Thread: Overpopulation....a threat or a myth?

Originally Posted by Kees

Overpopulation and large grassy plains occur on different continents. If you think large scale emigration is the solution of overpopulation that is more than plain stupid. We call that krankjorem (=loony). Large scale immigration will lead to intolerance and civil strife/civil war. Mr Wilders is a prime example on your own doorstep.

Yes, thus again my point that it's not overpopulation that's the problem. At least not on a worldwide scale. But undermanagement...or at least bad management.

I know for a fact that europe and probably the US too have vast resources that aren't being used. The dutch example of a melkplas (milk pond) and boterberg (buttermountain) are well known over here. The problem isn't that there aren't enough resources. The problem is poor distibution. If the population was evenly placed over the globe and the resources were managed properly the problem wouldn't exist.

Hence I call bad resource management the prolblem. Not overpopulation. Although overpopulation might be a local problem it's not the main thing.

Allright, here is a report from Spain of 2005:
News from Spain: Legalisation of illegal immigrants in Spain

This bad managment has been working to the advantage of the west in the past. Its sad to admit, but because we are overly exploiting ressources, they are poor. Now they are knocking at our doors.
World Resources Institute | Global Warming, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Sustainable Markets, Good Governance & the Environment has published numbers you can see in a stat here:
American and German resource usage (the second pic)

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

Hence I call bad resource management the prolblem. Not overpopulation. Although overpopulation might be a local problem it's not the main thing.

You're quite right here, but Utopia does not exist. The problem is that the countries that could help are not willing to share their space and affluence with those that need it. That is the real world we live in. Take e.g. the high walls separating Cueta and Melilla (Spanish territories on the North African mainland) from Marocco, Texas and California from Mexico and Israel from the occupied territories &c, &c.

There's simply no country in the world that is willing to share its territory with a large quantity of impopverished people from elsewhere. Shipping food and money to the 3rd World has taken place for more than 40 years but has not solved a single problem in the 3rd World. It only lined the pockets of the criminal tyrant heads of state in the 3rd World.

There's only one solution: population control where it is needed. China is a prime example though one child policy has its problems: selective abortion of female fetuses; India used to stimulate sterilisation but has abandoned it for reasons unknown to me.

Yup, I know that utopia doesn't exist. But that IS what the problem is. It's not overpopulation, it's poor distribution.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

It's not overpopulation, it's poor distribution.

So the problem is too many people in one area
Or not enough area for one group of people

is the glass half full or half empty?

Is this the debate?

Do your bit today:
VHEMT

You guys are thinking too local for what I'm saying. A single country might have an overpopulation problem. Bit there's not a worldwide overpopulation problem.

On a worldwide perspective it's all a matter of bad distribution not too many people but just bad placement of people.

If countries were to really work together on this stuff (which'll probably never happen, sure they'll SAY that they're working together but in reality they're just spending tax money with no return for those who the money came from.) the problem wouldn't exist.

Worldwide overpopulation is a myth. Local overpopulation can be true.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

You guys are thinking too local for what I'm saying. A single country might have an overpopulation problem. Bit there's not a worldwide overpopulation problem.

On a worldwide perspective it's all a matter of bad distribution not too many people but just bad placement of people.

If countries were to really work together on this stuff (which'll probably never happen, sure they'll SAY that they're working together but in reality they're just spending tax money with no return for those who the money came from.) the problem wouldn't exist.

Worldwide overpopulation is a myth. Local overpopulation can be true.

I am talking world wide, world wide we currently have too many people. We are working through the resources we do have at an alarming rate.

Population works on the same network bases as just about every other network system on the planet, from organisms to power networks. There are few, if any, areas of the globe that people could be moved into on a large scale with out compromising the activity that already exists there in order to sustain us. If you need to move people into these areas, then that would be one more indicator (to me) that there are too many people.

I would like to see some information from a reputable source that the current global population is sustainable.

Population management schemes have not worked any where, they're a rubbish idea. You need to let nature run it's course. Any human involvemnet in activly changing the population does not work, we don't have the capacity to understand the implications of our actions. This overpopulation thing (which until I see information otherwise exists) will work it's self out - it will be a long night for every one, but it will.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

Do your bit today:
VHEMT

Overpopulation will be our downfall eventually. Overpopulation is caused by survival of even the weakest individuals due to medical technology and extirmination of our natural enemies. We have virtually eliminated natural selection, allowing even the weak to not only to survive but to reproduce as well. Eventually that will weaken the entire human race and become our downfall. We may not live to witness this ourselves but eventually we will face a natural enemy (like a virus or a pest) that will extirminate the human race or at least bring it back to more sustainable population levels.

I do not believe there is any such thing as a downfall.