183 replies to this topic

[Hayden]

Question: Is the world overpopulated right now? What's your view?

[artistry]

...Didn't they just post a figure of 7,000,000,000, for total world population, that was hit last week? I guess some kind of parameter would have to be established as a measurement, to then say that the earth has surpassed that particular total. That being said, are we able to sufficently feed these people, who occupy the planet? Do they have shelter from the elements? Do they have enough water to keep them alive? Some of these answers would have to be no. We won't bring in health care or vaccinations, against disease. Based on these considerations, my answer would be that the world is overpopulated, in essence. What do you think?

[Liv]

There have been reports the population will hit 15 billion by 2100. I think overpopulation is a real cause for concern and while I do not believe in limiting the amount of children a person can have, I do believe there is some serious education needed. Resources are precious and the more the population expands, the less resources we have as a whole.

[Lee11]

This is a very good question and one that friends and I would probably answer differently depending on how much we were drinking when we spoke about it. Off the top of my head, I feel the earth is densely populated, possibly too much so. Mother Earth is capable of self regulating and perhaps this is where 2012 comes in?

Thing is: I simply do not know.
I personally have held off on conceiving due to my concerns of being able to give a child the life they deserve. I am not sure if the world provides a soft and safe place for any new soul.

My mind may change.
There needs to be a great revolution in how we think and live in this world before it can sustain a population greater than 7 billion. Everything is unstable right now,

Everything.

Time will tell...

[Ares7]

The thing is there is enough of everything to feed the world, provide them with money for vaccines etc. there is just too much greed out there and the inequalities of different countries play a role in this (financially). It is just that some countries have different lifestyles and require more money to live as a result of this. There's also the very real fact that more young people are having children all over the world. You would think it would be the opposite considering more women are focussing on their careers instead of having children. So I'm leaning towards the opinion that the world isn't over populated and it's just that resources are inequally distributed.

[Jabsfreelanceworld]

I think it's getting close to being over-populated. However, to balance it out I just heard news yesterday that in some countries there will not be enough daughters to replace some mothers. Therefore, the shift could change back the other way again. In any case, the earth is never going to get any bigger, is it?

[Ansem]

We haven't had a proper natural balance for 50 years.
In history a great time of population expansion and prosperity is followed by war and food crisis to lower the population again and keep it in control.

We humans distorted this balance so yes, earth is becoming overpopulated.

[Sarkbert]

I think the earth is overpopulated. Say you were to live to the age of 70, you would live around 2.2 billion seconds, 7 billion is over three times that amount. It would be impossible to give that amount of people a comfortable western lifestyle that people strive to achieve, their own house, car, garden, etc..

[Usty]

Parts of inhabitable earth are over populated. So many people in some areas, they have nothing to their names. They struggle, yet people in those areas won't take responsibility for their actions. They continue to reproduce, putting new life in a horrible environment.

[Player One]

Having 7 Billion people all over the world? Don't you think that's too much? I don't know the statistics but from what I heard 20 and above babies are born every minute all over the world. Also a fun fact, the 7 Billionth baby was born in the Philippines and was awarded something.

[Joshua Amahit]

Player One, on 04 November 2011 - 11:38 PM, said:

Having 7 Billion people all over the world? Don't you think that's too much? I don't know the statistics but from what I heard 20 and above babies are born every minute all over the world. Also a fun fact, the 7 Billionth baby was born in the Philippines and was awarded something.

the baby was awarded with cash, scholarships, some plans, I think life plan i'm not entirely sure and many more. I watched it in TV and was quite happy to see the relief in the faces of the parents of the baby. At least they won't have to think about paying the hospital bills anymore. 7 billion people is a huge number in terms of people. I bet for the next 5 years 300-500million more people will occupy earth. I believe that there is adequate space in the world, that is if we start living afloat in the air, in deserts and even underwater if we are capable. 7 billion is a really big number in terms of population. Squatter areas are already in the boom and with the constant increase in population, governments and the people really have to think for themselves looking on how it would affect them in the long run. More people, more mouths to feed, more pollution, and also considering the ever so yo-yoing of the economy.

[IndigenousShaman]

The short answer to this question in my view is yes.  If it's not evident now, by the time my son is reaching his later years it will be too painfully obvious to ignore.  Even if the numbers themselves don't put us on a straight shot at some really bad stuff down the road, I don't know if we can fix the problem before it's too late.

The problem is what to do.  When the problem is too many people there is no answer I really like the taste of.  Well I take that back. There is always space. I do like that idea. I don't know if it could work.  The way things are now, it seems like kind of a stretch we'd ever be able to work together like that.

I wonder about education, I don't think it would work to educate people about the problem.  Making babies is more or less genetic prerogative so educating people past that may be a bit of a push.  What to do what to do.

[mariaandrea]

Just a few thoughts on this: Even though so many countries are shifting or have shifted to post-industrial economies, even a system that emphasizes services over goods to keep an economy going still needs goods. Goods rely on natural resources. The more people on the planet the more resources are needed. A lot of natural resources are finite. A lot of people think we have reached or passed the tipping point when the carrying capacity of the planet is exceeded, but in the richer countries we won't notice it right away, the same way you don't notice an avalanche when it's a snowball on the top of a hill.

Yes, I think we're overpopulated.

[sunny]

I think the Earth is not overpopulated! Only its inhabitants are still in the process of getting used to, and finding new solutions for emerging problems.

[Karim Jessa]

In a certain sense, the world has been overpopulated for a long time now. That is to say, ever since Thomas Malthus in the eighteenth century made population a serious topic, the world has been paying much more attention to population. As the decades have passed by, more and more dire predictions of the consequences of over population have been aired.

Yet in another sense, the world has gradually been adapting to increasing population. When I say adapting I do not wish to imply that there have not been problems associated with population growth. Nor do I wish to underplay the greater problems looming ahead. But it can't be denied that even Malthus could not have imagined a population of seven billion. But it is a reality. Somehow or the other we've reached this number, and for better or for worse, we are surviving.

With projections of double this population in less than a century from now, it may be said that the world is not over populated. Not just yet. Not to the point of total disaster. Whether it will reach that stage is another question. But right this moment, we are still on this side of an emergency.

[dugluss]

Over popularization of the world in a few years time will become a problem unless our infrastructure and technologies advance in order to cope with the demand. I am looking at the way things are today, with the ever increasing amount of traffic on the roads and the large amount of air traffic that will only get worse as the population of the world grows. I do think we will be able to cope with it by improving road organisation such as automated vehicles that can run closer together, computer controlled etc. These are big advances in technology that are being worked on at present, but will aid in the coming years with the increase of population. We will adapt as we have always done to the ever changing planet we live on. I look forward to the future and hope that new solutions to our problems evolve over time with us.

[gangandealer]

artistry, on 01 November 2011 - 02:25 PM, said:

...Didn't they just post a figure of 7,000,000,000, for total world population, that was hit last week? I guess some kind of parameter would have to be established as a measurement, to then say that the earth has surpassed that particular total. That being said, are we able to sufficently feed these people, who occupy the planet? Do they have shelter from the elements? Do they have enough water to keep them alive? Some of these answers would have to be no. We won't bring in health care or vaccinations, against disease. Based on these considerations, my answer would be that the world is overpopulated, in essence. What do you think?

I would have to agree with you, but studies showed that overpopulation won't be bad for CO2 levels. The only bad effect this might have is if everyone uses cars and oil to travel, then there air quality will be terrible.

[ConservativeGreen]

[. It would be impossible to give that amount of people a comfortable western lifestyle that people strive to achieve, their own house, car, garden, etc..]

Perhaps that is part of the problem.  The obsession with accumulation of things has exacerbated the poor usage of our resources.  I do not think we are overpopulated, but governments have done a bad job managing our resources allowing dollars to make decisions.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

dugluss, on 18 November 2011 - 05:22 AM, said:

Over popularization of the world in a few years time will become a problem unless our infrastructure and technologies advance in order to cope with the demand. I am looking at the way things are today, with the ever increasing amount of traffic on the roads and the large amount of air traffic that will only get worse as the population of the world grows. I do think we will be able to cope with it by improving road organisation such as automated vehicles that can run closer together, computer controlled etc. These are big advances in technology that are being worked on at present, but will aid in the coming years with the increase of population. We will adapt as we have always done to the ever changing planet we live on. I look forward to the future and hope that new solutions to our problems evolve over time with us.

WATER
Number one issue.

[sbjc]

Absolutely yes, and no question about it. The world is now overpopulated, and the main problem that humanity encounters is the scarcity of resources. People should be alarmed of this thing. The number of individuals are increasing so fast, and that puts the world into chaos.