Overpopulation has become one of the most highly-debated topics in the world today. Overseas, there are underdeveloped countries that have since put a limit on the number of children a family can have. Whether that has something to do with nearly 80% of the world’s current population residing in third-world countries is questionable, however, what I do know is that we are facing a very grave issue here and unfortunately, I fear there isn’t much we can do about it.
This piece is designed to give the reader a brief, detailed understanding of the past, present and future of the Earth’s population. Of course, the ideas and opinions expressed here are solely my own and I certainly don’t intend to scare anyone with the information I’m about to uncover.
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Let’s start by taking a look at some statistics and first explore how exactly the issue of ‘overpopulation’ came to be.
For the sake of argument, we’ll start in the year 10,000 BC. To this point in history, at no time had the Earth ever been inhabited by more than 1-million people. Over the next 10,000 years, however, the world’s population would grow by an average of 5-million people each subsequent millennium. As such, it is estimated that the population was totaled near 15-million in the year 5000 BC, whereas a population of 20-million was recorded in 6000 BC — so on and so forth. It wasn’t until agricultural techniques were improved greatly around 2000 BC that the world saw its first ‘booming’ growth spikes. It was then that population trends slightly increased from the previous steady rate of ’5-million per millennium’, to 15-million between 2000 BC – 1000 BC. Thereafter, we find an even more dramatic rise of roughly 50-million between 1000 BC – 500 BC. What’s more, there were two considerable hikes of 100-million and 110-million respectively between 500 BC – AD 1 and AD 1 – 1000. From 1000 – 1750, somewhere in the neighborhood of 480-million people would have joined us here on Earth.
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Ultimately, this means that up until 1750, the Earth’s population had never exceeded 791-million. How’s that for an eye-opener?
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It’s at this point in our history that I firmly believe we, as a species, began hammering the nails in our own proverbial coffins. As we neared the infamous “Industrial Revolution,” there were a series of major inventions that completely took the agricultural world by storm – James Watt’s steam-powered engine, as well as, the introduction of fertilizers and pesticides.
In a nutshell, these three creations brought about a means to support a much more expanded population. The engine lead to more efficient farming/harvesting apparatuses, which when paired with fertilizers/pesticides for producing much more plentiful crops, lead to incredible boosts in food production. Coupled with major advances in modern medicine and technology, these factors came together and meshed to form the base for which the cliché term “overpopulation” would be born.
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As a result of these inventions, the world’s population would grow in exponentially higher totals in much shorter periods of time. It would grow from 791-million in 1750 to an unfathomable 1.26-billion in 1850, then to 2.51-billion in 1950. From 1950 ‘til present-day, a growth pattern of approximately 400-million is reported every five-years. Today, we’re looking at an estimated population of 6.98-billion (expected to hit the 7-billion mark sometime in 2012 and reach the 9.2-billion mark by 2050).
So, in due time, trying to feed more people has resulted in being able to feed less people. (Also see genetic engineering as another prime suspect.)
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Simply put, this “recession” we’re in, as far as money is concerned, is the very least of our worries. I think the problem lies somewhere much deeper and with the deficiency of natural resources. It’s my theory that the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and other natural resources has finally clashed with the sudden influx of human life and will undoubtedly lead to much bigger issues than gasoline being so expensive. There was a certain limit to the amount of people that the Earth could feasibly handle — probably in the vicinity of 500-million thereabouts — and that limit was passed a very long time ago. I’ve too gathered that even if we were to discover some amazing new source of alternative-energy, even as soon as tonight, it’s already too late. It’s a pretty pessimistic way of looking at the scenario as a whole, but it is what it is. Relatively soon, our children’s children’s children will find themselves scavenging in a barren-landscape – where clean drinking water has surmounted oil and gasoline in monetary value – which was once known as a world super-power called the United States of America. Then, once all of the Earth’s resources have been utilized, there will be a massive drop in population (most likely numbering in the billions) because of famine, scarcity of drinking water, pandemic, war, and a cataclysmic rise in domestic crime (killing others for precious supplies/resources). More or less, this consistent upward-trend will bring about epically horrid environmental situations that will render the Earth unable to sustain life. Case and point.
(I will take a more in-depth look at the Earth’s energy production vs. consumption and the problems it will cause in a later article.)
All of this will signal the “end of times” that all are speculating about. Basically, the world as we know it – just as the Roman Empire and all that came before it eventually fell – will cease to exist. Every civilization eventually crumbles and we are no different, no matter how “technologically advanced” we are. Mother Earth will need an extremely long period of time to recuperate from all of the damage today’s society has inflicted upon it. Unfortunately, she can’t do that with so many people living here. So, something’s naturally got to give.
Of course, we could still see a ‘solar-flare’ knock out all of our telecommunications/satellite systems and reap all kinds of havoc. It’s still conceivable that the “Rapture” may soon be upon us and the anti-Christ will try to take over the world, as the Bible and prophecies of St. Malachy have predicted. Just as plausible is the idea of ‘magnetic pole-reversal,’ which would probably be the most devastating of all Doomsday outcomes.
In either event, we’re heading due south on the fast track to the end of the world. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride.
December 10, 2011
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