Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on September 30, 2012 at 12:51pm

Overpopulation is the underlying cause of Climate Destabilization, which is likely to wipe out humanity.

 

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Permalink Reply by booklover on September 30, 2012 at 4:38pm

I agree with Ruth.  We'll just end-up wiping ourselves out.  Too dumb.

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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 6, 2012 at 11:42am

I agree with Ruth!

WE must figure out some way of birth control - educating others.

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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 6, 2012 at 11:43am

I mean birth control as in free birth control and educating others about over-population, etc

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Wesner on September 30, 2012 at 8:44pm

Overpopulation is both a cause and result of extreme poverty.  In some countries centuries of huge families have subdivided farms until a family of ten or twelve is trying to live on a few square feet of arable land.  As this is impossible, the child death rate is horrendous.  These countries have no safety net, so in order to have support in their old age -- say, above 45 or 50 -- parents choose to have many children so one or two will survive to take care of them.  (Although where birth control has been made available, family sizes often drop sharply, so maybe that's a big missing factor.)  (As to global warming, I guess that's largely a combination of overpopulation and increasing industrialization, as more third-world people start using automobiles and tractors.)

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Permalink Reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on October 3, 2012 at 3:56pm

I agree that overpopulation is both a cause and result of extreme poverty. That's why I think innovations are required to reduce population to sustainable levels. Suppose, for example, people joined into voluntary groups of 300 or less to collectively decide on reproduction. All of their children would be obligated to take care of all of the parent cohort, and the parent cohort would be collectively responsible for raising the children as well as choosing who should be biological parents. No single parents, no orphans, no childless couples facing old age. Under these circumstances, groups which choose to favor biological parents who are healthier, smarter, and less criminal would pay off for everyone. Screening for genetic disease would pay off in fewer ill offspring who would burden rather than support the parent cohort. If the population must contract, which it must, no couple should be forced to bear all of the sacrifices alone. Of course it's radical.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on October 6, 2012 at 9:13am

lack of education, liberal arts and condoms.. seems IUD's are huge now though.. and fail on the Vatican splendor from hell~ pfffft

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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 6, 2012 at 11:43am

Right Strong Atheist!

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Permalink Reply by Napoleon Bonaparte on October 6, 2012 at 12:48pm

Have you heard about the Cane toad problem in Northern Australia ? Well, the story is that South American toads were introduced to Northern Australia to combat insects which eat the sugar cane harvest. Unfortunately, the toads found the environment favourable, found natural food sources and proliferated because there was no natural defence to them. They are literally everywhere to the detriment of the native wildlife. Another example is the European Lantana bush which was introduced to gardens in Australia and found the bushland an easy environment in which to multiply. Lantana covers and strangles native vegetation. The fauna and flora described is like vermin and efforts are made to destroy it before it causes extinction and destroys the ecosystem.

The human population can be viewed as verminous like Cane toads and Lantana in my opinion. Since we left Africa and populated the world many species have suffered but human population numbers are now unprecedented and consequently a large part of the natural world is extinct or facing extinction. There is a direct link between human population and the erosion of the worlds last resources.

 

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Permalink Reply by booklover on October 6, 2012 at 1:57pm

I agree Napoleon Bonaparte! I also think the humans seem to be a bad mutation in evolution.  The damage we've done to this beautiful Earth...

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Permalink Reply by Napoleon Bonaparte on October 7, 2012 at 6:55pm

I see beauty in ourselves living our lives in comfortable civilisation. It's only when I stand back and look at the planet that I see the ugliness caused by massive human overpopulation.

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Permalink Reply by booklover on October 7, 2012 at 6:59pm

I see it too, but I think that maybe religious people refuse to see the ugliness by pretending 'god' has a plan.  Bad plan.

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