The Oil Drum

207 comments on DrumBeat: September 10, 2007

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auntiegrav on September 10, 2007 - 3:11pm

We never talk about the one thing that is needed - dramatic population reduction. It is too unsettling and uncomfortable to confront. And until we do, all other efforts at making "small changes" is just that - inconsequential in the long run.

Francois.

The key isn't the population per se, but what humans that DO exist are creating that is more useful than what they consume. We know that the current answer is a negative relationship: we just consume stuff and don't think about what our species should be contributing overall.

If we took all the 'overpopulated' humans and put them on a grass diet and let them roam the plains like bison used to, they could contribute to the fertility of the soil. In the pragmatic sense, that is how we have to apply our technology: through a Net Creative paradigm, rather than a Net Consumptive one.

Most of the 'overpopulation' of the world doesn't consume all that much in resources. It is the 'civilized' world that is raping the planet while complaining about lack of purpose and the 'meanness' of their competitive way of living.

Cooperation, Creativity, Community. That is what the future will be, whether we choose it as a large group or as a smaller, surviving one.

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davebygolly on September 10, 2007 - 5:23pm

I agree with almost all of what you say -- BUT population itself does matter. The earth has a finite carrying capacity, even though we might not yet know exactly what it is There are strong indications that it has exceeded what it will be once one no longer has hydrocarbons for energy, chemicals, fertilizer and all else. There is some maximum sustainable population and sooner or later we'll have to find out what it is. Population control and reduction can be done by US via education, restraining reproduction, taking care of the elderly OR it can be done by NATURE via war and famine and pestilence.

The agricultural revolution, starting 10,000 years ago, occurred on a planet with thick forests and rich soils, although the stock of big mammals had already been considerably depleted by the hunter-gathering revolution of the preceding 50,000-100,000 (maybe more) years. At the end of the industrial age we will not be able to simply revert to one of the prior eras: the condition of the earth is no longer the same. Our involvement with the earth is going to have to be far more intimate and is going to involve carefully controlling our numbers and imprint as well, since we too are part of nature, not some alien force that can simply exploit it with abandon.