Which is why we need to implement programs which reduce the number of children produced. This would cause hardship and problems but every other option; do nothing, wait for disease, famine or war, is so terrible that we have to make the decision now.
How low do you want it? It is currently 1.7 per uterus in my country, and the world is at 2.438 births per uterus, dropping by 0.01 a year.https://www.macrotrends.net...
I would advise against dropping below 1.5, and going below 1.0 is completely unacceptable. Kids that grow up surrounded by only adults tend to develop a specific set of behavioural issues that make them less capable of cooperation. Kids need to grow up surrounded by people of all ages to maximize their chances of becoming relatively undamaged adults.
Also, how would you implement it? The only effective method so far has been education of women, since women with multiple options in life tend to make very varied choices, instead of only pushing out babies until they die.
Spreading contraception and family planning doesn't actually result in a lot less children, just in children that are wanted and healthier. But healthy children live longer, so that runs counter to our goal.
On the other hand, increasing mortality also doesn't work to reduce fertility since human populations respond to stress by reproducing, just like all other animal populations.
There is some research into behavioural sinks (look up 'rat paradise') that can completely ruin a population's fertility, but that would be incredibly immoral and cannot be reversed unless you isolate a population earmarked for survival(This too is incredibly immoral, also: The plot of the Fallout games).
Apart from education, we have no effective methods. More research into human behavioural ecology is needed, but that is a long term project.
"aggressive birth control"Unless you mean continuous genocide, this isn't going to work.
"we will face an overcrowded planet, species extinction and climate change which will result in large scale famines, plagues or wars. "All are already happening, you are decades late. We are doomed, the question is not how to prevent an extinction level event, but how to mitigate the results.
Clearly large scale programs to educate women all over the world is the low hanging fruit with a big payback. Combine that with free contraception for everybody and see where that takes us. The next step would be carrots: pay women annually not to have a kid, offer a cash bonus for men to get a vasectomy. Your concern about kids growing up without peers is unfounded. The birth rate doesn't need to drop that much, just a percentage point below the death rate. The annual death rate now is 60 million a year which means we'd still welcome 59,4000,000 bouncing babies into the world. I'm not saying any of this will be easy, but the alternative is an overcrowded world overrun with people and massive species extinction.
What we have now will pale in comparison to what is coming if we don't change course. You think 10,000 people rushing the border is bad? Wait until it's 10 million.
I'd be interested to learn of any other alternative to address the coming climate catastrophe and extinction. My solution starts with the idea that everyone on the planet deserves to live a life of dignity and abundance. Unfortunately, there are just too many of us for that promise to be fulfilled.
Your solution would be great if it worked, but it won't work. The problem with overpopulation is not fixable by making more condoms available. Or to be exact, it would have been, 60 years ago. but It is too late for that. The current problem is not overpopulation, even though it is caused by overpopulation. The horse has left the barn decades ago, closing the door now won't work. I mean, the pollution has been done, the global warming cascade has started and our only chance of stopping it are massive geo-engineering prjojects that each are very risky and nobody has seriously started them yet.
Honestly, I don't think we can prevent the catastrophe, only mitigate it. In the coming decades billions of people will die, and most of the other species. I just hope we can save a lot of seeds, embryos, and other genetic material so we have something to rebuild with. And that is assuming science doesn't die out when society collapses, which is unlikely.
HA! So the Great Annual Georgia-Florida College Game in Jacksonville would be history? Suits me. Every year UGA faculty has to deal with students who want classes cancelled for the Big Game, or at least, their long weekend absences not noted. It's ALMOST as if they're in college for the parties and not the education. (Yes, I'm an Old Fart about this--so sue me.)
Canadian Thanksgiving. I got stuck in that traffic once going from Toronto to Cornwall. Seemed as though everyone on the East Coast decided to go West and everyone on the West coast decided to go east.
The darker the chocolate the better it keeps, it will last 20 years, or till the moment I lay hands on it.
Corgis will not survive without our help (water levels & all), save the Corgis, fuck the rest.
no politician will touch it. Never.
Owen Valley all over again
Which is why we need to implement programs which reduce the number of children produced. This would cause hardship and problems but every other option; do nothing, wait for disease, famine or war, is so terrible that we have to make the decision now.
How low do you want it? It is currently 1.7 per uterus in my country, and the world is at 2.438 births per uterus, dropping by 0.01 a year.https://www.macrotrends.net...
I would advise against dropping below 1.5, and going below 1.0 is completely unacceptable. Kids that grow up surrounded by only adults tend to develop a specific set of behavioural issues that make them less capable of cooperation. Kids need to grow up surrounded by people of all ages to maximize their chances of becoming relatively undamaged adults.
Also, how would you implement it? The only effective method so far has been education of women, since women with multiple options in life tend to make very varied choices, instead of only pushing out babies until they die.
Spreading contraception and family planning doesn't actually result in a lot less children, just in children that are wanted and healthier. But healthy children live longer, so that runs counter to our goal.
On the other hand, increasing mortality also doesn't work to reduce fertility since human populations respond to stress by reproducing, just like all other animal populations.
There is some research into behavioural sinks (look up 'rat paradise') that can completely ruin a population's fertility, but that would be incredibly immoral and cannot be reversed unless you isolate a population earmarked for survival(This too is incredibly immoral, also: The plot of the Fallout games).
Apart from education, we have no effective methods. More research into human behavioural ecology is needed, but that is a long term project.
"aggressive birth control"Unless you mean continuous genocide, this isn't going to work.
"we will face an overcrowded planet, species extinction and climate change which will result in large scale famines, plagues or wars. "All are already happening, you are decades late. We are doomed, the question is not how to prevent an extinction level event, but how to mitigate the results.
Clearly large scale programs to educate women all over the world is the low hanging fruit with a big payback. Combine that with free contraception for everybody and see where that takes us. The next step would be carrots: pay women annually not to have a kid, offer a cash bonus for men to get a vasectomy. Your concern about kids growing up without peers is unfounded. The birth rate doesn't need to drop that much, just a percentage point below the death rate. The annual death rate now is 60 million a year which means we'd still welcome 59,4000,000 bouncing babies into the world. I'm not saying any of this will be easy, but the alternative is an overcrowded world overrun with people and massive species extinction.
What we have now will pale in comparison to what is coming if we don't change course. You think 10,000 people rushing the border is bad? Wait until it's 10 million.
I know, I don't disagree about the goal, I disagree about the method.
I'd be interested to learn of any other alternative to address the coming climate catastrophe and extinction. My solution starts with the idea that everyone on the planet deserves to live a life of dignity and abundance. Unfortunately, there are just too many of us for that promise to be fulfilled.
Your solution would be great if it worked, but it won't work. The problem with overpopulation is not fixable by making more condoms available. Or to be exact, it would have been, 60 years ago. but It is too late for that. The current problem is not overpopulation, even though it is caused by overpopulation. The horse has left the barn decades ago, closing the door now won't work. I mean, the pollution has been done, the global warming cascade has started and our only chance of stopping it are massive geo-engineering prjojects that each are very risky and nobody has seriously started them yet.
Honestly, I don't think we can prevent the catastrophe, only mitigate it. In the coming decades billions of people will die, and most of the other species. I just hope we can save a lot of seeds, embryos, and other genetic material so we have something to rebuild with. And that is assuming science doesn't die out when society collapses, which is unlikely.
Well the two of us should be a big hit at the next party with all of our sunshine and lightness!
I'll bring the fiddle so we can play while Rome burns down!
HA! So the Great Annual Georgia-Florida College Game in Jacksonville would be history? Suits me. Every year UGA faculty has to deal with students who want classes cancelled for the Big Game, or at least, their long weekend absences not noted. It's ALMOST as if they're in college for the parties and not the education. (Yes, I'm an Old Fart about this--so sue me.)
Canadian Thanksgiving. I got stuck in that traffic once going from Toronto to Cornwall. Seemed as though everyone on the East Coast decided to go West and everyone on the West coast decided to go east.