Chris Packham : 7.7 billion people and counting

[SootySport]

1 hour ago, Alan France said:

But if you look out of the window when flying over Canada and large parts of the USA you go for miles, and miles, and miles with nobody. Australia and big parts of South America and Canada are quite desperate to attract people to invest, and grow the place. As wealth increases some of the population will begin to disperse.

 

I have confidence that the next generation will succeed and grow. (And perhaps fix some of the problems we caused.)

This will just add to the problem. More people in the wilderness will tend to cut down the trees and vegetation causing less storage for CO2, just look at what happened in Indonesia and South America.

[Andrew]

10 hours ago, Alan France said:

But if you look out of the window when flying over Canada and large parts of the USA you go for miles, and miles, and miles with nobody. Australia and big parts of South America and Canada are quite desperate to attract people to invest, and grow the place. As wealth increases some of the population will begin to disperse.

 

Yes there are some big unpopulated (by us) areas on earth, but I don't think we have a right to move in.

 

10 hours ago, Alan France said:

I have confidence that the next generation will succeed and grow. (And perhaps fix some of the problems we caused.)

 

We don't really have much choice there.. I really hope the problem can be solved.. but I'm not confident.

[Jim RS]

It will have to be solved one way or the other, the main question is when?

Hitchhikers Guide may have been correct even if only partially🤪

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

 

Quote

We are not here to be hateful. I’m a mother of five, and that’s why I’m here.

 

[Andrew]

This morning I've walked past a few bods in the process of planting 4000 trees.. mainly Oak with a few Alder. Last year around the same site they planted loads more.. I'd estimate around 12000. Good to see it happening, but I doubt we're planting as fast as they're being felled in other parts of the world.

[Lyonspride]

The problem with over-population, is that everyone thinks the solution is for 1st world countries to have less kids, but 1st world countries have the smallest populations already, with the exception of USA, who still have 1 billion less than China and India.

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/

[Mighty Mart]

Most of the world's population is a measurement of the value of a childs life.  

Over here, life is precious and the thought of a child dying is awful thankfully...

In other countries where poverty, hunger, disease and death is the norm, children are conceived at will it would seem. Makes you wonder how a responsible and caring parent could bring a child into a world like that, but they don't think the same it would seem

?

[corsechris]

it’s driven by infant mortality rates. If high, people simply breed more, it’s a biological imperative. When faced with frequent infant death, I can only imagine that parents must somehow adopt a different attitude, simply to protect their sanity??

 

We can’t expect our values to work in different situations.

[stephenh]

39 minutes ago, corsechris said:

it’s driven by infant mortality rates. If high, people simply breed more, it’s a biological imperative. When faced with frequent infant death, I can only imagine that parents must somehow adopt a different attitude, simply to protect their sanity??

 

We can’t expect our values to work in different situations.

Agreed. Just look at what happened in this Country 150/200 years ago when even in affluent families, never mind the poorer families, mortality rates were high, from things like smallpox and scarlet fever. Families of 8 or even 10 children were quite common.

[Andrew]

Had a walk through the new Oak forest this morning. 😎

 

 

 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

2 hours ago, stephenh said:

Agreed. Just look at what happened in this Country 150/200 years ago when even in affluent families, never mind the poorer families, mortality rates were high, from things like smallpox and scarlet fever. Families of 8 or even 10 children were quite common.

 

Indeed, and it's not many generations back either; my Mum alwaays used to be upset she was an only child, yet both her parents were from families of at least seven children, and most of those aunt's and uncles had at least six children apiece, (some were into double figures even). However a significant number never made it out of childhood either. WW2 thined the numbers that had reached adult hood down quite appalingly, as well.

[Alan France]

16 hours ago, Mighty Mart said:

Most of the world's population is a measurement of the value of a childs life.  

Over here, life is precious and the thought of a child dying is awful thankfully...

In other countries where poverty, hunger, disease and death is the norm, children are conceived at will it would seem. Makes you wonder how a responsible and caring parent could bring a child into a world like that, but they don't think the same it would seem

?

Which is why I think the best long term solution is to help grow the wealth of the poorer countries not to attempt to take us all back to the Middle Ages. Once the basics of food, shelter and security are covered better choices are made.

[Jim RS]

Problem is that any help is siphoned off and only goes to make the wealthy richer. Even so called peoples republics have well of elite with the minions still starving and in some cases being ethnically cleansed.

[Lyonspride]

2 hours ago, Snags said:

Problem is that any help is siphoned off and only goes to make the wealthy richer. Even so called peoples republics have well of elite with the minions still starving and in some cases being ethnically cleansed.

Well that's is most well known charities in a nutshell, most CEOs of the big charities are taking home 6 figure sums and in some cases that's nearly half of what the charity rakes in as donations. This is why I pick and choose where I donate, and I also never donate to charities sending aid to certain 3rd world countries, because the food/supplies get intercepted by armed militants, who sell it to buy weapons to torture and kill the people you think you're helping.

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

I suspect Snags was referring to the syphoning that goes on at the recipient end when local warlords take their cut before any reaches the poor people. Corruption at one end and dosh-trousering at this. We've been pouring cash into third world countries for many decades and their standard of living has barely improved. Their must be a better way...