You may recall that exactly a week ago I commented on the world's population growth - suggesting that people should be much more concerned about it than we appear to be. Today we are understandably fretting about coronavirus but apparently hardly caring a fig about the persistent population problem.
What I am about to say should shock you.
This was the Earth's population exactly a week ago: 7,762,009,632
This is the planet's population right now: 7,763,562,055
That means that in just seven days the world's population has increased by 1,552,423
1.55 million more! That's far more babies than the number of people who currently live in Milan, Italy or Munich, Germany and almost as many as the current population of Philadelphia, USA. In just one week.
With 52 weeks in a year it easy to calculate that by the end of 2020, the world's total population will have risen by 80,704,000. That is far more than the population of The British Isles and twice as many as the number of people who currently live in California and more than three times the present population of Australia. In just one year.
I do not doubt that this surging population growth would not be easy to stop or even slow down but with each passing day these thousands of extra people increase the pressure on resources and the natural environment. Some might shrug and say "que sera sera" but I am more inclined to suggest that world leaders and international organisations should be making far more effort to address this issue as a matter of priority. Very simply - there are too many of us already. The endless growth is plain crazy.
So if you look at the graph the big increase in population occurred when medical advances were made. In the 30's not only babies died but teenagers. Scarlet fever killed the teenagers.
ReplyDeleteBetter medical care is certainly one factor in population growth.
DeleteInteresting what we can work into a frenzy about. Over here, for a lot of us, it's a change in the executive. One object is to return the right of health care and family planning to the multitudes still bearing children.
ReplyDelete1010 people have sadly died in the last six weeks after contracting the coronavirus but in the last eight and a half hours the world's population has increased by 77,500. Which subject should be causing the greatest "frenzy"?
DeleteI full agree. It seems there ARE quite a few organizations working on it, though:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_population_concern_organizations
You are right. But the issue needs far more priority and much more investment. I am sure those organisations would agree.
DeleteWell...I can't be blamed for adding to the increase. I never had any children...and am far too old to start having them now.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't ask me to put my hand up to volunteer in doing any culling. I'm just saying...
I think that if the UN employed you as a population control ambassador, the upward graph would soon level out.
DeleteSame as Lee, I am definitely not adding to that. And yes, there are far too many of us already. I feel the effects every day when travelling to and from work.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that the train company does not have a special Meike carriage just for you with an onboard sofa, bubble bath and cocktail bar.
DeleteI agree, it is frightening. I think many individuals as well as authorities have a type of tunnel vision and see many of the problems we have but yet they fail to see some of the really BIG problems like this. I do think education and access to birth control in many areas of the world would at least help with this but I agree it will take more than that.
ReplyDeleteEducation and birth control might be all that we have got. However, I heard from experts on the radio that one day there will definitely a pandemic on a par with the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918. It will kill many thousands.
DeleteWhere are most of these children being born and what is it that you'd like to see done about it? It doesn't take much in the way of research or imagination to understand the harm done by China's one golden child rule.
ReplyDeleteThe increases are most severe in India, Pakistan and Indonesia but increases re happening in ALL countries. I don't know what could be done about it Lisa. I am just flagging up the issue. At least there could be a worldwide advertising campaign to press home the idea of "no more than two".
DeleteThere has only been two answers up to now. War and disease. Nature provides disease when we become too many. As for war? It is an insoluble problem over- population. We have counteracted death by disease through efficient medicines. The state of the Earth is becoming more vulnerable as we sink into climate emergency, perhaps that will redress a balance, though not happily of course.
ReplyDeleteThe powers that be could try giving persuasion a go - along with some financial inducements. It might not make much impact but at least they could try.
DeleteLike yeast - dies in its own waste.
ReplyDeleteWhen God said, "Go forth and multiply" he should have added "but not too much".
DeleteIt rarely happens that I don't "get" something. This your post proves the exception to the rule. I don't get it. What's your lament? Going by comments and your replies, you make it sound as if you wish for floods, pestilence and whatever else may curb/reduce population. Not in your back yard, naturally. And for whose benefit? Let mankind burn itself out if need be.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the post that announces your first grandchild.
So disappointed, YP,
U
I don't know what the solution is Ursula. All that I am doing is highlighting an issue that is so often pushed into the shadows. I hope that all readers of this blogpost can "get" the significance of the fact that the world's population is increasing by 1.55 million a week. As for the grandchild - that is unlikely to happen any time soon as my son-in-law was just made redundant.
DeleteSo sorry to hear that your son-in-law has been made redundant - not a good start to married life. Hopefully he will find employment again very soon.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers you quote are only the ones we know about - there must be many more that are never recorded.There does not seem to be any solution to the rapidly increasing world birth rate, but it's ironic that with more methods of reliable birth control, the population is now hurtling out of control. It's horrifying to think that only a massive pandemic, famine, or war on a vast scale will help stabilise the numbers. Are the Four Horsemen waiting in the wings.....?
Yes they are. One is called Trump, another is Bolsonaro, Kim Jong-il is the third and the fourth one is called Putin.
DeleteSomeone has said there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. I googled to find out how many deaths there were during World War II and got the following answer:
ReplyDelete"Some 75 million people died during World War II, including about 20 million military personnel and 40 million civilians."
Apparently the survivors and their descendants can no longer do simple addition. Like I said, lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Or perhaps there a third category -- military, civilians, and collateral damage whose status could not be determined?
ReplyDeleteI know that you are a numbers man Bob and you like to look behind the numbers - not simply taking them for granted. I wonder how many of the civilians you referred to actually died from natural causes.
DeleteYou are absolutely correct. It's a crisis. And until we are able to discuss it rationally on an international level without religious leaders and others freaking out, we'll be paralyzed. Our choices are to work consciously toward reducing population or to allow nature to take its course, and because we seem incaopable of the former, I fear we're headed toward the latter -- which is going to be painful and agonizing and messy.
ReplyDeleteNot to take over your blog post, but some people above have expressed uncertainty about how to deal with the problem. My take: The developed world should be redirecting much more money into increasing educational opportunities for women globally and making birth control more available, in addition to international development in general. Developed countries with working women tend to produce fewer children. (And fewer migrants, which is another global issue that causes a lot of consternation.) Also, we need to reconsider economic and business models that rely on consistent patterns of growth for survival. No one said it would be easy!
DeleteSadly, I think that your pessimism - in the first comment - is well-placed. There doesn't seem to be the belief or capability in high places and national governments to address this vital issue with purpose, vision and money. We are going to continue drifting into the whirlpool and when we are about to get sucked under it will be too late to act.
DeleteYP, I'll be back to read your newest post, but I just wanted to make sure you see this article. Apparently there are family planning initiatives in some countries that have been successful, while other countries (like Egypt) are still struggling. I thought it was interesting to read that there are efforts being made in some areas (to varying degrees of success) to control population growth.
Deletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/world/middleeast/egypt-population-100-million.html
Sorry to hear about your son in law's news. I hope that he is able to find something soon.
ReplyDeleteMy niece's husband was made redundant a while ago from his job as a computer engineer. After searching unsuccessfully for another job he eventually retrained and is now a British Gas engineer.
Hopefully there is something out there.
Of course he could get a job but he needs a new career and he is now busily retraining via online courses. Thanks for your kind concern JayCee.
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