With the Price of Food, Housing and Oil Going Through the Roof is it not Time to Halt the Population Growth?
When I was born in 1966 there was some 3.3 billion people on the planet. There is currently 6.6 billion and by 2050 they are projecting that there could be 9 billion.
Given that the price of resources are rising rapidly due to increased demand and the fact that many animals species are now becoming extinct due to man’s increasing demands on the planet, is it not now time to say enough is enough?
They should sterilise all the chavs. They never contribute economically to the system – they only take out of it. They could make ‘em into biofuel 
July 31st, 2010 at 12:02 pm
yeh i agree 100%
already in Japan their trying to reduce population. i heard this from my teacher so might not be 100% true. But in Japan their only allowing each household (husband and wife) to have one child each. I dunno what happens to them if they have more but it cant be pretty.
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July 31st, 2010 at 12:30 pm
How can you stop population increase? Or lower the current population.
In Britain if we brought the death penalty back, it would lose a few, I suppose, but….
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July 31st, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Well I’m not having any kids, I can’t stand them.
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July 31st, 2010 at 12:51 pm
It certainly is but it’s not going to happen because people are too selfish and always think it’s other people that should make the sacrifices. I am afraid the planet is doomed.
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July 31st, 2010 at 1:40 pm
and how do you propose we stop population growth? forced abortion and/or sterilization? how do you choose who is subjected to these procedures? or should we just kill off everyone once they turn 30 years old?
keep in mind that the largest populations are in almost always in the poorest areas of the world. more family members allow for more bodies contributing to the well being of the family as a whole.
instead of population control, why not make a real effort to create renewable, energy independent nations. end global poverty by investing in the infrastructure of 3rd world nations making them less dependent on foreign aid. and cease the exploitation of cheap foreign labor by incentivizing companies to keep jobs and resources within their own country.
population control is not the answer. ending poverty is.
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July 31st, 2010 at 1:55 pm
The Russians are not reproducing themselves and in about 40 years from now they will be the size of Yemen. Most of the immigration problems of places like the UK and Europe are the result of declining local populations being replaced by foreigners who are required to keep these countries viable, by supplying personnel for hospitals, transport or garbage disposal.
A lowering of the world’s population is not the solution it may logically seem, since it is has already happened to some places but not others.
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July 31st, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Yes, but if I say aloud that I don’t want to have kids, people look at me like I was crazy and even remark "you’ll change your mind", as if it was any of their business. I believe population growth is the cause of many problems but I don’t know how we could stop it or slow it.
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July 31st, 2010 at 3:05 pm
They should sterilise all the chavs. They never contribute economically to the system – they only take out of it. They could make ‘em into biofuel
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July 31st, 2010 at 3:30 pm
one child per couple like in china? Now how that would work in the UK I do not know, there just are’nt enough couples, just girls having babies and boys movin on to the next one. One child each, now that would work, no, it would’nt, I really dont know the answer, in our society.
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July 31st, 2010 at 3:45 pm
"The price" is determined by a political game, which keeps demand high and the supply low.
If you assess the amount of land-mass available i.e. huge areas, you will see man’s system of overcrowding is unnecessary
(but beneficial to governments who believe we are easier to control if populations are in cities).
Meaning: The world is not over-populated.
But we do need adequate birth control whereby women can determine what happens to their own bodies, limiting the number of their children if they so desire.
The best / kindest way to affect that is free distribution of advice and contraception via clinics funded by governments.
If people were allowed to spread out + if we had a simple building system (something prefabricated, and mobile), that did not require connection to the mains for energy etc.,
those who opted for that life-style could live self-sufficiently (and more happily) being at peace with the Earth ~
especially if we were all taught, from being infants,
how to grow food
harnessing safe technologies (EG. hydroponics i.e. growing using liquid as a medium) to ensure abundant supplies.
Free food would be on offer
and that, I guess, if what Gatt and other Trade organisations don’t want us to have.
Doesn’t stop us wanting that, though. Nor should current constraints stop us aiming to get that for ourselves and the following generations,
ending years of servitude to the ruling elite
(who fear not controlling their supply of food).
There are many viable alternatives to fossil-fuel oil
that with just a small amount of investment
(compared to that spent on nuclear technology)
could end our dependence on polluting combustion engines…
H’mm. Why haven’t these realistic possibilities come to the fore? And what, I wonder, needs to happen to ensure we progress to that happy, promised world?
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http://www.the-alternative.org.uk
July 31st, 2010 at 4:20 pm
There hasn’t been a proper debate about this in Government circles
a) because to the Government, population growth equals economic growth, and
b) it is a cultural, ethical and relgious minefield.
Whatever system is put in place, it must leave the chioce of having children or not in the power of the individual. There is no room for coercive programmes that could be seen to have racist or eugenisist principles. However, that is not to say the Government doesn’t have some powerful weapons in it’s arsenal.
For a start we can phase out Child Benefit and Tax relief for people with children. If people have to bear the full cost of having the child themselves they would have less.
Secondly, it has been shown time and time again that given the choice of the number and spacing of their children, women prefer smaller, healthier families. This is true regardless of race, culture or religion. One of the lowest birth rates in Europe is Italy, a supposedly Catholic country.
It is a fallacy to ever suggest that people are poor (especially in the Third world) because they have large families, it is usually the case that they have large families BECAUSE they are poor and have llttle to no access to birth control. It should be made possible that every woman can have the choice of birth control, and access to it.
Unfortunately, if we brought the poorest in the world to the same standard of living as ours, we would need six planets! We have to accept that we must stop exploiting them and allow them to trade freely. We must remove all the protectionist barriers that mean they cannot get a fair price for their goods, and they should be paid a minimum wage commensurate with the wages of the countries they are exporting to. With free trade and fair wages, they can work themselves out of poverty and provide for their families themselves.
We must stop paying farmers huge subsidies to make food artifically cheap and then flood the markets of poor countries where their unsubsidised farmers can’t compete, thus destroying the capacity for that country to provide for itself. Farmers in rich countries should pay back subsidies if the food is for export. If taxpayers have paid the farmers for growing the food ‘cheaply’ they should benefit from their taxes.
Our whole culture has to change. People who choose not to have children should not been seen as selfish or abnormal. In time it may be seen as highly irresponsible to bring another human into a world that cannot sustain it. If you want the joy of children in your life, you can work with them or adopt. There are so many children in the world that need love.
I know that in the past, when children were taken away from unmarried mothers a terrible violence was done to those poor girls, but can we honestly say that the children of teenage mums are faring any better than if they had been taken away and adopted? I can’t see a future for the Welfare State, there will just not be enough money for it. It is possible that state benefits could be phased out, and with it a dramatic drop in the birth rate.
In the end, we need to teach our children that they don’t have to follow the plan of get a job, leave mum and dad , get married (or not) set up home and have babies. They can choose that path if they want, but there are other choices, too. They can learn there is no obligation to give your parents grandchildren, they chose to have you, they cannot choose for you. You are not ‘missing out’ not having children. Until people can see a happy future for themselves without having to have children, we won’t see the decline in the birth rate we need to bring population under control.
With over half the world’s population already in or coming into their reproductive years, whatever we choose to do or not do now will have an enormous impact on future birth rates and population.
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The Optimum Population trust
July 31st, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Lets break this issue, we all agree that this kind of population growth is certainly not sustainable.. In a study done in Oxford, it has been estimated that to provide a decent living standard (much less than the average per capita GDP of USA), the population can’t exceed 2 billion. Hence at 6.6 billion, we are already 3 times over!!
Next, what are the reasons for population growth at this alarming rate – Lack of education and rural illiterate economies of developing countries especially India and China.
Next, what are these countries doing and what is required. China implemented a one child norm and the result – there is a highly skewed sex ratio because a male child is preferred.
India does nothing. There is no population policy and the country will be the most populous in 30 years.
What is to be done – ? Education Education Education and rapid Urbanisation are the only methods.
How – The international community has to put enormous pressure on the countries like India (that have no population policy) to become 100% literate by 2050. This problem is worse than Iran’s nuclear weapons. Further, all support required has to be provided to spread education. Loans should be granted only to fund schools. Private education should be mandated through international pressure and rural education has to become mandatory. Unless the world does something.. countries like India would become a huge burden on itself.
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