Earths falling population....

[Bonefishblues]

The late Rosling. I've linked before, and likely will do again. One of the most insightful hours one can spend IMHO:

https://youtu.be/FACK2knC08E

Fascinating and very insightful,thanks for that

Would I be the only one with tears in my eyes when the Mozambican father got his bicycle?

If the definition of true intelligence is the ability to make the inherently complex seem simple to the likes of you & I, then Hans was a very very clever man indeed.

[Jdsk]

The late Rosling. I've linked before, and likely will do again. One of the most insightful hours one can spend IMHO:

https://youtu.be/FACK2knC08E

Excellent. And quite different from Malthusian gloom.

Jonathan

[Carlton green]

Even amidst the deadliest global virus modern society has ever seen, world population has increased by a whopping 44,000,000 so far this year. The plague of humans infecting the planet is far from in decline.

Meanwhile it is estimated that 100 - 200 species go extinct every single day with a further 1,000,000 other species on the brink of extinction.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopme ... ed-report/

Truly, we have wrecked the place... however our host may have a cunning plan up her sleeve
C19, as diseases go, is small beer (so far...). Consider The Black Death - I read that it may have done for over half of the population of Europe, during the outbreak in the mid 17th century!

Being a bit of a miserable old git I’m hopeful that something else will come along and take over from CV19. Unfortunately it will involve a lot of deaths, possibly including my own, but the planet is overpopulated and by people who (almost universally) show it too little respect. Humanity needs to both change its ways and to exist in smaller numbers (ie. less than the existing population and back several decades too).

[reohn2]

The late Rosling. I've linked before, and likely will do again. One of the most insightful hours one can spend IMHO:

https://youtu.be/FACK2knC08E

Fascinating and very insightful,thanks for that

Would I be the only one with tears in my eyes when the Mozambican father got his bicycle?

If the definition of true intelligence is the ability to make the inherently complex seem simple to the likes of you & I, then Hans was a very very clever man indeed.

Agreed!
It's guys like that who inspire!

[reohn2]

Sars-Cov-2 just one in what will become a stream of pathogens that reach pandemic levels - referred to as "a once in century event" this morning by a cabinet member, by contrast, it will become the norm as the planet gets into its stride, dealing, in its own way, with irritants like us.

Current world wide death toll for C19 is around 600K,ten more of a similar magnitude amounts to 6 million.
WW2 accounted for between 70 and 80 million dead,which sort of puts pandemics into perspective.
IMO we can manage the numbers currently if we're responsible about the way we manage ourselves,problem is we're behaving like children in a sweet shop,gorging ourselves until we make ourselves sick!

[Ben@Forest]

Being a bit of a miserable old git I’m hopeful that something else will come along and take over from CV19. Unfortunately it will involve a lot of deaths, possibly including my own, but the planet is overpopulated and by people who (almost universally) show it too little respect. Humanity needs to both change its ways and to exist in smaller numbers (ie. less than the existing population and back several decades too).

Of course as an existential concept we don't know what that would entail. I am reminded of the remake of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' with Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, who has come to save the Earth from us.

It's open to interpretation but it looks like he allows the human race to survive at the expense of removing our ability to make electrical power.

If we ignore any scientific flaws in that scenario it would mean that many of us would die without the ready supply of power, but those that are left would chop down forests and burn coal to continue to exist - would it be better? Going back to the Stone Age - or even the Industrial Revolution - won't make things better.

[profpointy]

Rising in Dover nearly every day

As a result of displaced people from wars we either fund in the shape of arms sales to despotic regemes or we start firsthand without thinking where it will end,then abandon.
We reap what we sow

well said !

[Carlton green]

Being a bit of a miserable old git I’m hopeful that something else will come along and take over from CV19. Unfortunately it will involve a lot of deaths, possibly including my own, but the planet is overpopulated and by people who (almost universally) show it too little respect. Humanity needs to both change its ways and to exist in smaller numbers (ie. less than the existing population and back several decades too).

Of course as an existential concept we don't know what that would entail. I am reminded of the remake of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' with Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, who has come to save the Earth from us.

It's open to interpretation but it looks like he allows the human race to survive at the expense of removing our ability to make electrical power.

If we ignore any scientific flaws in that scenario it would mean that many of us would die without the ready supply of power, but those that are left would chop down forests and burn coal to continue to exist - would it be better? Going back to the Stone Age - or even the Industrial Revolution - won't make things better.

I really don’t see the link between my comments and the picture that you paint but maybe my ‘going back several decades‘ comment wasn’t clearly enough linked to population levels. Humanity changing its ways doesn’t have to mean that it turns its back on technology and I believe that we need technology to help us right possibly centuries of destruction. With mechanical aids, automation and clever computing we can all live long and happy lives without excessive care from the younger generations. Clean Electricity is a must for the future and we are ever nearer being able to have it in volume. The days of fossil fuel are drawing towards a close and once we manage to sort out economic batteries oil will have a much more limited marketplace. The future can be bright, we just need to work towards it.