Discussion Do you believe in overpopulation?

[SuicidalOrganism]

Or is it merely a myth? In what ways has it affected this world?
To be honest, personally speaking, I don't like it that this globe has many humans, a maximum of 70 million is what I would have preferred.
Let me hear your thoughts.

 

[EternalShore]

I don't mind that the world has so many people as long as I don't have to be near them~

 

[SuicidalOrganism]

I don't mind that the world has so many people as long as I don't have to be near them~

Every day it gets harder and harder to avoid them, at least in my own perspective.

 

[Sarosusiel]

It is perhaps the case that population density is too high in some areas but overall the planet can support about 9 billion humans.

 

[neurotic]

The world could always use less people

 

[soft-flower345]

Absolutely, I think somewhere between 1-5 billion would be a good population. The earth straight up cannot sustain this many of us living the way we do.

We as a species are kinda commiting mass suicide in a way by continuing to operate society in a manner that will drive us to global habitat inhospitability with full awareness. This is a generalization of course, a lot of people are working very hard against that. But we don't do enough to balance the scale.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Yes- I'm certain that over population is THE major cause of climate change. I don't think we are willing to put in the changes needed to cut down on our individual consumption enough. Governments don't want us to either. Capitalism relies on people consuming resources. I doubt many people REALLY want to go and live off grid. It sounds nice till you think of what you would need to give up.

We may care about the environment and animals but how many of us want to go vegan, stop using plastic, cut down on our energy consumption, not have children? We'll make small changes but I doubt that's enough. I really think the only way this planet could recover is if there were a LOT fewer of us.

I think I read a statistic the other day that humans have altered 97% of the earth's land through habitat and species loss. We are an incredibly destructive species. If there were fewer of us, at least that tendancy would be contained.

Morally though- I actually don't agree with environmentalists who say all other animals develop an equilibrium with their environments. I personally think if any species is left unchecked- it will TRY to take over. I believe it's nature that keeps things in check- predators, lack of food and resources, disease. Not some innate desire for harmony. We've just learnt to overcome a lot of basic survival problems. That said- we have the cognitive ability to know what we're doing and the likely result- so- we ought to know better.

A lot of us here are willing to do our bit- many are anti-natilists here and we're perfectly willing to go now! All I'm going to do if I stay alive longer is pollute the earth. It's really depressing to be honest but then- I don't feel entirely responsible. Given the choice- I wouldn't have been born to begin with and it's not my wish to be lingering here.

 

[DystopianWorld94]

To be honest, if you ask me personally, I think we passed the overpopulation mark a long time ago. I think 4 billion (give or take) is the limit of human beings that our planet can handle. The global population is set to hit 10 billion by 2050 (maybe sooner or later). Think about the amount of animals that are killed on a daily basis for our food, it's unsustainable. Society is heading for a huge collapse very soon as well.

 

[Shirokuma]

Absolutely. I always think back to the statictical quote that: If we all lived like the average American citizen, we would need 4 and a half Earths to sustain ourselves.

I remember how much that shocked me when I first heard it. If we wanted the basically kind wish of everyone on this planet to have the quality of life as the average citizen of a first world country like the US; it would be resource-wise impossible.
This doesn't even take into account the corrupt systems in place that allow someone to live the quality of life as the average American citizen and others to not. That the only reason it's possible to live like the average American citizen is because someone else on the other side of the planet is being exploited. They had no choice in the matter. It was literally up to situation and circumstance whether they would live a life at the top or the bottom.
There are so many things I could say about the topic, but that one statistical quote summaries what I find the most shocking.

 

[Crono]

In this world the ideal amount of people is 0.

 

[gardenofaphrodite]

Absolutely. I always think back to the statictical quote that: If we all lived like the average American citizen, we would need 4 and a half Earths to sustain ourselves.

I remember how much that shocked me when I first heard it. If we wanted the basically kind wish of everyone on this planet to have the quality of life as the average citizen of a first world country like the US; it would be resource-wise impossible.
This doesn't even take into account the corrupt systems in place that allow someone to live the quality of life as the average American citizen and others to not. That the only reason it's possible to live like the average American citizen is because someone else on the other side of the planet is being exploited. They had no choice in the matter. It was literally up to situation and circumstance whether they would live a life at the top or the bottom.
There are so many things I could say about the topic, but that one statistical quote summaries what I find the most shocking.

Is there a source for where you found this? I'm not trying to discredit you I'm actually really curious - I wanna read more on that

Or is it merely a myth? In what ways has it affected this world?
To be honest, personally speaking, I don't like it that this globe has many humans, a maximum of 70 million is what I would have preferred.
Let me hear your thoughts.

70mil would be very few. I think once we hit the billions was when it became too much. Truly put that number into perspective

1,000,000,000 people

That is a wild number. We're at 9,000,000,000+ & growing. That's too many, far too many. Even if we capped at 1 billion, it's still too much. I think if we stayed under 800mil or less, our planet wouldn't be suffering so much. Instead we're way over that - killing everything.

 

[Someonewhotypes]

I always used to feel the overpopulation when I traveled by bus or metro. Oh and queues. Very inconvenient.

 

[Shirokuma]

Is there a source for where you found this? I'm not trying to discredit you I'm actually really curious - I wanna read more on that

If you google the statement you'll find various sources reporting it. I believe it was put forward by The Global Footprint Network. For me, I first heard the statement in various videos related to the topic.

 

[AerialBoundaries]

It depends where you live. If I was in London? I'd possibly think we were overpopulated. Scotland's rather underpopulated by comparison. London alone has over 3m more people than the whole of Scotland.

I live quite near the city and if I drive only 10 minutes or so away, everywhere is deserted. It's quite peaceful, actually. I'd move more rurally, if I had the money.