China Wuhan Virus Pandemic
- Thread starter Arch Dornan
- Start date
the problem is he's on an old paradime based on false premisis's with improving technology you can support higher levels of population, and with space technology you can access the wealth of an entire solar system.
Bigking321
Well-known member
Well...
The real problem is that it's pure evil but I guess you have a point too.
The real problem is that it's pure evil but I guess you have a point too.
That's an "everyone wins" solution. But I think what people like him want is a "we win and everyone else loses" solution.
Ingrained zero-sum thinking.
LordsFire
Internet Wizard
The Earth can easily support at least 5-10x its current population of humans, before you even get into space-based stuff.
The idea that the Earth's ecosystem is at some fragile point that overpopulation will collapse has been BS from the start.
Agent23
Ни шагу назад!
Bill Gates is aboomer and a greedy megalomaniac and probably a high-functioning autist, he has Wiseberger's syndrome, which is basically the tism in milder form.
I have dealt with a bunch of Microshaft-focused people in my career and one said something very funny about gates.
"The only thing that guy invented was the green wave when he was a kid, M$ stole or bought most of their products."
M$ office was a copy of some other Office product, Star Office, IIRC.
MS-DOS they outright bought from some guy who died shortly after.
Windows was actually written by subcontracted developers from DEC IIIRC allegedly they just lifted the whole concept from the VAX line of OSes.
Chiron
Well-known member
No it can't. Not even close. Not without massive reductions in our standards of living. We had our chance to become a Space Empire in the late 60s early 70s but blew it on Vietnam and forever wars first on drugs then on terrorism.
We need to thoroughly reprioritize our resources and soon. And that means we also need to deal with the elites who won't play ball in this endeavor.
What on Earth makes you think the Earth can't handle such a population increase?
TheRejectionist
TheRejectionist
My first guess is that there's talk of waterwars between Egypt-Ethiopia. A symptom but not the reason.
2 of the most populous African countries.
Let that sink in.
War for water.
Not really, depends on technologies and politics involved.
For one massive amounts of viable farmland in the world are not used optimally.
Once everyone starts to be as land efficient in farming as Japan and Europe yet food is still sparse, that will be time to seriously worry.
Most of the southern blue parts could turn at least yellow if they used the same quality of farming technology as used in the red parts. Some people there farm in ways not much different from a thousand years ago.
No we didn't, and we still don't. Without massive advances in automation and robotic manufacturing that we are barely scratching on now, or overthrowing the tyranny of the rocket equation, no way. Could have explored some more and made some symbolic landings in come places, but that's it.
I think the keyword here is that these are both incredibly poor countries and the whole water issue is about the latter trying to squeeze in some cheap electricity. If there were technologically developed, rich countries in their place, they wouldn't consider that a big deal, just got to build a few extra nuclear reactors and desalinate water as needed if its still not enough.
Which is stupid...because water is freaking plentiful if you put a little effort into it.
LordsFire
Internet Wizard
You're going to need to substantiate this. Marduk already kindly gave just the tip of the iceberg on reasons why Earth is capable of supporting massively more than it currently is; what have you got?
We could always turn to a soylent greenesque fertilizer if all else fails . . .
There are alternatives to rock phosphate. The element itself is estimated to be around 0.1% of Earth's weight, and its not being annihilated in nuclear reactions, its all still out there.
The only issue is gathering and concentrating it (notable alternative is organic waste of all sorts), which costs energy and money.
But as cheap rock phosphate dries up, these other alternatives will look more and more competitive.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
We wouldn't even need all that much, if we could convince farmers to start rotating their crops to replenish the nutrients in the soil again.
The good old ways, that worked for thousands of years.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
You know, normally I'm repulsed by that sort of rhetoric; but in this case, I think it's appropriate. Crop rotation works; and the only reason they stopped is because the government incentivized them to by offering them money to grow certain crops such as corn. Which, thanks to big business lobbyists, never stopped; eventually leading to the creation of things like high-fructose corn syrup, and corn ethanol. Both of which have caused a lot of problems for us as a society.
