Why Does Everyone Say The Earth Is Getting Crowded?!

It's not. If you go in an airplane and look at the window in america, most land there's no one on. And if worst comes to worst, about 20 people could live in EACH middle class home. Why all this doomsday stuff? It's not like women are shooting out babies. The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud. Not to mention erecting sea houses and all that. Plus the water cycle recycles water, and oil is still being made, so some will finish once we run out, it never stops being made. Why all the doomsday when common sense is obvious?

The countryside in America =/= the whole world.

The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud.

dunl12496

Um. Good luck with that.

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud.

JML897

Um. Good luck with that.

Not saying it would be fun, but it could be done easily in under 20 years.

I don't know where you live but I barely had the elbow room to type this.BreakTheseLinks

Because we live packed together and all in one place. It's not that there's not enough land, but cities make it look like there's alot of people.

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

Um. This.

The world IS getting more populated. Especially in still-developing countries. This puts unnecessary strain on every system meant to support the people.

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

Um. This.

The world IS getting more populated. Especially in still-developing countries. This puts unnecessary strain on every system meant to support the people.

starfox15

Even so, if it's even true we'll just spread out. You can't trust charts.

[QUOTE="starfox15"]

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

Um. This.

The world IS getting more populated. Especially in still-developing countries. This puts unnecessary strain on every system meant to support the people.

dunl12496

Even so, if it's even true we'll just spread out. You can't trust charts.

[QUOTE="starfox15"]

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

Um. This.

The world IS getting more populated. Especially in still-developing countries. This puts unnecessary strain on every system meant to support the people.

dunl12496

Even so, if it's even true we'll just spread out. You can't trust charts.

..why?

Maybe you can't trust predictions, but the fact is that the world doubled in population from 1960-2000. Unless there's some catastrophic event, it's reasonable to think that the population's going to keep growing at a fast rate since there are more people to make people.

Thats true what do charts know, we should just go off your judgment from airplane windows. PerfectCircles

:lol: Perfect.

You know nothing on city planning and conservating natural and non-natural resources.

It's not. If you go in an airplane and look at the window in america, most land there's no one on. And if worst comes to worst, about 20 people could live in EACH middle class home. Why all this doomsday stuff? It's not like women are shooting out babies. The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud. Not to mention erecting sea houses and all that. Plus the water cycle recycles water, and oil is still being made, so some will finish once we run out, it never stops being made. Why all the doomsday when common sense is obvious?

dunl12496

For one, if people just ignored the issue completely until there actually was something to worry about then it would be a hundred times harder to deal with the problem than if we had addressed the issue before it got out of hand. Two, it's not just a matter of space. There are issues like desertification, environmental degredation, growing infastructure, and many other aspects to the whole thing. Three, if you take the attitude that when you run out of space in one area you just start to build in another it fails to address the key dynamic, it's just kicking the issue down the road. Four, there are areas outside of America that do have massive issues with overpopulation and access to resources. Finally, that attitude is just horribly inefficient and completely wasteful. Why continue to build developments over natural resources? Why continue to use fuel sources that harm the environment and will run out eventually anyways? Why continue to use and consume until we completely deplete our resources? Why not focus on conservation? Probably because it requires the slightest bit of thought.

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="starfox15"]

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

Um. This.

The world IS getting more populated. Especially in still-developing countries. This puts unnecessary strain on every system meant to support the people.

PerfectCircles

Even so, if it's even true we'll just spread out. You can't trust charts.

:lol: The world is bigger than each generation. Every generation is "The doomsday one" where it's up to them to stop it. It's gone from religion to science. It always happens, and if the world doubled right now, nothing really would happen.

if the world doubled right now, nothing really would happen.

dunl12496

Are you joking? If the world doubled right now we'd have a massive ****storm on our hands.

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

if the world doubled right now, nothing really would happen.

JML897

Are you joking? If the world doubled right now we'd have a massive ****storm on our hands.

Not really. In a third world country yes, in the US it would just be a major inconvenience. Look in your pantry. Ask how many you could feed. Look in your house. Look how many could live in it.

[QUOTE="starfox15"]

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

Um. This.

The world IS getting more populated. Especially in still-developing countries. This puts unnecessary strain on every system meant to support the people.

dunl12496

Even so, if it's even true we'll just spread out. You can't trust charts.

We will also need room for the things that keep us alive. :P

[spoiler] [/spoiler]

[QUOTE="JML897"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

if the world doubled right now, nothing really would happen.

dunl12496

Are you joking? If the world doubled right now we'd have a massive ****storm on our hands.

Not really. In a third world country yes, in the US it would just be a major inconvenience. Look in your pantry. Ask how many you could feed. Look in your house. Look how many could live in it.

Right now there are a ton of people in the US who are struggling to find work. If the population doubled...good luck. And the US would be one of the better off countries in that scenario.

Plus I don't really understand your "well yeah the third world countries would be even more screwed, but oh well" line of thinking.

[QUOTE="JML897"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

if the world doubled right now, nothing really would happen.

dunl12496

Are you joking? If the world doubled right now we'd have a massive ****storm on our hands.

Not really. In a third world country yes, in the US it would just be a major inconvenience. Look in your pantry. Ask how many you could feed. Look in your house. Look how many could live in it.

simply put, we have far exceeded our natural population limits. If not for our science and technology then 6.5Billion people would be impossible to sustain.

It's not a matter of space, it's about resources.Mr_Alexander

To be honest, in my opinion it's not an issue. Economics is so screwed up though, so it is a problem.

[QUOTE="Mr_Alexander"]It's not a matter of space, it's about resources.dunl12496

To be honest, in my opinion it's not an issue. Economics is so screwed up though, so it is a problem.

there are a ton of people in the US who are struggling to find work. If the population doubled...good luck. And the US would be one of the better off countries in that scenario.

JML897

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="Mr_Alexander"]It's not a matter of space, it's about resources.Danm_999

To be honest, in my opinion it's not an issue. Economics is so screwed up though, so it is a problem.

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="Mr_Alexander"]It's not a matter of space, it's about resources.Danm_999

To be honest, in my opinion it's not an issue. Economics is so screwed up though, so it is a problem.

There is some places, where it's not good to live. That's why that happens. But the whole world could fit in the US uncomfortably.

[QUOTE="JML897"]there are a ton of people in the US who are struggling to find work. If the population doubled...good luck. And the US would be one of the better off countries in that scenario.

Mr_Alexander

It's not. If you go in an airplane and look at the window in america, most land there's no one on. And if worst comes to worst, about 20 people could live in EACH middle class home. Why all this doomsday stuff? It's not like women are shooting out babies. The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud. Not to mention erecting sea houses and all that. Plus the water cycle recycles water, and oil is still being made, so some will finish once we run out, it never stops being made. Why all the doomsday when common sense is obvious?

dunl12496

Thanks for proving that common sense isn't that common. It's not just a question of physical space, rather one of sustainable resource use.

[QUOTE="Danm_999"][QUOTE="dunl12496"]

To be honest, in my opinion it's not an issue. Economics is so screwed up though, so it is a problem.

dunl12496

There is some places, where it's not good to live. That's why that happens. But the whole world could fit in the US uncomfortably.

[QUOTE="Danm_999"][QUOTE="dunl12496"]

To be honest, in my opinion it's not an issue. Economics is so screwed up though, so it is a problem.

dunl12496

There is some places, where it's not good to live. That's why that happens. But the whole world could fit in the US uncomfortably.

You seem to not understand the idea of 7,000,000,000 people

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

It's not. If you go in an airplane and look at the window in america, most land there's no one on. And if worst comes to worst, about 20 people could live in EACH middle class home. Why all this doomsday stuff? It's not like women are shooting out babies. The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud. Not to mention erecting sea houses and all that. Plus the water cycle recycles water, and oil is still being made, so some will finish once we run out, it never stops being made. Why all the doomsday when common sense is obvious?

dagreenfish

Thanks for proving that common sense isn't that common. It's not just a question of physical space, rather one of sustainable resource use.

It's not common. And as population increases, people who get them do as well. Not like we can run out of food to plant.

We're not running out of land. That's never been an issue (and even if it was we would just build up like we already do with cities) although people assume it is when they hear about population problems. Rather, the issue is resources. There simply aren't enough to go around as it is now, and the only reason we don't have shortages right now is because most of the world lives in deep poverty and thus consumes very little resources.

Before you say "that graph isn't accurate because it assumes things will stay at the current level of consumption forever" keep in mind that that's actually a BEST case scenario. In reality the current rate of consumption can only possibly increase, not only due to an ever growing population but also thanks to China and India about to modernize (which will place another 2 billion people's worth of stress on those resources).

And keep in mind that the above graph is only talking about metals. There are a lot of other resources that are running out, like oil, helium, and even fresh water.

Also, don't think that nothing bad will happen until every last bit of a resource is depleted. In reality scarcities are just as bad as shortages and things will get very painful long before we ever run out of a given resource. For example, if it weren't for the US government keeping the price of helium down right now, a single helium filled party balloon would actually cost over a hundred dollars right now.

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="Danm_999"] Oh good, I'll tell the one in five people across the world that have no access to fresh drinking water it's probably not a problem. We'll be able to support an exponentially growing population with a finite supply of fresh water.SepticSangreal

There is some places, where it's not good to live. That's why that happens. But the whole world could fit in the US uncomfortably.

You seem to not understand the idea of 7,000,000,000 people

The world is huge, bigger than you would think.

[QUOTE="dagreenfish"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

It's not. If you go in an airplane and look at the window in america, most land there's no one on. And if worst comes to worst, about 20 people could live in EACH middle class home. Why all this doomsday stuff? It's not like women are shooting out babies. The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud. Not to mention erecting sea houses and all that. Plus the water cycle recycles water, and oil is still being made, so some will finish once we run out, it never stops being made. Why all the doomsday when common sense is obvious?

dunl12496

Thanks for proving that common sense isn't that common. It's not just a question of physical space, rather one of sustainable resource use.

It's not common. And as population increases, people who get them do as well. Not like we can run out of food to plant.

[QUOTE="dagreenfish"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

It's not. If you go in an airplane and look at the window in america, most land there's no one on. And if worst comes to worst, about 20 people could live in EACH middle class home. Why all this doomsday stuff? It's not like women are shooting out babies. The whole world could fit in texas for crying out loud. Not to mention erecting sea houses and all that. Plus the water cycle recycles water, and oil is still being made, so some will finish once we run out, it never stops being made. Why all the doomsday when common sense is obvious?

dunl12496

Thanks for proving that common sense isn't that common. It's not just a question of physical space, rather one of sustainable resource use.

It's not common. And as population increases, people who get them do as well. Not like we can run out of food to plant.

We're not running out of land. That's never been an issue (and even if it was we would just build up like we already do with cities) although people assume it is when they hear about population problems. Rather, the issue is resources. There simply aren't enough to go around as it is now, and the only reason we don't have shortages right now is because most of the world lives in deep poverty and thus consumes very little resources.

Before you say "that graph isn't accurate because it assumes things will stay at the current level of consumption forever" keep in mind that that's actually a BEST case scenario. In reality the current rate of consumption can only possibly increase, not only due to an ever growing population but also thanks to China and India about to modernize (which will place another 2 billion people's worth of stress on those resources).

And keep in mind that the above graph is only talking about metals. There are a lot of other resources that are running out, like oil, helium, and even fresh water.

Also, don't think that nothing bad will happen until every last bit of a resource is depleted. In reality scarcities are just as bad as shortages and things will get very painful long before we ever run out of a given resource. For example, if it weren't for the US government keeping the price of helium down right now, a single helium filled party balloon would actually cost over a hundred dollars right now.

gameguy6700

If this is true, why haven't we run out yet? Why is there nothing we have run out of? There is NOTHING IN THIS WORLD that we have run out of. So why should we be afraid of running out now?!

[QUOTE="SepticSangreal"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

There is some places, where it's not good to live. That's why that happens. But the whole world could fit in the US uncomfortably.

dunl12496

You seem to not understand the idea of 7,000,000,000 people

The world is huge, bigger than you would think.

We're talking about the U.S. here, not the entire world. ;)

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="dagreenfish"]

Thanks for proving that common sense isn't that common. It's not just a question of physical space, rather one of sustainable resource use.

the_ChEeSe_mAn2

It's not common. And as population increases, people who get them do as well. Not like we can run out of food to plant.

Yes but with more working hands, comes more resources. There's a lot that is untapped.

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="SepticSangreal"]

You seem to not understand the idea of 7,000,000,000 people

SepticSangreal

The world is huge, bigger than you would think.

We're talking about the U.S. here, not the entire world. ;)

:P Yes I know. But it would still work. Because we would have people get the resources from other countries that would now be unpolluted land. Although, what should be 14,000,000,000 craps a day... I don't know how that would work.

[QUOTE="SepticSangreal"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

There is some places, where it's not good to live. That's why that happens. But the whole world could fit in the US uncomfortably.

dunl12496

You seem to not understand the idea of 7,000,000,000 people

The world is huge, bigger than you would think.

[QUOTE="the_ChEeSe_mAn2"][QUOTE="dunl12496"]

It's not common. And as population increases, people who get them do as well. Not like we can run out of food to plant.

dunl12496

Yes but with more working hands, comes more resources. There's a lot that is untapped.

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]

We're not running out of land. That's never been an issue (and even if it was we would just build up like we already do with cities) although people assume it is when they hear about population problems. Rather, the issue is resources. There simply aren't enough to go around as it is now, and the only reason we don't have shortages right now is because most of the world lives in deep poverty and thus consumes very little resources.

Before you say "that graph isn't accurate because it assumes things will stay at the current level of consumption forever" keep in mind that that's actually a BEST case scenario. In reality the current rate of consumption can only possibly increase, not only due to an ever growing population but also thanks to China and India about to modernize (which will place another 2 billion people's worth of stress on those resources).

And keep in mind that the above graph is only talking about metals. There are a lot of other resources that are running out, like oil, helium, and even fresh water.

Also, don't think that nothing bad will happen until every last bit of a resource is depleted. In reality scarcities are just as bad as shortages and things will get very painful long before we ever run out of a given resource. For example, if it weren't for the US government keeping the price of helium down right now, a single helium filled party balloon would actually cost over a hundred dollars right now.

dunl12496

If this is true, why haven't we run out yet? Why is there nothing we have run out of? There is NOTHING IN THIS WORLD that we have run out of. So why should we be afraid of running out now?!

[QUOTE="the_ChEeSe_mAn2"][QUOTE="dunl12496"]

It's not common. And as population increases, people who get them do as well. Not like we can run out of food to plant.

dunl12496

Yes but with more working hands, comes more resources. There's a lot that is untapped.

[QUOTE="SepticSangreal"]

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

The world is huge, bigger than you would think.

dunl12496

We're talking about the U.S. here, not the entire world. ;)

:P Yes I know. But it would still work. Because we would have people get the resources from other countries that would now be unpolluted land. Although, what should be 14,000,000,000 craps a day... I don't know how that would work.

It wouldn't work. Just stop.

Wow seriously dude?

If the population doubled overnight:

1. All existing food and water resources would effectively be cut in half.
2. Things like oxygen would start to become an issue. Double the population and you have to cut down one hell of a lot of trees to build more infrastructure.
3. Hospitals wouldn't be able to house patients.
4. Emergency services wouldn't be able to service the people effectively
5. Roads in and out of cities would grind to a halt as traffic doubled
6. Billions of people would be homeless, starving, and unemployed
7. The burden on social services would be ridiculous. Schools would be extremely overcrowded, public transport would bulk under the pressure of added patronage etc
8. There would be no money for government benefits and services
9. Rioting, civil unrest, crime - all would increase exponentially

There are a myriad of severe problems that would arise if this happened!

[QUOTE="dunl12496"]

[QUOTE="the_ChEeSe_mAn2"] But you CAN run out of arable land to plant the food. It is not that simple as you make it out to be.Danm_999

Yes but with more working hands, comes more resources. There's a lot that is untapped.

I think it would benefit TC to take a principles of econ class (micro or macro) as well as a middle school earth science class.