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zamfir

- 3 years ago

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Seriously, though.

What are we going to do about overpopulation? This is a pretty big deal, I hope you do a little research before poo-poohing the question. I've posted similar questions several times, and nobody seemed to care. This is the single biggest problem facing our planet, folks! Wake up!

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OK, I won't go so far as to say everything is fine, go back to the mall. There are serious enough issues that you touch on. I just think that the regional population increases do not appear to be at the center of the items you list, rather it is a symptom of increased industrialization. As humanity 'progresses' to new economic patterns, certain frictions develop. But there are examples of incredibly dense population centers that are increasingly moving towards more sustainable economies, so I don't think the unifying issue is one of overpopulation (although I can't say I'm pro-sardine packing). Look at Singapore and Taiwan.

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Overpopulation may be an issue in part of extended life expectancy due to medical advances but it's an issue. The "but there's still unoccupied land" excuse doesn't work for me... just because there's a place to put people doesn't mean that we should be putting up mini malls and cookie cutter houses in national forrests and wild life preserves, this also doesn't take into account uninhabitable areas of the planet like the polar ice caps. If we're going to have technology that over rules mother nature and spread it like small pox to under developed areas of the world we need to do it carefully. I'm all for people living healthy productive poverty free lives... but the responsibility is there to make the stipulation that if we're going to out smart natural selection than we need to control our reproductive habits. I'm not saying people should stop having sex, i'm not saying people should stop having babies... but these things need to be done with consideration and people need to be encouraged to make full use of the medical and techinical advances that are keeping people alive longer. I've already rambled on about this in the last question so feel free to check that out rather than listen to me repeat myself here.

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If we'd stop coming up with cures for diseases maybe we wouldn't have so much overpopulation. Okay, I'm not suggesting that we stop curing diseases. My tubes are tied, that was my contribution. Perhaps a good old fashioned war, wait that's what got us in this situation in the first place. Education is about the only option we really have, beyond genocide and allowing pandemics to wreak havoc.

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u are right , sex has to stop ....

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"Live simply so others can simply live." Despite the fact that I think invitro fertilization should be banned until such time as every kid on this planet is taken care of...and I'm willing to take that a step further... and despite the fact that I have done no research into this subject as you have, I have a "cart before the horse" feeling about it. I could write all kinds of stuff to expand on the quote, but I don't think I need to.

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..as we run out of stuff, things will take care of themselves very nicely.

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I feel the government definitely has a plan to control the population, and it may been long it the making....obviously I don't have anything but my thoughts and simple research. But has anyone consider their plan is in affect and may have been for quite some time now? call me a conspiracy theorist if you'd like. I am getting at chemtrails, fema camps and thought of NWO...not sure on what I believe but definitely something Ive pondered.....I try not to encourage the negative energy though...

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I'll be honest upfront: I haven't done much research. But here's my opinion: Overpopulation is a big deal and it must be controlled some how. I feel part of the problem is lack of education. People are so involved with THEIR lives that they are not thinking about the whole world. Most people just try to get by day to day, get the bills paid, etc. I think that awareness of global issues is lacking and that is part of the problem. Now, I do not feel abortions should be the solution. (I do respect that women have them for different reasons. So I don't want to argue about that.) A lot of people dream of having children, the passion to raise them is there. So, part of the overpopulation is just because people dream of that child. Not considering the fact that the child is going to contribute to the overpopulation. My sister just had a baby a few months ago and she is already thinking of having a second. The overpopulation on the planet hasn't even crossed her mind. She just wants another child to love and raise. To make a bigger familiy. I was talking with my grandpa the other day. He said that it's too late, we've ruined the planet and we can't save it. So just live everyday doing what makes you happy and have a good life while you're here. At first I agreed with him, that it was too late. But then I thought about it and said to him: What would make me happy is to do things in my life that would help the future. Even if it's adopting a child, recycling everything I can. Just as long as I know I left this planet trying to make a difference, trying to help it for the future generations to come. So maybe all that the generations on Earth right now can do is contribute by educating people of what's happening and giving ideas of what can be done. Because nothing is going to happen tomorrow.

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Well, this is not an issue for certain countries but for the planet in general. Unfortunately, we are not that wise of a species to proactively react to a growing population demanding more and more from a finite amount of resources. If you allow your mind to wander just a bit, it can easily invision a science fiction movie (Soylent Green jumps to my mind) far easier than planet-wide cooperation and socially enlightened behavior.

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Err i surpose killing a good number of childern is out of the question eh? well err i think we should just put up with it untill mars is livable. Orr we could move some peoples from the really over crowded places and stick them somwhere else, sure it would be a massive breach of human rights but if the problems as big as you say it is then.... we could move them into the desert or under the sea we need to stop being bothered about pollution and terrorism and work on how we are gonna get 200 million people to either the sea or the desert mmmm.

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the only palatable answer i can think of is education... the tough part of that is what to educate given some are morally opposed to birth control. i am not sure on what basis it is opposed, but even some strict fundamentalists have allowed tht things change with the time - example - Adam and Eve's kids must have married their siblings....

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"One of us is right, one of us is wrong." On that you can rely. And one of us thinks when we die we go off to a magical kingdom in the sky. Seriously, and I mean this with all due respect, have you ever touched a woman's breast?

@zamfir Kansas City, Missouri

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