Quote:
Originally Posted by bongodriver
Of course, I certainly don't advocate mass culling etc.....but ultimately our fate is potentially far worse if the problem is not taken to hand, so what possible solution could there be to mass overcrowding of the planet?....I believe nature will make some of the choice for us but either way the whole mess is going to be of our own making so what difference does it make if we do something about it or Nature?
|
I do not think there is one big solution to it. And there currently are some scientific developments that make any predictions in this case entirely dubious. Genenics are making such jumps currently that our lives may look entirely different in a few decades. It's currently developing into a business for the upper classes in detecting genetic defects and deficits and attempts to counter them.
China has a huge stake in this as well, they have a rapidly aging population. Their only chance to maintain their growths is by trying to lenghen their population's productive life span. It's about aging in any case and the research on why we get older. That, btw, would be the second great dream of humankind, after flying, eventual immortality. Do not dismiss this as science fiction, despite this development not getting much coverage.
So we may not even have to deal with overpopulation, but ever longer life spans as well.
Humankind as a whole will have to grow up quite a bit to deal with this.
Just to put that into perspective. It is ever going harder today to get to ressources. You have to dig deeper, get more expensive high tech equipment to reach deposits. This is not pick axe material anymore. So if we let it rumble on a global level again, and that is I think what you are aiming at (would not make much sense in rebuilding if the chinese forge ahead meanwhile. In doubt, they will be the ones doing the rebuilding and nothing is solved), there is no coming back.