Today’s lesson looks at the question: How many people, under what circumstances, is too many?
Many scientists point out that severe dangers arise when you have both: (1) an ever-increasing number of humans living on a planet of fixed size; and (2) an ever-increasing average consumption of food, fuel, metals and other resources.
Many non-scientists like to point out that (3) bigger is better, and smaller is scary.
An editorial in the May 4, 2008 Boston Globe makes the case for point #3:
THE United Nations Population Fund projected last week that Russia’s population will drop from 142 million today to 100 million in the next 40 to 50 years. The agency’s report praised recent government efforts to increase birth rates and extend lives. But not enough is being done to counter stark demographic forces: an impending decrease in the number of women of child-bearing age, poor healthcare, rampant vehicular and industrial accidents, widespread alcoholism, and social conditions that discourage family formation
These trends have disturbing implications, not just for Russia and its political leadership, but for the United States. No amount of windfall profits from oil and natural gas in the hands of Kremlin plutocrats can save Russia from a many-faceted decline.
Discuss.