Is Overpopulation a Myth?
The World's Population is Almost to 7 Billion but Many People Think that Human Overpopulation is a Myth
There can be no doubt that the world population has grown and continues to grow. Scientists have been coming to the same conclusion for decades. We are headed toward a dire lack of resources, environmental collapse, and a plummet in the average quality of life.
However, many people believe that there is no such thing as overpopulation, that either the earth will accommodate an unlimited human population because it always has or that God has decreed that we must "go forth and multiply" without limitation. Some even argue that the idea of only having a few children rather than having as many as possible represents a liberal agenda to kill off the white race. They claim that the concept of overpopulation is misinformation spread by evil, anti-human ideologues. They call overpopulation a myth.
No one can really dispute that the earth's human population is growing. What is in contention is whether or not a growing population is leading to overpopulation or an unsustainable drain on the planet's resources.
Personally, I think the world has enough people already and that reproduction on anything more than a replacement level is an unsustainable plan for the future. I believe resources are finite and that the world population can and probably will overgrow the earth's capacity to support it. Or it's possible that, like any other overpopulated species, we will suffer extreme losses to contagious diseases and plague will solve the overpopulation problem before we get a chance to do something less drastic ourselves. I believe that earth is finite and that resources are finite so maybe we ought to have a few fewer children and take care of the children already alive.
In a poll on another site I write on some people have indicated that the earth can support anywhere from over 100 billion people to an infinite number of people.
What do you think? Is it possible for the earth to become overpopulated or can the earth support an infinite number of human beings?
Published by Kylyssa Shay
Kylyssa Shay spent 18 years as a professional floral designer and has aquacultured marine life for fun and profit. Ms. Shay is a freelance writer, an atheist and an avid life-long learner with unusual life e... View profile
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- We are fast approaching a world population of 7 billion people.
- But many people believe that there is no such thing as overpopulation.
- The earth and its resources are finite.
4 Comments
Post a CommentI tend to agree with you. Oil consumption and wars to gain control of the dwindling supply would be an example of finite resources needed to sustain growing populations.
Nature has a way of keeping things in balance. Humans have a way of upsetting that balance. People who would have died are kept alive by machines, living as a vegetable.
Seniors, such as my mom, who has no life, would have died years ago, before she ended up where she never wanted to be, if siblings had allowed her to die, rather than rushing her to hospital for treatment that added more years to her life. That may sound heartless, yet if she still had her mind, she would loathe being the way she is now.
The World's Population is Almost to 7 Billion and ... many of them are not very smart. It is a tragedy when clear certainties are labeled myths and ridiculous myths are believed to be certain.
To say that Earth can sustain an unlimited amount of humans is just laughable at the most fundamental levels. Any cattle farmer can tell you how many acre of land for grazing that he would need to sustainably support a very specific number of cows. This same concept applies on a larger scale with the human population. You are very correct, however, when you say that our numbers will continue to grow until a Malthusian catastrophe will inevitably occur.
The no-limit population creed comes from fundamentalists and Christo-fascists wanting an American Christian empire. Technological breakthroughs have enhanced the capacity of the planet (for example, the "green revolution" allowed for billions more to be fed) but there are limits, and we are pretty much there. Each time technology has expanded the envelope, the stakes are raised. The price for dealing with overpopulation becomes greater the longer it is put off.