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Page added on January 17, 2018
To save our oceans, we must halt human population growth
As a lifelong surfer who has never lived more than a mile from the ocean, I heartily agree with every claim they make about the perils of overfishing and the destruction of coral reefs. I am afraid my young grandson will inherit oceans that are vast wastelands and never know the joys I experienced in the water over my 70 years.
But like many environmentalists, the authors do not address the root cause of the problem. Why is there so much overfishing? Why are the seas acidifying? Why are coral reefs on track to collapse by 2050?
All this is happening to feed and entertain people, the global population of which is increasing at an incredible rate. In 1947, there were 144 million people in the U.S. and about 2 billion globally. Just 40 years later, in 1987, the numbers were 242 million people in the United States and 5 billion worldwide. Today, 325 million people live in the U.S., and there are 7.6 billion humans on the planet.
Until we get a handle on explosive population growth, efforts at restoration and conservation will be for naught. We must provide birth control for the world. Extreme? Sure it is, but find a better answer.
21 Comments on "To save our oceans, we must halt human population growth"
Davy on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 6:03 am
Stupid article but one that at least acknowledges the oceans are dying. This article is stupid because it is too late to push for a band aid like birth control as a solution. I am not saying birth control is bad but it is not a solution. It is a mitigation effort to reduce an already bad situation. We need far more draconian efforts with population and consumption if we expect to lower population.
On another level this article is stupid. The damage to the ocean is now irreversible at least on human time scales. Local ocean ecosystem is suffering failures. Species are being reduce to populations that cannot recover. Once a few important species are reduced the whole ocean ecosystem in that region is disrupted in a cascade of decline. Ocean ecosystems are much more fragile than land. The ocean has warmed and it has also acidified. That is not going to change much in our lifetime. In fact it will worsen no matter what we do. This worsening involves tipping points and inertia of change.
We need to manage our population down or at least stabilize it. If one cares to know the science of getting the population down to a more long term carrying capacity then read this:
https://tinyurl.com/4xyjlj
This author shows the mathematics of getting a population down to one billion over a generation. The science tells us that post modernism of technology and energy the resulting civilization could likely only support 1BIL. To get to this population amounts to a 200MIL a year on average deaths over births. This is a huge and horrible change to our civilization that is likely not possible except by the forces of nature and civilizational collapse. Let’s say we want to halve the population to 3BIl in a generation. This is a figure for global population circa 1960’s. That is still going to take a huge sacrifice in shortened lifespans and higher infant mortality. Birth control is a minimum we need to be doing. A China one child policy is another. These are not even draconian enough. We need to let people die for the many reason people used to die both old and young.
The whole idea of population decline has not sunk into modern people’s minds. This is a profound change in socioeconomic realities. Modern man is geared to growth and population increases. The likely result of this is going to be dysfunction and irrational efforts while nature will force the issue. We could be proactive but we won’t so what will happen is worse.
We need to just accept this because modern man is never going to adapt to decline of population and consumption. You can make your efforts individually and locally but forget solutions at the civilizational level. The science and math of population and consumption decline is mind numbing. To the sheeple it is too horrible to deal with. Until society unravels the sheeple will support politicians who claim the current system will be fine if we only grow more. We are doomed to do more of the same.
kervennic on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 6:16 am
I pray every day and nigght that our almighty nature that a miracle finally happens: several massive nuclear accidents that put an end to the oil economy by disrupting developped nations.
This is the only way to stop industrial growth and overpopulation that goes with it.
Nature is more powerfull than us, it will happen.
Go Speed Racer on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 6:37 am
Need to start World War 3.
It will lower the population
quite a bit. I will stay safe
in a small rural Trump town,
while the rich city liberals
roast in their burning skyscrapers.
Mad Kat on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 6:46 am
Go, the next war will be nuclear. Neither side will back down. Wait and see. You may not go in a puff of heat, but in a long agonizing death by cancer. Let’s hope it never happens. A huge financial crash that ends capitalism will accomplish the same thing.
Sissyfuss on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 8:16 am
I love the smell of doom in the morning. It smells like reality.
Mad Kat on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 8:20 am
Sissy, some on this site would not recognize reality if it hit them over the head. But they will.
Davy on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 9:37 am
Mad Kat, telling words as in telling on yourself.
deadly on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 1:21 pm
Every single American along the eastern and western seaboards needs to die.
They are brainwashed fools and knaves, good riddance.
They are all doomed anyway.
They won’t be missed.
In fact all of the people in the world living in any place close to the oceans need to die.
All of Micronesia, Polynesia should drown in the Pacific.
Just a better world.
We need more dead people. They don’t eat or breathe, they will contribute the most to humanity’s survival.
dave thompson on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 2:22 pm
We are the yeast in the vat,(humans) the caribou on the island, (humans) the microbes in the petri dish, all of which are examples of the equation; energy inputs=economy of life outputs, and extinction.
Boat on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 2:55 pm
Step of the planet and leave me as the lone poster to mark your place as the crazy doomers that were serious enough to do something about overpopulation. Hehe
Harquebus on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 3:34 pm
Do nothing. The population problem will solve itself.
http://theaimn.com/depopulate-or-perish/
vic on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 3:41 pm
to stop population we must stop food production growth.
MASTERMIND on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 3:50 pm
The Impending Oil Shortage: Updating Our Oil Thesis For 2018
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4138151-impending-oil-shortage-updating-oil-thesis-2018
Norman Pagett on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 4:57 pm
all biological species are a function of energy available to them
this is as true of a potplant or a herd of elephants
humankind is no different….we will continue to expand our numbers until the means by which we do so is no longer available to us.
Currently, that means is fossil fuel—oil coal and gas.
when that means is no longer available, our numbers will cease to grow—–in the meantime, will will insusts that such simple constraints do not apply to human beings.
as this denial continues we will fight over remaining resources, until our numbers return to a sustainable level.
As the planet supported 1bn people before we started using fossil fuels, that would seem to be over level
this means that abour 6.5bn people do not have much of a future.
_______..... on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 5:07 pm
Fuck the oceans you fagfucks. They were doing well in all conditions for billions of years longer than you. And that will stay that way. You sick faggot rape victims need to worry about your own ass. All problems with the world are caused by faggots who can’t mind their own business.
DerHundistlos on Wed, 17th Jan 2018 10:18 pm
Ocean Apocalypse: US Naval Academy Presentation: https://youtu.be/2zMN3dTvrwY
DerHundistlos on Thu, 18th Jan 2018 4:38 am
A MUST SEE
What a Way to Go – Life at the End of Empire:
https://youtu.be/h2em1x2j9-o
DMyers on Thu, 18th Jan 2018 7:07 pm
We’re in a dilemma with this population problem. The China experience paints the picture.
China enacts and enforces the one child doctrine. Over time, China came to recognize and acknowledge that their system was about to go awry (and probably fail), without good, solid population growth. China retracts the one child doctrine.
Those who preach the horrors of overpopulation have nothing but the equal horrors of depopulation to offer instead. The depops are not on moral high ground. This is a game we call “Pick your Poison”.
GregT on Fri, 19th Jan 2018 11:27 am
“To save our oceans, we must halt human population growth”
To save our economies, we must kill off the oceans. Who needs them anyways?
Stupid oceans.
MASTERMIND on Fri, 19th Jan 2018 11:55 am
Greg
Population will halt itself you idiot when the economy collapses and the four horseman return!
DMyers on Sat, 20th Jan 2018 5:40 pm
Masturmind, I’ve noted that when a person is pretending to be an idiot, this is better evidence that he isn’t really an idiot than that really he is.
So, calling GregT an idiot after he has contributed a sarcastic expression of idiocy, makes you yourself look like the one who is mistaken.