Hi Asa, you ask a great question regarding sustainability of population growth.
I have to be careful about believing statements without verifying research. Actually, the entire world population could stand shoulder to shoulder in Jackson County, Florida and still leave over 1/2 the county vacant. If you like to do the math, let me know and I’ll give you the numbers.
Second, the earth is capable of sustaining 15 Billion people by conservative estimates. Keeping in mind the natural checks and balances which we cannot control such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and the like; and then adding the 1 billion people who are projected to die over the next century from smoking cigarettes (yesterdays news); and then add the negligible population growth of China (India will surpass China soon as the most populated); and remember that high birth rates in poor countries which also claim high mortality and short life span rates are common; you can see that we may actually reach a state of equilibrium.
And what’s really cool is how we are developing world wide to meet these challenges. For instance this week’s news unveiled the battery charging knee braces that use our natural motion to generate electricity for cell phones, etc. This eliminates so much waste on batteries and such (the applications are far reaching).
And don’t forget that 20,000 years ago corn, rye, and wheat were wild plants that yielded very little grain but through millennia of natural selection they are now robust and in the next few hundred years may develop to even richer proportions. Again, if you need the research, check your Anthropology text or let me know.
Anyway, Japan tried to limit family size and now has reversed course because they are in a reduction phase and the population is growing too old to reproduce at a rate that will maintain itself.
So, there are lots of factors to consider. I have a lot of faith in Nature to take care of itself. Ultimately according to Isaac Asimov who has written many science textbooks for colleges explains that our galaxy is on a collision course with our closest neighbor and, though nothing will happen for millions of light years yet, shows the ultimate futility of placing too much hope on perpetual existence as we know it.
Your questions are what motivate us to look for ways to limit damage and increase output while at the same time improving our standard of living to be symbiotic with nature. Thanks for the question…
Dallas
