runningking7 Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I think overpopulation and global warming are two of the biggest problems the planet is facing, more than abortion, gun control, and all other trashy topics. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted April 5, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 5, 2006 The planet is nowhere near overpopulated, so no I am not worried about it in the least. Our capacity to feed ourselves has grown in the same leaps as our population the only reason we have people starving is because of capitalism and it's hybrid offshoots. The world governments, at least the G8 could probably all afford to subsidize their food industires and provide food to every last one of it's citizens right now if they chose too. Capitalism is a sort of darwinesque survival of the fittest type of life and it works for most people but not everyone makes it, our government is faced with the task of deciding whether they enable everyone to survive by defualt by meeting every citizens immediate needs or deciding to ignore the plight of the few and enable everyone who survives capitalism to suceed and move further. Starvation is entirely man made, there's nothing natural about it. Global warming then would be my pick for worst thing in your poll as it effects everyone, the survivors, the losers, the enablers, the haves, the have-nots, no-one will be safe from global warming depending on it's cycle. The middle class and up can basically ignore poverty, they can't ignore an ice age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdodson Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I think that populations in some countries are too big for that country to handle properly. The planet as a whole could probably support 10+ times the current population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurë Veteran Posted April 5, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 5, 2006 I am not worried. If population becomes too much for the earth's resources, people will die and it will be reduced again. Global warming and the environment does concern me somewhat but I think it is overhyped. If the polar ice caps melt there will still be enough land for everyone. If the climate goes weird, we can adapt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningking7 Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Please note that natural resources are very limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted April 6, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 6, 2006 Please note that natural resources are very limited. Like what? What are we in danger of running out of that would pose such a threat? We're not even close to running out of oil and that's what everyone fears so much, and even then we could easilly survive that. So what natural resource is in such limited supply that we have too much people for it to supply? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxster17 Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Recent estimates say that our planet should be able to handle about 9 billion people I believe it is. So the global population isn't really a problem at all. I think I've heard that we'd hit 8 billion within the next 25 years, and then it'd be about 50 years from now when we hit around 9-10 billion, and should level off around there. And while Macodin said we're nowhere near running out of oil that's sort of only partly true. We only have about 80 years of oil left (I think that's the most recent estimate?), and we've already hit the peak of oil extraction, which means that from now on it's pretty much downhill in that it's going to be more expensive to extract. But I also think that by the time it starts running out we'll have another major source of energy around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted April 6, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 6, 2006 Recent estimates say that our planet should be able to handle about 9 billion people I believe it is. So the global population isn't really a problem at all. I think I've heard that we'd hit 8 billion within the next 25 years, and then it'd be about 50 years from now when we hit around 9-10 billion, and should level off around there.And while Macodin said we're nowhere near running out of oil that's sort of only partly true. We only have about 80 years of oil left (I think that's the most recent estimate?), and we've already hit the peak of oil extraction, which means that from now on it's pretty much downhill in that it's going to be more expensive to extract. But I also think that by the time it starts running out we'll have another major source of energy around. Oil is a renewable resource, it won't just run out. Granted we'll run out of cheap oil, which is a problem or not depending on how you look at it. Personally, I think it's all much ado about nothing. We could shift to something else or totally change the way we use oil but we're just lazy. This isn't the planet's problem but our own. I believe that when the prices of oil finally reach the "oh ****" level that the public use of it will be heavilly curbed. Keep the government and private industries that supply us on it, since by that time there probably still won't be a better alternative, and put the civies on the less reliable alternative. That alone'd cut consumption. We here have a belief that you have to have a car to survive, that you have a right to a fast car that can do 120 mph when you can't ever even drive that fast legally, we think we have the right to have a car for each member of the family, blah, blah, blah. None of that is needed for us to actually survive. So when someone asks me if I'm worried about overpopulation or overconsumption of oil, no I'm not. In reality we could switch our way of life to where we live closer to work, use other means of transportation, and all other kinds of things. It's not the people that will die, just the current way of life. I'm not afraid of change, no-one else should be either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdb815 Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 I think overpopulation is a big problem, but not as big of problem as some of the people that are breeding. Some people just shouldn't have kids. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningking7 Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 We've already used up 50% of the planet's oil, just so you know. Also, how would you know how much natural resources are left? That's a question which you will never be able to get the answer for. As for our "laziness," I think there's too much political-commercial bonds, which are the sole factors that are preventing us from accepting new types of energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comk Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Just a bit. The earth can sustain much more, however it should keep at its current 'low up keep' status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seta-san Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 i got a few ideas for over population. first we can safely kill old hippies, they never did contribute much and they certainly don't deserve the benefits of social security and medicare. Next we need need to start killing goths, mimes, emos, vampires, child sexoffenders, murders. Then we need to wipe san francisco off the map for being the breeding ground of all the above groups. Then we need to kill racists, including nazis, kkk, la raza, etc. Then we need to probably kill anyone who has protested anything two or more times in their lives, especially professional protesters. We also need to kill people who father/mother more than five children. YOU CANNOT HAVE CHILDREN FOR A LIVING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scudworth Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 (edited) I am not worried. If population becomes too much for the earth's resources, people will die and it will be reduced again. Global warming and the environment does concern me somewhat but I think it is overhyped. If the polar ice caps melt there will still be enough land for everyone. If the climate goes weird, we can adapt. See....no. Because people are doing everything in their power to live longer, AND keep alive every other sickly weak bad choice of breeding material as well. Like what? What are we in danger of running out of that would pose such a threat? We're not even close to running out of oil and that's what everyone fears so much, and even then we could easilly survive that. So what natural resource is in such limited supply that we have too much people for it to supply? How about when we destroy all the wetland areas so freshwater doesnt renew, or when we cut down so many trees that there is nothing left to clean the ai- wait...we've basically done that already anyways...... Think bigger than just what affects your trivial little world. Try thinking of the ecosystem. We ARE still dependent on that. If we screw it up badly enough, we are in big trouble. Oil is a renewable resource, it won't just run out. Granted we'll run out of cheap oil, which is a problem or not depending on how you look at it. renewable you say? so I can collect exhaust fumes and it will condense back into useable gas? or the gas fumes in the air will condense in the clouds, rain down onto the ground, and accumulate below ground so we can re-drill? DO you have the slightest god-damnable clue where oil even comes from? I gather not.... Fossil fuels take millions of years to make. We are using up the fuels that were made more than 300 million years ago before the time of the dinosaurs. Once they are gone they are gone. So, it's best to not waste fossil fuels. They are not renewable; they can't really be made again. We can save fossil fuels by conserving energy. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html Edited April 6, 2006 by Scudworth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted April 6, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 6, 2006 Err, your own quote says that they take millions of years to make and yet are not renewable, perhaps I'm confused here, but if oil is made through the natural process of the Earth then wouldn't that make it renewable? Wouldn't the claim "They are not renewable; they can't really be made again" be completely false when the source even opens with how they're created? See I think you misunderstand something about me. I'm talking about the ecosystem as a whole and the species as a whole. We do not need oil, never have. The human species survived and prospered far before it's discovery and will continue to do so far after it's no longer economically feasible to drill for it, so we don't need it. Where people get confused is by equating their way of life with their survival when they are not remotely related. Further we still have enough resourcess of everything, where we fail is in our conservation and use. The planet itself still has more than enough resources to sustain us and allow us to survive quite happilly, where the problem occurs is that in capitalist societies living happily isn't enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxster17 Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 I don't think oil has ever been considered a renewable resource, because once we use it up, who's to say that it will be made again. It could've been some stroke of luck that happened millions of years ago and it'll never happen again (granted I don't know much about this, so this could be wrong). Although I have no doubt in my mind that we'll find other ways to survive without oil, it's just that if you look at the world since the discovery of oil, we've been able to greatly increase what we're able to do. I remember in my history class looking at things like how far people traveled before cars, and it was something like no more than 10-20miles from their house in their lifetime, with the exception of somet travelling further, now look what oil has done for us. I just think that people in this day of age are relying too heavily on oil as a resource, and we should be smarter about it. The most efficient way of transporting goods is by sea, then train, then truck. Now why is that we have so many trucks on the road, when we could be slapping this all on trains for the long hauls. And if you can go by water then load it on to a boat and do it that way, it doesn't make sense that use trucks so much for these sorts of things. Although I know that there's still the issue of people driving 5mins to get somewhere when they could just as easily walk there. And people need to stop worry about over population, it's not a problem at all. Nature has a way of balancing things out, whether it be through a new disease or natural disaster. Sure we're trying to get people to live longer, but what that results in is a lot of people having less children in places like africa and what not in the future. They won't need to have so many, because you won't have all those deaths at birth, and people dying before they reach their twenties. If you look at places like Canada, our population would be decreasing if it weren't for things like immigration. I think it's something like 1.5 kids per family or close to that. So I'm sure as more countries overcome their problems, they too will start to show some control over their population increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+virtorio MVC Posted April 6, 2006 MVC Share Posted April 6, 2006 Lets just say I'm more worried about missing the next episode of Lost than I am about Global Warming or over-population. Once oil supplies really begin to run low, just watch how fast alternative fuel sources are developed. There a lots already, they're just not funded well and aren't in demand. Global Warming, it's a problem, but it doesn't spell the end of the world. People shall adapt, some places will get hotter, some places will get colder, some islands might disappear, and the sea will come further inland. Over-population? Well, that's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. How about when we destroy all the wetland areas so freshwater doesnt renew, or when we cut down so many trees that there is nothing left to clean the ai- wait...we've basically done that already anyways...... With the money that can be made from dealing in Carbon credits, there is plenty incentive for companies and individuals investing in trees and land dedicated for forests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted April 6, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 6, 2006 Lol, you live in New Zealand and aren't worried about the sea coming further inland? I'd expect that response from someone in the States around colorado but not from someone living on an island. Further, I think you're missing the long term threat of global warming which is a freaking ice age. And while yes, I could happilly live driving a car fueled by dead kittens or ethanol or even the sun that still gets me to where I need to go but doesn't have the same oomph when I push down on the accelerator, you'll have a hard time getting me to enjoy my life huddled around a fire fending off sabretooth tigers. Which of course is a slight exaggeration of course, but I really don't see how an ice-age would be ok. We'd survive it but jeez. Oil supplies will just be switched over to the necessary sectors that can't get by without oil, like military, shipping, and medical fields and consumers will just be kicked off onto some lesser fuel or method. Not a big deal at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+virtorio MVC Posted April 6, 2006 MVC Share Posted April 6, 2006 Lol, you live in New Zealand and aren't worried about the sea coming further inland? I'd expect that response from someone in the States around colorado but not from someone living on an island.Further, I think you're missing the long term threat of global warming which is a freaking ice age. And while yes, I could happilly live driving a car fueled by dead kittens or ethanol or even the sun that still gets me to where I need to go but doesn't have the same oomph when I push down on the accelerator, you'll have a hard time getting me to enjoy my life huddled around a fire fending off sabretooth tigers. Which of course is a slight exaggeration of course, but I really don't see how an ice-age would be ok. We'd survive it but jeez. You're worried about an ice age? You'll be long dead before that happens so why waste your time? And New Zealand may be an Island, but it's not a small flat island, so it's not going to disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted April 6, 2006 Veteran Share Posted April 6, 2006 I'm not worried about ****, I'll live through anything. Nuclear war, bird flu, terrorists, bring it on I say, but I do like to think forward abit when trying to decide what policies to support, and I don't like the idea of getting the Earth when it's all nice and warm and my great great great grandchildren getting it when it's a frozen block of ice, all because I "didn't worry about it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+virtorio MVC Posted April 6, 2006 MVC Share Posted April 6, 2006 I'm not worried about ****, I'll live through anything. Nuclear war, bird flu, terrorists, bring it on I say, but I do like to think forward abit when trying to decide what policies to support, and I don't like the idea of getting the Earth when it's all nice and warm and my great great great grandchildren getting it when it's a frozen block of ice, all because I "didn't worry about it." Good luck with all that, you're going to need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningking7 Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 You're worried about an ice age? You'll be long dead before that happens so why waste your time? And New Zealand may be an Island, but it's not a small flat island, so it's not going to disappear. I think we ought to respect the future generations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vistabob Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 very worried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dick Montage Subscriber² Posted April 7, 2006 Subscriber² Share Posted April 7, 2006 I am a selfish person. I know this, and don't see it as a problem. As such, it concerns me little as it will not have a major effect on me. Every generation inherits the problems left from the former. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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