General Discussion

We already "spend" more in natural resources than can be replenished in a year (i.e. we are spending the principal instead of living on the interest). It would take the resources of more than one planet to bring everyone's standard of living up to Western (admittedly wasteful) norms. Innovation and tightening our belts can change the equation of course: if everybody is willing to eat paste we can probably support 50 billion.

And that leaves out ecosystem collapse. We are well down that road:

Earth has lost 80% of her old-growth forests, 50% of her soil, 90% of the big fish – and many water, land, and ocean ecosystems, as well as atmospheric stability, as human population has soared more than sevenfold.* The human family is living far beyond its means, devouring natural capital principal and ravaging its own ecosystem habitats, which can only end in ecological, social and economic collapse. Earth’s carrying capacity has been exceeded, and we must equitably and justly bring down human population and consumption inequity or else face global ecosystem collapse. We can start the necessary social change or an angry Earth will sort it out herself by killing billions; as we possibly pull down the biosphere with us, ending most or even all life, during a prolonged collapse.

Earth is not designed for 7 billion people (and growing), some of them destroying ecosystems globally as they live in opulence, others more locally through their grinding poverty and need to survive. Overpopulated, inequitable, unjust human industrial growth ravages ecosystems; destroying all that is natural, indigenous and good, heralding a brief era of opulence for some and abject misery for many, before collapsing the biosphere and causing the end of being for all.


http://ecointernet.org/2014/05/17/on-overpopulation-and-ecosystem-collapse/

The extractive / exploitative nature of capitalism makes all this worse. Personally I find it amusing when people wonder if we will have a country, the Constitution, or even a civilization in 100 years. If we do, it is going to be very different.

* our population has grown from 1 billion to more than 7 in 135 years