there is a part of me that believes [...] there are already too many people on this planet.
Let me ask you some of the questions I ask everyone who says that: (1) What do you think is the maximum number of people who could? should? be on this planet? (A range is acceptable, but some sort of more-or-less definite number is requested. i am not qualified to determine that, however, i reckon the planet could support possibly three times the current population before we hit critical mass for ecocide. based on consumption curves and waste parameters we probably passed the point of no return in the middle of the baby boom 50 years ago. my parents contributed five of us brats. when i was born the world population was less then half what it is now, so to answer your last question, i should have been aborted!~) i have gotten more than my share of women in the family way, and married two of them. (2) How do you propose to get from the current population to the figure you gave in #1? i don't claim to know the answer to that; there really is no humane way to convince people to stop having kids. in china, it resulted in a surplus of males and a skewed rapidly aging population: http://www.chinataiwan.org/web/webportal/W5023951/A10857.html industrialized countries like germany and japan are also experiencing aging populations: http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_progj/task,view/id,815/ the labor problem is alleviated with low wage immigration, which creates a whole host of new problems. (3) Would you volunteer to make the excess one less right now? Justify your answer. -- Ronn! :) would you? what criteria would you use to determine who should live or die? i believe the problem will resolve itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Diamond if a solution is found it will require lifestyle changes, reduced waste and energy consumption, no more wars and other destructive practices. population will decrease as third, fourth and fifth world countries move up, but emerging super powers like china and india are already competing for energy reserves, etc. they want to have the same things westerners have. -- jon Knowledge is Power ____________________________________________________________________________________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l