other public water displays. Las Vegas sits on a aquafer that is rapidly depleting and reliance on spring snow melts from the mountains has an uncertain future. When it comes to looking for additional water sources, the western states of the U.S. have cast longing eyes on the huge reservoir called the Great Lakes. It contains 19% of the world's supply of fresh surface water. In response, the governors of the Great Lakes states have banded together to prevent pipelines or bulk tankers from shipping the water out. The coming decades will intensify the fight for the ol' water hole. (:raig
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jar Member (Idle past 422 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Georgia, Alabama and Florida have been involved in a Water War for at least the last couple decades.
Water is and will remain a key component. Aslan is not a Tame Lion
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MangyTiger Member (Idle past 6381 days) Posts: 989 From: Leicester, UK Joined: |
Depending on how and where it is done large scale desalination can bring problems of its own.
From Wiki:
Concentrate disposal Regardless of the method used, there is always a highly concentrated waste product consisting of everything that was removed from the created "fresh water". With coastal facilities, it may be possible to return it to the sea without harm if this concentrate does not exceed the normal ocean salinity gradients to which osmoregulators are accustomed. Reverse Osmosis, for instance, may remove 50% or more of the water, doubling the salinity of ocean waste. The benthic community cannot accommodate such an extreme change and many filter feeding animals are destroyed when the water is returned to the ocean. It is more of a problem as you move inland, as one needs to avoid ruining existing fresh water supplies such as ponds, rivers and aquifers. As such, proper disposal of "concentrate" needs to be investigated during the design phase. EnvironmentalFrom an environmental point of view, in some locations geothermal desalination can be preferable to using fossil groundwater or surface water for human needs, as in many regions the available surface and groundwater resources already have long been under severe stress. Aside from the energy costs of the process, desalination plants produce hypersaline brine that must be disposed of. These concentrates are classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as industrial wastes. The hypersaline brine has the potential to harm ecosystems, especially marine environments in regions with low turbidity and high evaporation that already have elevated salinity. Examples of such locations are the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and, in particular, coral lagoons of atolls and other tropical islands around the world. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, as the saying goes. Oops! Wrong Planet
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randman  Suspended Member (Idle past 4927 days) Posts: 6367 Joined: |
Well, good point, but there has to be some way to do this and filter it back at a pace that isn't too destructive.
On the Great Lakes, I think it's sort of silly those states won't share. It's not going to deplete the lakes enough to harm them.
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NosyNed Member Posts: 9004 From: Canada Joined: |
On the Great Lakes, I think it's sort of silly those states won't share. It's not going to deplete the lakes enough to harm them. The Great Lakes, I believe are already being depleted enough to cause problems. IIRC, this is partially caused by the fact that they are remanents of the ice age but I think there is reason to believe that if not the only problem. We are simply not operating in a sustainable way. We are stealing from out children and murdering our grandchildren.
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SuperNintendo Chalmers Member (Idle past 5862 days) Posts: 772 From: Bartlett, IL, USA Joined: |
On the Great Lakes, I think it's sort of silly those states won't share. It's not going to deplete the lakes enough to harm them. Well, that's your opinion... As a resident of illinois... I would rather not ship our water out to areas that never should have been settled in the first place. Places like Phoenix probably shouldn't even exist
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crashfrog Member (Idle past 1495 days) Posts: 19762 From: Silver Spring, MD Joined: |
Well, if you want to start arguing from that basis, what makes you think that we should have settled anywhere but the African savannah? You've got little more right to Illinois than they have to Phoenix.
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Mespo Member (Idle past 2913 days) Posts: 158 From: Mesopotamia, Ohio, USA Joined: |
randman writes: On the Great Lakes, I think it's sort of silly those states won't share. It's not going to deplete the lakes enough to harm them. It's political as much as it is environmental, randman. U.S. Political: Why ship the water out when you can entice businesses and residents to relocate to your neck of the woods? "We've got the water. Period." Canadian Political: "We own the water too, dammit!" The International Border goes through 4 of the 5 Great Lakes. Environmental / Business impact: Every inch the Great Lakes basin is lowered is that much more money that has to be poured into dredging to keep the shipping channels open. Especially true in the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and Western Lake Erie areas. (:raig
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kuresu Member (Idle past 2541 days) Posts: 2544 From: boulder, colorado Joined: |
I think he means that we shouldn't build our homes where this is very little water, like in deserts, or near-desert like areas.
if you were given a choice between settling the great lakes or phoenix, which would you pick? water, or not water, that is the question. All a man's knowledge comes from his experiences
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Jaderis Member (Idle past 3453 days) Posts: 622 From: NY,NY Joined: |
1)Increase nations' Standard of Living. With an increase in SOL, a more prosperous economy, population growth tends to decrease. In lesser developed nations having many children is more of a benefit than a hinderance. They are a cheap source of labor, both agricultural and domestic. Also, the cost to raise a child is minimal compared to more-developed nations. In more-developed nations', children are incredibly expensive to raise. Having fewer children is financially less burdensome(sp).
While I would love to see the eradication of poverty worldwide, I would have to say that it would not (by itself) help the population crisis, or rather the impact on resources, specifically. It is true that raising the standards of living everywhere would gradually ease the amount of people being born, it would also decrease the amount of people dying. That is important, but not the main point. My point has to do with resources and the more people we have with disposable income, the more disposable the societies worldwide will become. Which means more plastic/styrofoam packaging, more industrial waste, more disposable diapers (Here is another link supporting that claim),more land being used for agriculture and the waste that comes along with that, more land for larger houses for everyone, more natural lands being made into ski resorts, more supermarkets/restaurants/bakeries/etc with the huge amounts of food wasted (just ask a dumpster diver about all the good, unspoiled food thrown out every day), more upscale camping areas, spas, golf courses, etc, and definitely more WATER. We would have more people taking looong showers, running the water while brushing their teeth, running dishwashers and washing machines, using swimming pools/jacuzzis, using lawn sprinklers, going out to eat (water usage and waste in restaurants is obscene), vacationing at water parks, living in developments with those fancy water fountains (I was always appalled that these places were allowed to run their fountains during water shortages in Florida) and the list goes on and on. Making everyone rich will bring so much more waste and water usage that it will probably negate the lower population, unless, of course, we find ways to significantly reduce this waste and then enforce it.
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