The big P (Population / Problem)

[LAOLONG]

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

[LAOLONG]

All ecological problems and disasters Are byproduct of
An increase of 400%  in world 
Population since 1950
From 2 billion to 8 billion humans.

[Marblehead]

We need more gay people.  They don't have babies.

 

[Gerard]

...plus monks, nuns and hermits.

 

 

[Jetsun]

Most developed industrial countries population growth slows down and eventually declines unless there is political intervention. Just look at Japan and Germany, which is basically the reason for the migrant crisis, without immigration many European countries would eventually start shrinking. 

 

So when China and Africa get more developed it is likely to happen there also and the world will have to develop sustainable methods of economic growth without relying on immigration.

[Marblehead]

Religions and governments don't want people to have fewer children because it is from the children that their future revenue will come.

 

Educated people make these decisions on their own.  The uneducated follow the lead of religions and governments.

 

Keep the people stupid and they will have more children.

 

[Cobie]

On 22/03/2018 at 3:10 AM, LAOLONG said:

All ecological problems and disasters Are byproduct of
An increase of 400%  in world 
Population since 1950
From 2 billion to 8 billion humans.

I blame science. 

[doc benway]

On 1/15/2023 at 4:53 PM, Cobie said:

I blame science. 

 

That's a bit like blaming a gun for shooting someone...

Who pulls the trigger?

I think both are needed so which to blame?

 

I tend to think the problem is more one of personal responsibility. 

The gun can do nothing sitting on the ground by itself.

Sadly, humanity is behaving very much like a cancer.

Our Mother Earth is the patient, we are spreading unchecked, using up all possible resources, choking out all competitors for said resources, damaging and toxifying our Mother's body with no concern for the future. 

I don't see it ending well for us but most of the time I manage not to dwell on it too much. 

[Cobie]

 

Quote

That's a bit like blaming a gun for shooting someone...

Who pulls the trigger? ...

 

A knife can be used for good (surgery) or evil (murder). Imo best not to give a knife (science) to a child (humanity).

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Cobie

[Shadow_self]

On 15/01/2023 at 9:53 PM, Cobie said:

I blame science. 

 

Dont blame science

 

Blame scientism...

[wandelaar]

I have been thinking a lot about the pro's and con's of science for decades now, but my conclusion is that the future is simply too unsure to make up the balance. Consider for instance the possibility of a big meteorite heading towards earth. Without science this could wipe out all life on earth as we know it, while with science we might well be able to change the meteorite's orbit so that it doesn't hit the earth. And there might be other dangers that we could only tackle with science. So we simply don't know whether in the long run science works out mainly for good or for evil.

Edited January 28, 2023 by wandelaar

[doc benway]

11 hours ago, Cobie said:

 

 

A knife can be used for good (surgery) or evil (murder). Imo best not to give a knife (science) to a child (humanity).

 

 

 

Agreed

 

 

[Nungali]

20 hours ago, wandelaar said:

I have been thinking a lot about the pro's and con's of science for decades now, but my conclusion is that the future is simply too unsure to make up the balance. Consider for instance the possibility of a big meteorite heading towards earth. Without science this could wipe out all life on earth as we know it, while with science we might well be able to change the meteorite's orbit so that it doesn't hit the earth. And there might be other dangers that we could only tackle with science. So we simply don't know whether in the long run science works out mainly for good or for evil.

 

 Maybe 'amateur scientists'  - the last one (meteor, a few days back  ) came the closest yet .... UNDER high satellite orbit !

 

It was only noticed a few days before that by a 'sky watcher' / amateur astronomer . AFTER that the scientific authorities took a look and ' dont worry, its not a huge one ' and  decided it was going to be near miss .

[wandelaar]

Do you have a link, I missed this one. I like to read about the particulars before giving a comment. 

[wandelaar]

Is it this one ?: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64411469

 

In general an amateur astronomer noticing something before the professionals do isn't as strange as it would seem to those unfamiliar with the subject. Astronomy is one of the very few fields of scientific research in which amateurs can still play a meaningful and important role. A role that is appreciated by professional astronomers. See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy#Notable_amateur_astronomers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy#Discoveries_with_major_contributions_by_amateur_astronomers

 

[Nungali]

20 hours ago, wandelaar said:

Is it this one ?: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64411469

 

In general an amateur astronomer noticing something before the professionals do isn't as strange as it would seem to those unfamiliar with the subject. Astronomy is one of the very few fields of scientific research in which amateurs can still play a meaningful and important role. A role that is appreciated by professional astronomers. See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy#Notable_amateur_astronomers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy#Discoveries_with_major_contributions_by_amateur_astronomers

 

 

Thats why I commented on your example  about the meteorite  .

 

Also not sure what they (scientists) would do  ( aside from  me imagining some science fiction scene  )  , if dangerous they 'issue alerts and warnings' .

 

How does science change a meteorite's orbit ? .... without imagining some super science anti-meteorite missile or something that we have not got yet .

[wandelaar]

I'm no specialist in the field, but there is a huge Wiki article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_impact_avoidance

 

I'm currently reading it.

[wandelaar]

Strangely the discussion has by now shifted from solving the population problem (for instance by just letting nature take its course and consequently allowing a big meteorite to hit the earth) to not solving the population problem (by deviating it from its orbit).