Our dwindling natural resources

[Phil]

I figure no-one listens to me either because: A) I don't have money to waste on a formal study - just observations; and/or B) because I don't have more letters after my last name than in it.

No, it's because your posts are too long.

 

[5-90]

However, population growth is not majorly cyclic like the stock market or housing bubbles. More people, more resources. At some point, we will overgrow our planet.

Bud, I hate to tell you, but we already have outgrown the planet!

While I am one to think that there is no reason we shouldn't have set up an outpost on Luna 20-25 years ago, and that we should be using it as a jumping-off point for a Martian colony, I also think that population pressure is the wrong reason for doing it. We need to get the Third World under control, and get radical Islam and New Aztlan to stop waging demographic warfare (which is a large part of what they're doing - the Islamic types in southern Europe, and NA in the American Southwest.) Breeding like locusts isn't going to help them when it's all done - they may take the territory they want, but it won't be sustainable because they won't be able to feed anyone.

Population is somewhat cyclic (population pressure tends to lead to major wars,) but even that cycle is still on an upward trend, and the net effect is still a population increase. Oops.

 

[Darky]

2030 seems a little too early for the depletion of natural resources. Kinda weird that coincides with the massive comet that is scheduled to hit earth or come extremely close to us. Either way, the majority of people don't really give a damn about this place. Hopefully they will be the ones to die first. Nature will always win...

Isn't that supposed to be 2012? Supposedly the Mayan calendar predicts it, along with the Sumerian calendar and their belief in a secret hidden planet/comet set to pass near us...

 

[bigalpha]

Bud, I hate to tell you, but we already have outgrown the planet!

While I am one to think that there is no reason we shouldn't have set up an outpost on Luna 20-25 years ago, and that we should be using it as a jumping-off point for a Martian colony, I also think that population pressure is the wrong reason for doing it. We need to get the Third World under control, and get radical Islam and New Aztlan to stop waging demographic warfare (which is a large part of what they're doing - the Islamic types in southern Europe, and NA in the American Southwest.) Breeding like locusts isn't going to help them when it's all done - they may take the territory they want, but it won't be sustainable because they won't be able to feed anyone.

Population is somewhat cyclic (population pressure tends to lead to major wars,) but even that cycle is still on an upward trend, and the net effect is still a population increase. Oops.

I know we've already outgrown it. There seems to be people who think we haven't, though.

While population is cyclic, it's not majorly cyclic like stock market/housing market. Especially nowadays with so many people. It'd take something major to put a dent in the population (wiping out China/India is a good start).

 

[5-90]

I know we've already outgrown it. There seems to be people who think we haven't, though.

While population is cyclic, it's not majorly cyclic like stock market/housing market. Especially nowadays with so many people. It'd take something major to put a dent in the population (wiping out China/India is a good start).

Essentially what I said - that there are cyclic trends to population (cf: military history and theater warfare...) but that the general trend under the cycles is upwards. That's why we were at something like four billion people when I joined the figures, and up around seven and a half billion now. Or more.

Most "developed" countries can understand the need to go to a smaller nuclear family unit, but not "developing" countries. The large family is a holdover from the non-mechanised agrarian society, and we've come a long way since then. Bootstrap the remaining "developing" and "undeveloped" countries, then put a halt to the "demographic warfare" being conducted on at least two fronts by at least two groups, and we can start to make progress...

 

[Jester99]

Isn't that supposed to be 2012? Supposedly the Mayan calendar predicts it, along with the Sumerian calendar and their belief in a secret hidden planet/comet set to pass near us...

Nope. The Mayan prophecy deals with a hypothetical planet called Planet X/Nibiru(10th planet), a comet- like planet that would crash into earth. This supposed planet is in an elliptical orbit that comes full circle every 3,000 years, which is why it currently has not been seen. The information was translated by a man named Zecharia Sitchin from ancient Sumerian texts. None of this can be proven, but if it is true, the planet will be visible in February 09' in addition to the sun. We won't have to wait too much longer to actually know.

The 2029 asteroid, 99942 Apophis, however is real and definitely scary. It is, well, here it is from NASA:

is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a significant probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029. However there remained a possibility that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole, a precise region in space no more than about 600 meters across, that would set up a future impact on April 13, 2036. This possibility kept the asteroid at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006. It broke the record for the highest level on the Torino Scale, being, for only a short time, a level 2, before it was lowered.

These are all future predictions and calculations. There is only a 50/50 chance that they could be right right now. This thing will be close enough to be affected by our gravity, and there is no telling what that means.

What's even scarier is that NASA publicly stated that if they had information about a life-ending asteroid headed for earth, they would not release that information to the public. Makes me wonder...

 

[5-90]

No, it's because your posts are too long.

Phil, have you ever read any of these reports that our decisionmakers refer to? Gawd - I can still speed-read, and they take me a couple of weeks to get through!

Compared to those, my answers on complex topics are quite short. Hell, most of those reports are longer than my books!

 

[GSequoia]

What's even scarier is that NASA publicly stated that if they had information about a life-ending asteroid headed for earth, they would not release that information to the public. Makes me wonder...

Why?

I mean really, what would the point be?

If it's going to destroy the earth there's nothing you can do about it, why live your last ____ amount of time in fear?

 

[Darky]

Nope. The Mayan prophecy deals with a hypothetical planet called Planet X/Nibiru(10th planet), a comet- like planet that would crash into earth. This supposed planet is in an elliptical orbit that comes full circle every 3,000 years, which is why it currently has not been seen. The information was translated by a man named Zecharia Sitchin from ancient Sumerian texts. None of this can be proven, but if it is true, the planet will be visible in February 09' in addition to the sun. We won't have to wait too much longer to actually know.

The 2029 asteroid, 99942 Apophis, however is real and definitely scary. It is, well, here it is from NASA:

is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a significant probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029. However there remained a possibility that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole, a precise region in space no more than about 600 meters across, that would set up a future impact on April 13, 2036. This possibility kept the asteroid at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006. It broke the record for the highest level on the Torino Scale, being, for only a short time, a level 2, before it was lowered.

These are all future predictions and calculations. There is only a 50/50 chance that they could be right right now. This thing will be close enough to be affected by our gravity, and there is no telling what that means.

What's even scarier is that NASA publicly stated that if they had information about a life-ending asteroid headed for earth, they would not release that information to the public. Makes me wonder...

Ah...learn something everyday. But I'm not gonna worry over a possible 2.7% chance...If it happens, I'll be 54...that's a good run, right?

 

[Weasel]

blah blah blah, and we were suggest to run out of oil 30 years ago. As for solar power um great, how are you going to store it? Also it's not good at providing massive amounts of power on demand, which is what our society has been built on. Although MIT recently found a neat way of storing solar energy.

 

[Stihl029]

Hey that is something else to add to here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=961976