How many people can live on planet earth?

[Astro_Bot]

An interesting documentary on the topic, presented by Sir David Attenborough. The program was made for the BBC Horizon series in 2009.

How Many People Can Live On Planet Earth?

From my own personal perspective, earth's population has doubled in my own lifetime, and I'm not even that old (I'm still 40-something, though there are days when it doesn't feel like it).

[big_dav_2001 (Davin)]

I'm currently reading Dan Brown's 'Inferno' based around similar topics.. It's fictional, of course, but is centered around some pretty interesting and somewhat disturbing statistics...

Things like Thomas Robert Malthus' Principals of Population give a pretty grim view of the future: plagues, famine, economic downfall, resulting in an inevitable "purging".. Pretty disturbing stuff..

(before someone points out the obvious, yes, I know Dan Brown is an author of Fiction and has next to no credibility, but I enjoy his stories for what they are; stories)

Davin

[Wavytone]

Mm...

The Malthusian position has IMHO been unfolding in Africa for some decades - where in some countries the population has grown beyond what the land or rainfall can sustain and disease (AIDS), famine or war breaks out, effectively reducing the population a tad.

It's worrying to think about what happens when oil becomes very scarce in the next 20-50 years. ESP. the middle-east which has grown fat on western money thanks to oil, and the construction of absurd cities like Dubai; once the oil and river of money dry up they'll be looking very hungrily at countries with a better environment.

The UN rules for who is or is not a refugee will have to change or countries will sort it out violently.

[big_dav_2001 (Davin)]

Originally Posted by Wavytone

Mm...

The Malthusian position has IMHO been unfolding in Africa for some decades - where in some countries the population has grown beyond what the land or rainfall can sustain and disease (AIDS), famine or war breaks out, effectively reducing the population a tad.

Absolutely agree there... Stands to reason that what's often seen as the region which spawned the Human race is the first to exhibit all of the signs of Malthus' predictions. Kinda gives us a pretty grim vision of what the future could hold for the rest of the world if current trends continue, IMHO the 'third world' is fast becoming 'the future world'...

Davin

[leon]

Certainly an interesting topic, I consider this often, one dose wonder where it is all headed.

Leon

[casstony]

Originally Posted by Wavytone

It's worrying to think about what happens when oil becomes very scarce in the next 20-50 years. .

On a side note, we may possibly wean ourselves off oil before it runs out if cheaper batteries for electric cars become available over the next several years. The fossil fuel lobby is resisting the entry of renewable technology since it threatens their profits, but I think that political hurdle will eventually be overcome.

[TrevorW]

When it gets to crowded the food wars will reduce the population-

[Matt Wastell (Matt)]

Yep, a pondering topic. I once heard (cannot remember details) that if everybody living on the planet today lived in the first world, we would need four planets worth of resources to maintain them!
I think the scales are tipped!