8,000,000,000 People on the planet as of yesterday

[Ted Hoppe]

7,000,000,000 in 2011. Do you really think the world is going to be in a better place in 15 years with 9 billion?

[Jim Mahan]

Of course. This large population is unprecedented, but the same can be said of every other era and population milestone. Many significant changes will occur. Humans will again be creative and adapt. There is no upper limit and we won't run out resources or irretrievably trash the planet. Not everyone will agree and there will probably be a lot of conflict around the world, but there will also be a lot of paradigm changing and cooperation and invention and unlooked for opportunities that aren't available, nor even concieved of in our current milieu.

I won't be here for any of that, but that doesn't mean I'm cavalier about it. And I'm not suggesting that there isn't the potential for some agency of humans to go completely over the top and burn it all down for us. I just don't think that is as likely as something much better.

[Joe (SoCal)]

7,000,000,000 in 2011. Do you really think the world is going to be in a better place in 15 years with 9 billion?

Almost 9 million people live in just NYC alone with only a land mass of only 302.6 mi² and a lot of them live on on a little island thats only 23 mi² of vertical living.

The Earth is a big place, Surface area 196.9 million mi² lots of uninhabited landmass and if it gets too crowded Elon has a plan

[Bflat]

I once heard that there are more people alive today than have ever died. I can't prove it.

[LeeG]

In 15 yrs the world will have gone around the sun 15 times. The solar system will have moved about 100 billion kilometers. Could be better, could be worse, dunno never been there.

[LeeG]

Maybe another coronal mass ejection like the 1859 Carrington Event will coincide with some other stressor like a pandemic or energy “crisis” and the population growth gets checked. Lots of things can happen when other things don’t.

[Dave Wright]

The eight billion don't give a sh!t.

What do they give a sh!t about?

TikTok had 1,398,000,000 monthly users in January 2022.

Shake your booty baby!

https://www.demandsage.com/tiktok-user-statistics/

[skuthorp]

The fertility rate however is dropping steeply the two graph lines crossed around 2017-8 I think.
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...on%85%85%85%85
Everywhere but Africa, and the next mass migration fron Africa is under way already…...

[Durnik]

the problem is not just the sheer number of people.. but especially that they nearly completely hog (< best word for the situation) the resources.

[ShorelineJohn]

So "I only eat the freshest of fresh foods, and GMOs not fit for a dog" looks a little bit different from this angle.

[leikec]

What I try to remember is that my simple, modest little life would be a completely unobtainable dream life of richness and privilege for millions of people who are alive on this planet right now.

It seems important to keep that in mind in those moments (which thankfully, are brief) when I feel sorry for myself or envious of others.

Jeff C

[skuthorp]

I cannot believe how lucky I am, even allowing for the 'making your own luck' theory. I was born in the sweet spot, inherited good genes, made the right choices at the right time, found Anne improbably.

Far to many never even get bthe opportunity to get to first base. Far too many just die before they hgave a birthday.

And I am always aware that my luck has been bought with millions of other's lives.

[MushCreek]

I wonder what the 'proper' number of humans should be? I believe we are way past that number already. A lot of the world's woes are caused by simply too many people. I wonder what the next largest animal on Earth is with 8 billion specimens? My guess would be rats. Nature will eventually correct the imbalance, and it won't be pretty.

[skuthorp]

Of course you all know what rats do when overcrowded………………...

[wizbang 13]

i had such high hopes for covid

[Osborne Russell]

Of course you all know what rats do when overcrowded………………...

They chew each other's ass. Scientifically proven.

[LeeG]

Of course you all know what rats do when overcrowded………………...

Build fleets of stealth bombers?

[L.W. Baxter]

I wonder what the 'proper' number of humans should be? I believe we are way past that number already. A lot of the world's woes are caused by simply too many people. I wonder what the next largest animal on Earth is with 8 billion specimens? My guess would be rats. Nature will eventually correct the imbalance, and it won't be pretty.

i went looking for stats on livestock.

there are "only" about 1.5 billion cattle on the planet.

did you know that in one of the most densely populated countries on earth, the netherlands, there is three quarters of a pig for every human being?

that's a lot of funny walking pigs.

[L.W. Baxter]

"a pig like that, you don't eat all at once!"

[Breakaway]

I wonder what the 'proper' number of humans should be? I believe we are way past that number already. A lot of the world's woes are caused by simply too many people. I wonder what the next largest animal on Earth is with 8 billion specimens? My guess would be rats. Nature will eventually correct the imbalance, and it won't be pretty.

There are seven billion rats in the world, according to a quick Google search.

Almost a billion domestic dogs

Half a billion harp seal.

100-103 Iriomote cats ( A small Japanese leopard)


Kevin

[Durnik]

...

And I am always aware that my luck has been bought with millions of other's lives.

a thing (many/most of) those lucky in capitalism still deny..

I wonder what the 'proper' number of humans should be? I believe we are way past that number already. A lot of the world's woes are caused by simply too many people. I wonder what the next largest animal on Earth is with 8 billion specimens? My guess would be rats. Nature will eventually correct the imbalance, and it won't be pretty.

certainly before modern man over fished & polluted them, I'd say some form of sea life exceeds us - BUT - they live/d in a natural balance.

on land, from wiki -

Recent figures indicate that there are more than 1.4 billion insects for each human on the planet.^[28] An article in The New York Times claimed that the world holds 300 pounds of insects for every pound of humans.^[29] Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. Their population is estimated as between 10¹⁶–10¹⁷ (10-100 quadrillion).^[30] With an estimated 20 quadrillion ants their biomass comes to 12 megatons of dry carbon, which is more than all wild birds and mammals combined.^[31][32]



here's an interesting (wiki) pictograph -

"a pig like that, you don't eat all at once!"

my immediate thought.. 0-:

[Jim Mahan]

[JimD]

The eight billion don't give a sh!t.

What do they give a sh!t about?

TikTok had 1,398,000,000 monthly users in January 2022.

Shake your booty baby!

https://www.demandsage.com/tiktok-user-statistics/

Sad, isn't it? We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, opportunity, and possibility, and this is what we do with it. And TikTok is among the least destructive wastes of time and resources.

[sandtown]

Our family tries to not overconsume - well, except for that 35 year old sailboat - but still . . .

"One study estimates it would take just over 5 Earths to support the human population if everyone's consumption patterns were similar to the average American. Pressure on the environment will increase unless consumption patterns are significantly adjusted to account for the finite natural resource base."

[kbowen]

I was born in 1950, the world population is now 3 times what it was when I was born. It seems clear to me that this can't continue.

Ken

[Joe (SoCal)]

"a pig like that, you don't eat all at once!"

I KNOW that joke

[WI-Tom]

Our family tries to not overconsume - well, except for that 35 year old sailboat - but still . . .

"One study estimates it would take just over 5 Earths to support the human population if everyone's consumption patterns were similar to the average American. Pressure on the environment will increase unless consumption patterns are significantly adjusted to account for the finite natural resource base."

And yet, consumption patterns are never addressed in the ongoing public debates and political discussions. The last politician who suggested reducing energy use in the U.S. was Jimmy Carter.

There seems to be an unshakeable faith--a kind of techno-fundamentalism, really--that infinite growth and increased consumption can be sustained because we'll find new clean sources of energy. Meanwhile, the rest of the world edges closer and closer to U.S. levels of consumption.

Thing is, much of the world could probably increase consumption to some degree--if we were able (and willing) to cut back dramatically. But try suggesting that, even here--with a disproportionate number of educated, liberal folks--and you get responses like "You can't tell people to give up what they already have! Material wealth and comfort is a better life!"

I'm optimistic only in the sense that I think I'll be dead before the worst comes to where I live.

Tom

[sandtown]

I'm optimistic only in the sense that I think I'll be dead before the worst comes to where I live. Tom

You do not have my permission to give up. Your efforts are important.

[skuthorp]

I seem to be getting a bit biblical lately with my quotes:
As ye sow so shall ye reap……… I rather think the reaping is going to be rather painful.

[WI-Tom]

You do not have my permission to give up. Your efforts are important.

Oh, I agree--but thanks for the note!

The thing is, being pessimistic about outcomes does not mandate despair. Quite the opposite sometimes--it can bring gratitude for what we love, even as we're losing it. And there's this, from my friend and mentor Atticus Finch:

“Simply because we're licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.”

Tom