“If the earth is so overpopulated then why do scientists not publish studies?”, I asked.
“The scientists do study and publish about overpopulation. It is not discussed publicly in the media for obvious reasons. It would cause more problems. There is no point to letting people who cannot solve the problem, and are the problem, to be made aware of it.”
The subject had come up in college. I remembered discussions that the population would reach ten billion people. At the time, people generally agreed that there are enough resources for everyone, and population is a non issue. We just need to end the waste. Some were worried overpopulation as a justification for genocide. So, I asked him, “Why do people say we have plenty of resources for ten billion people?”
“The studies that feature ten billion people are published to put people at ease. It is a distraction to move discussion away from population issues. We also use social media to enhance the resistance to discussion of overpopulation. We have a solution, there’s no need to discuss it publicly.”
“The earth can feed more people than the environment can support. We could produce food for ten billion people. Under ideal climate conditions, the earth can feed ten billion people, if we use most of the arable land, and stop using industrial agriculture. ten billion is also where the human population is expected to peak if we don’t make changes before then. However, ten billion is not a sustainable population. 2 billion is not a sustainable population within the limits of the earths resources and ecosystems.”
“Basing estimates on food production does not take into account other limitations, like pollution, deforestation, plastics, and resource extraction, that degrade the natural environment. The earth needs a large natural environment to maintain the ecosystem we depend on. We need forests, bees, and oceans full of life, just to maintain a healthy environment. Our current estimates show that we need to reserve two thirds of the earth for environmental stability. Much of that area is the most desirable for growing food.”
“Population estimates also ignore resource limitations like copper and cobalt that are required for our technologies. We don’t have enough copper on the planet to supply everyone with computing technology and connect them to the internet.”
“On top of all that, global warming is rapidly reducing the number of people that can be fed. Soils are depleting. Fresh water supplies are dwindling. The future holds less food, not more.”
“There are also estimates that the earth could support ten billion people, if everyone lived like indigenous horticulturalists. Surviving off the land they live on. No manufacturing, no shipping, no electricity, no computers, no planes, phones, or shopping. Other options would mean that we would have to continue industrial agriculture, and make it more intensive somehow, but it is already on the decline. Honestly, this is the weakest option. Industrial agriculture is just too energy intensive and polluting.”
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