Atmospheric CO2 Hits High Milestone

The Doctor wrote: Padraic wrote: The Doctor wrote: While I strongly support environmental issues, there is also one problem which is not so easy to deal with.  And that is the fact that this planet was not meant to support 7+ billion humans on it.  How many humans was it meant to support?  I'm not sure what that means, anyway - it sounds like the earth was designed and somehow we've exceeded specifications. If your number is quite a bit smaller, and you think that is truly the solution, how do you solve this problem without resorting to rather drastic measures? It was meant to support me and 20 of my closest friends, all of which are coincidentally, female and hot.  As I said it is not an easy problem to deal with.  The best way is to not only support contraception, but advocate it (which will take the cooperation of lots of religious organizations), distribute it freely (not just condoms, but the pill) and also fully support abortion rights.  Other than that there isn't much we can do that isn't drastic, except wait for nature to take her course.

Equality 7-2521 wrote: I find it slightly curious that limiting the human population is the first measure you talk about.

From a certain point of view, it can be a good idea, but only on a long term, at least one generation. And waiting 20 or 30 years for limiting the number of drivers, gas users, factory operators... and, therefore, the amount of CO² produced... Well, good luck!
If we're looking for a "quick" solution (if there's a quick solution... ), the first drastic measure one could think about would be to limit the number of cars (or bikes, or buses, etc...), the use of coal and oil as sources of energy, etc...
And I'm not sure it could be done in a dozen years.

Padraic wrote: The Doctor wrote: While I strongly support environmental issues, there is also one problem which is not so easy to deal with.  And that is the fact that this planet was not meant to support 7+ billion humans on it.  How many humans was it meant to support?  I'm not sure what that means, anyway - it sounds like the earth was designed and somehow we've exceeded specifications. If your number is quite a bit smaller, and you think that is truly the solution, how do you solve this problem without resorting to rather drastic measures?

It was meant to support me and 20 of my closest friends, all of which are coincidentally, female and hot. 

As I said it is not an easy problem to deal with.  The best way is to not only support contraception, but advocate it (which will take the cooperation of lots of religious organizations), distribute it freely (not just condoms, but the pill) and also fully support abortion rights.  Other than that there isn't much we can do that isn't drastic, except wait for nature to take her course. 

Dear Kim, please attack South Korea. Make sure you use your sorry ass nukes. Make sure you make the Chinese get very upset and try to somehow make the Russians go along with you. We need a full thermonuclear war quickly to get rid of ourselves and save the planet. We suck too much. Save us, Kim.

Dean wrote: What the hell are the other 5% doing?

The other 6.861% of the population has the remaining 15.671% of the CO2 share, obviously.

FLAC wrote: i know it was an joke. I just like to replay to posts don't know why Well yea third worlds that is the biggest  problem,keeping an controlled population maybe all the third worlds should follow China? Like one child per family?

I'm not sure you understand the joke or why it applies to this...

All developing countries, comprising 80% of the world population, produce as much CO2 in total as high-income OECD countries, which comprise 15% of the world's population. It's not them, it's us.


Edited by Gamemako - May 11 2013 at 18:34

The Doctor wrote: While I strongly support environmental issues, there is also one problem which is not so easy to deal with.  And that is the fact that this planet was not meant to support 7+ billion humans on it.

How many humans was it meant to support?  I'm not sure what that means, anyway - it sounds like the earth was designed and somehow we've exceeded specifications.

If your number is quite a bit smaller, and you think that is truly the solution, how do you solve this problem without resorting to rather drastic measures?

FLAC wrote: yea but that so called "philosophy" worked in the middle ages,where everyone died off plague,and they needed to have as much kids as possible (god's will)

FLAC wrote: I agree but what can we do? Should we start adopting Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas.

It's Malthus Time.

The Doctor wrote: You mean like breathing?    I'm not discounting the factories, cars, etc, but breathing alone pumps a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Total nonsense. You can only produce as much CO2 as carbon in the food you eat. For you to exhale CO2, CO2 must have already been removed from the air.

The Doctor wrote: Not to mention that we use up resources faster than the rest of the organisms on the planet combined.

It is our use of natural resources that is the difference. The planet can support plenty of people, it just can't support us.