There are 7.5 billion humans on earth, and our carrying capacity is only 2.5 billion humans. These numbers need to match if we want to sustain ourselves. There are 2 ways to do this; to decrease the population or to increase the carrying capacity. I don't want to decrease the population. Any ideas on how to increase the carrying capacity?
How to increase the carrying capacity
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22
I thought you were going to talk about high tech gun magazines.
How is our carrying capacity 2.5 billion when we are able to carry way more than that?
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@Greyparrot
His next thread: "Problems in El Paso!"
Traffic problems, that is.
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@Christen
It's an indefinite estimate. Humans can only maintain our style of living for about 80 years until we run out of resources. I think the limiting recourse is energy.How is our carrying capacity 2.5 billion when we are able to carry way more than that?
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@Alec
We obviously need to alter our style of living then.
I think that sustainability is the buzzword along with recyclability and renewability.
A bit of population control wouldn't go amiss too.
Convince the rabbits to stop breeding and convince the religious nut-jobs that contraception is what their God would want them to do.
Stop developing drugs that maintain people into ever increasing states of decrepitude.
Re-educate people to understand that death is actually good for the planet and also good for their offspring.
In fact; eliminating greed and selfishness would cover most of the above.
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@Alec
This is really vague. In short, the promotion of democracy, rule of law, respect of property rights, and relatively free trade will go a long ways towards making the world more adaptable to changes in the environment. Countries should have investment in industry in the extent required to smooth the transition of infrastructure from dependence on increasingly unstable supplies of non-renewable resources.
The use of ethanol to subsidize crops and fossil fuels, and how it fits into our long term interests is a subject worth considering.
From what I have heard, installing wells and irrigation is good business right now (by American standards) in countries transitioning from an agriculturally based economy. In recent times, the potentially short sighted practice of tiling has come into prominence in industrialized farming, diverting rainfall into rivers instead of pools and into the ground, further stressing the water table and natural reserves for wildlife. Simplistically, a smooth transition from small farmers to industry/services would be conducive to greater care for the environmental challenges faced and long term considerations in general.
It is speculated that climate change is going to continue on a path with an increasing average temperature and total amount of rainfall. That will probably translate to an increase in arable land. In terms of global reserves, I've never accounted any detrimental impacts in this respect, like stressing fisheries, storm damage etc... Assuming fossil fuels are contributing significantly to an ahistorical rapid shift in the environment on a global scale, we should seriously consider efforts to moderate the transition.
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@Alec
What metric are you using?our carrying capacity is only 2.5 billion humans.
From what you replied to Christen:
It's an indefinite estimate.
From what data?
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@Snoopy
Don't you have a problem with the actual question?
Why bother with the carry capacity increasing when Alec has given no data to support the limit is 2.5 billion?
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@Alec
It's an indefinite estimate. Humans can only maintain our style of living for about 80 years until we run out of resources. I think the limiting recourse is energy.
What are you talking about?
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@Snoopy
Maybe he meant if every person in Inda Africa and China consumed as much as the poorest person in America that we would run out of fossil fuels in a short time.
When Earth reaches a limit a plague will come along.
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@Snoopy
1} Not if the rainfall occurs mostly in some places and not in others, i..e over all world-wide,It is speculated that climate change is going to continue on a path with an increasing average temperature and total amount of rainfall. That will probably translate to an increase in arable land.
2} not if increased rainfall comes in downpours that tend to just runoff more rapidly into creeks and river and ultimately the oceans{s} that, are only going to rise..
You to really think -educate yourself-- more about Erratic Climate Change short and potential long term effects.
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@ebuc
The temperature rises are not uniform. They are supposed to be more profound as you approach the polar regions according to the studies I've perused.
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@Snoopy
Rainfall isn't really the metric anyway since Israel can grow crops in the desert. All that is needed is thawed ground.
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@TheRealNihilist
I now think it's 9 to 10 billion(https://www.livescience.com/16493-people-planet-earth-support.html). I guess I read somewhere that it was 2.5 billion.
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@Alec
You quoted a link that states 9 to 10 billion yet your interpretation is 2.5 billion.
How did you get that exactly?
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@TheRealNihilist
I guess I read a different source, but forgot what it was.
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@Alec
Can you find the source?I guess I read a different source, but forgot what it was.
You do understand how it looks from my perspective?
It is like me saying you are going to win 1 million dollars.
You say where did you get that from.
I can't find it.
See the problem? I said something would happen without evidence so I could've said anything since I didn't really prove it.
Punch a hole through the ice wall that surrounds the flat earth and there is infinite space available.How to increase the carrying capacity
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@Snoopy
The temperature rises are not uniform. They are supposed to be more profound as you approach the polar regions according to the studies I've perused.
I dont see how any of your above is related to my previous reply to you, that I state again below.
1} Not if the rainfall occurs mostly in some places and not in others, i..e over all world-wide consideration,
2} not if increased rainfall comes in downpours that tend to just runoff >>>>> more rapidly into creeks and river and ultimately the oceans{s} that, are only going to rise.....^ ^ ^.....
You to really think -educate yourself-- more about Erratic Climate Change short and potential long term effects.
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@Alec
ocean farming. we have vast swaths of unused ocean. sea weed, fish, mussel etc. i read that an area the size of the state of oregon could feed the world, so we have basically unlimited potential. plus sea weed captures a lot more carbon than trees do.