[Don_1 (OP)]

In just a few days, the population of the world will reach 7 billion.

We have the capability to produce sufficient food for all according to agriculturalists, but there remains one small problem. The food we produce is not necessarily produced in the right place. Transporting food to where it is needed is often restrictively high. Therefore, many cannot afford food. While some starve in some parts of the world, many tons of food are wasted elsewhere.

Can we, indeed should we, go on like this?

What is the solution? Is there a solution? Are we strong enough to face the solution?

[chris]

Curbing population rise is the key; the present rate of increase is about 1% per year, which doesn't sound like much until you plug it into the compound interest formula and realise that this equates to a doubling of world population every 70 years. So when we're all 100 there might be 14 billion people on Earth - a scary prospect, given that we're already consuming resources at the rate of two planet Earths...

[neilep]

In just a few days, the population of the world will reach 7 million.

We have the capability to produce sufficient food for all according to agriculturalists, but there remains one small problem. The food we produce is not necessarily produced in the right place. Transporting food to where it is needed is often restrictively high. Therefore, many cannot afford food. While some starve in some parts of the world, many tons of food are wasted elsewhere.

Can we, indeed should we, go on like this?

What is the solution? Is there a solution? Are we strong enough to face the solution?

7 MILLION !!....woo...that IS a lot !!  []

[neilep]

Lets' all live on the sea !...there's like...well lots of it !!

[CliffordK]

In just a few days, the population of the world will reach 7 million.

7 MILLION !!....woo...that IS a lot !!  []

I didn't realize that the entire world population lived in London!!!  That is the Britts for you!!!

As far as the Global Population, it is estimated to have been about 7 Million around 7,000 BC.

[Geezer]

Blimey! That's more people than everyone in Scotland! Where are we going to put them all? Will the Highlands cave in under the weight and turn into the Lowlands?

[Airthumbs]

In just a few days, the population of the world will reach 7 million.

Doesn't that work out as a one percent survival rate!!??  What you spotted Don, is it an asteroid?  [B)]

[neilep]

Mind ewe...Don does not mention exactly ' what' the population consists of !...7 million what ?  []

[CliffordK]

In just a few days, the population of the world will reach 7 million.

Doesn't that work out as a one percent survival rate!!??  What you spotted Don, is it an asteroid?  [B)]

That isn't quite how I calculate percent....

A 0.1% survival rate (one in a thousand).

There were many predictions of an asteroid hitting in 2012!!!

[Geezer]

Oh! I get it now. This is one of those transatlantic disagreement things about how to count things properly.

[damocles]

OK lets put the straightened figure on the record -- the population is about to reach 7 billion American, or 7,000 million = 0.007 billion in the rapidly dying out British counting system. (Yes, when I was a lad here in Oz, 1 billion meant 10¹², not 10⁹. But aggressive American  -- as in USian -- cultural dominance rules.)

[Airthumbs]

10,100,1000,10,000, 100,000, 1,000000, and then some brightspark said what comes next, would it be another zero you might think or at this point does the rule of counting in base ten fail?

[Don_1 (OP)]

Alright, alright...........

Stone the crows, can't a fool make a mistake now and again and again and again???

Be fair, there's not much difference between a 'million' and a 'billion'. In fact its just one letter!

[Geezer]

Alright, alright...........

Stone the crows, can't a fool make a mistake now and again and again and again???

Be fair, there's not much difference between a 'million' and a 'billion'. In fact its just one letter!

Nice one Don. It's a rather depressing topic, but at least you gave us a good giggle!

[CliffordK]

Alright, alright...........

Stone the crows, can't a fool make a mistake now and again and again and again???

Be fair, there's not much difference between a 'million' and a 'billion'. In fact its just one letter!

You must be a politician if you have troubles differentiating between millions, billions, and trillions!!!

As far as the population.
Our politicians need to spend less time arguing about what birth control methods should be legal, and which ones should be made available, and they should spend more time looking for solutions to the global population growth.

Of course, Europe has more or less stabilized their population.  The USA is trailing in that area.  And, of course, many in Africa are oblivious to the pending crisis.  China has worked to stabilize their population.  India has not.

Yes, not every tree has been cut down, not every field has been sowed.  However, I don't want a future where the only "nature" is found in the zoos.

And, I believe that the impending energy crisis and CO₂ increases are based on decades of unrelenting population growth.  Significant 3rd world poverty and pollution is based on excessive population growth.

What can be done.
In the USA?  First of all, the population growth needs to be recognized as a problem.  It needs to be discussed.  And, people need to be told that families with 3 or more children are just not appropriate.  And, the tax system needs to be changed to recognize the burden of large families on society, and create a disincentive to have large families.  No more getting more deductions for more children.

Elsewhere it is more complicated.  But, handouts (food, medicine, and otherwise) should not be given without also providing education, and birth control access.  And that includes exporting aid with NGOs.

[Geezer]

There's nothing really wrong with a high birth rate. It's the low death rate that's the problem.

(OK - I'm logging off now.)

[CliffordK]

There's nothing really wrong with a high birth rate. It's the low death rate that's the problem.

That coming from someone who calls himself Geezer!!!

The problem is more the imbalance between the birth rate and the death rate (before and during childbearing years).

There is nothing wrong with having 10 children if on average 8 of them kick the bucket before adulthood.

With great improvements in medicine, safety, prenatal care, childbirth, and etc, the mortality rate has dropped so that the replacement birthrate is very close to 2 children per woman in most of the western world.

It is hard to say what a target global population should be.  In many senses, it would improve the human condition to have a gradual reduction of population...  so, perhaps one should shoot for somewhere between 1 Billion and 10 Billion.  Unfortunately what will happen is that some people will get the message, others won't, and we'll have too many people in some places, and too few in others.

[Don_1 (OP)]

......... and we'll have too many people in some places, ........

I think we already have. High population concentration in our big cities cause high demand for energy to transport the essentials from production areas to consumers.

[Bored chemist]

surely the answer to the question "what is the earth's population " is
Mainly bacteria. Quite a lot of insects and stuff. A few mammals and an almost unimaginably small fraction of it is people. However they seem to be doing more than their share of damage.

[CliffordK]

Apparently the 7 billionth baby has been born....
Or at least a hundred of them!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=743285