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9 votes
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VHEMT: the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
31 votes -
Birthrates are plummeting worldwide. Why?
47 votes -
Fertility rates are falling in the rich world. But there are still plenty of people to go round.
21 votes -
The relative share of Americans living in the West of the US has declined
21 votes -
Insect populations flourish in the restored habitats of solar energy facilities
27 votes -
US government court filing promises to spend $1 billion to help depleted salmon populations recover
12 votes -
You can’t even pay people to have more kids
59 votes -
Population decline in Japan has led to more than 8000 public school closures since 2002
59 votes -
Migrants are driving Canada's population surge despite declining birth rate: StatsCan
17 votes -
It’s not just Japan: Aging populations threaten several leading economies
35 votes -
Birth rates are falling even in Nordic countries: stability is no longer enough
33 votes -
Amid steep global bird declines, farmers create refuges
11 votes -
We do not know the population of every country in the world for the past two thousand years
9 votes -
How deep-sea mining for EV materials could wipe out tuna populations
9 votes -
White-nose syndrome in bats was detected in Texas in February 2020. Scientists are only now understanding the population loss.
9 votes -
Does anyone remember the population clock/timer that came on Doordarshan channel in 1990s?
Disclaimer: This post is written in the context of India but also relevant globally today in many other countries. Millennials who lived in India in the 90s era will recall that growing population...
Disclaimer: This post is written in the context of India but also relevant globally today in many other countries.
Millennials who lived in India in the 90s era will recall that growing population used to be a serious problem back then, in fact to such an extent that they used to highlight the number of kids born every second and displayed a population timer every morning.
Now, don't you feel it's strange that at 90 crore it was such a serious problem but at 140 crore, it's not even discussed today? Each time this topic comes up, it's cleverly deflected by holding some minority responsible for it. But there is a need for a serious debate for this today and to understand the consequences of a society with over burdened population.
Any serious economist or socio-religious scholar will tell you that growing population is the root of all problems in society, be it illiteracy, crime, corruption, nepotism, religious extremism, etc., these are all resource allocation problems if you think about it. Too many mouths to feed will eventually make people prioritize at all roles and positions and many of those will be left out, this will eventually result in increased polarization between the "haves" and "have nots" in society - which is pretty much a recipe for disaster in longer term.
However, the above situation is a fertile ground for the political class (rich politicians, industrialists, motivated journalists, etc.) as both dumb vote banks and cheap labor is supplied plentifully with a growing working class. This is the reason you'll never see this topic discussed in popular narrative or on any TV channel. They want us to live compressed lives in small ghettos, that's the environment that creates cynical people filled with ignorance who can then be easily prodded towards a certain agenda with fear mongering. Look at the distrust we have developed towards other people in the last two decades? Today, we would rather trust a govt. issued ID like Aadhar or PAN card than trust a live person. Shows like CID and Crime Patrol which pushed the subtle narrative that the unknown person you're about to meet could be the worst scammer in known history were also responsible for this.
Narratives like these create the kind of distrust and polarization in society which become fertile ground for politicians to then do their thing. They tend to arm twist our psyche into thinking that the authority is always the "good guy" whereas people are the "bad guys" which isn't a very healthy thing for the society at all. But in order for this to happen, ghettos with over burdened population must be created.
A lean population will be well-educated, thinking and progressive. It will tend to reject the idea of authoritarianism and start thinking about real change in society like better living standards, technological progress, etc. For this very reason, the problem of overpopulation will never reach mainstream journalism or even youtube journalism. For this very reason, smart cities will ever remain a distant promise, they will never actually materialize. For this very reason, big tech and corporates will ever remain in select ghettos/metros like Delhi/Mumbai/Bengaluru, they will never go to smaller tier-2 cities and build stuff there. The moment they go there, this ghettoization and authoritarianism will stop and that will be a problem.
But I really hope that at least some people will have the vision to see the larger picture of what's going on and start doing something about it, or at least start acknowledging that over population or ghettoization is a problem.
4 votes -
Phoenix area can’t meet groundwater demands over next century
10 votes -
France’s baby bust
5 votes -
Study finds trash, household crowding increase risk for three dangerous, mosquito-borne illnesses in Kenya
3 votes -
What Denmark's dead hedgehogs tell us about their lives – and how we can help them
3 votes -
World's oldest European hedgehog discovered in Denmark – posthumous discovery gives conservationists hope for the mammals' future preservation
4 votes -
Yale academic suggests mass suicide for Japan’s elderly
5 votes -
Japan’s business owners can’t find successors. This man is giving his away.
9 votes -
US bat species devastated by fungus now listed as endangered
2 votes -
Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970, report reveals
7 votes -
Megalopolis: How coastal west Africa will shape the coming century
8 votes -
Gothenburg is on a $100bn building spree
6 votes -
Alaska cancels snow crab season for first time after population collapses
16 votes -
‘A profound betrayal of trust’: Why Jackson’s water system is broken
8 votes -
World population to reach eight billion this year, as growth rate slows
14 votes -
Canada’s boar war - Wild pigs are invasive, destructive and dangerous, and their populations in Canada are exploding out of control. How can we fight back?
12 votes -
Europe's newest industrial megaprojects are relocating to the far north of Sweden – but are curling, wild reindeer and the northern lights enough to convince workers to follow?
12 votes -
Finland has an ageing population and a labor shortage – despite government programs, immigrants and their families are not always greeted with open arms
7 votes -
China allows couples to have three children
15 votes -
China set to report first population decline in five decades
10 votes -
Where Americans are moving
8 votes -
Seeking to capitalize on a growing population that is increasingly less poor, American and Chinese tech giants clash in Africa
5 votes -
A beginner’s guide to Italian ghost towns selling houses for €1
22 votes -
Is planet Earth full?
8 votes -
Study indicates climate ‘apocalypse’ fears stopping people having children
20 votes -
Covid-19 is a symptom of a planet that's been pushed past a tipping point
13 votes -
Population decline due to expected global crash in children being born
18 votes -
Overconsumption and growth economy key drivers of environmental crises
7 votes -
Climate explained: Why we need to focus on increased consumption as much as population growth
6 votes -
Making life cheap: Population control, herd immunity, and other anti-humanist fables
6 votes -
How should we go about handling population growth and staying at or above replacement levels?
Tl;dr human birth rates are falling universally and globally and at some point in this century will mean a decrease of the world's population. The effects of this will/has been felt in stuff like...
Tl;dr human birth rates are falling universally and globally and at some point in this century will mean a decrease of the world's population. The effects of this will/has been felt in stuff like pensions/retirement and so far, noone has proposed any solutions other than increased immigration and denying women abortions. So what should we do to solve this? Should we even find solutions given that stuff like pollution and climate change is man-made?
12 votes -
Michael Moore’s environment film a slap in the face on Earth Day
17 votes -
‘Human beings have overrun the world’: David Attenborough calls for an end to waste in impassioned plea to address climate change
10 votes -
How did we reach 7 billion people without informing/educating all about how we really live?
[M/29/small town India, English isn't my first language] I'll admit to being what is called a country bumpkin. The education I received was lacking in many ways, I wasn't taught about the real...
[M/29/small town India, English isn't my first language]
I'll admit to being what is called a country bumpkin. The education I received was lacking in many ways, I wasn't taught about the real world, I never really thought about how the food on my plate was grown or how we plunder the living world for resources etc.
My question is, how did humanity reach 7 billion plus people without even paying a thought about educating the kids properly.
There is a bitter irony to the fact that we have all been convinced to use the word "growth" to describe what is ultimately a process of depletion and breakdown. tweet
If we are depleting the earth of all resources, how will coming generations live?
But if we don't grow, how can we progress?
Edit: Why can't we have good quality education for everyone and good quality healthcare for everyone on this planet?
21 votes