A Virus with Shoes

[Zaxxon]

Fully agree with Chris Packham, bring incentives in for having fewer children or adopting kids instead.
Exactly what Bill Hicks was saying almost 10 years ago.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Chris-Pac...

[Disco_Dale]

Zaxxon said:

Exactly what Bill Hicks was saying almost 10 years ago.

From beyond the grave? (Hicks died in 1994)

[Zod]

He's a fking moron. Most Western countries' populations are barely reproducing at replacement rate. That means there wll not be enough people workign in the future to pay pensions or even to keep the lights on.

[chrisispringles]

Does this moron not realise that Britain's population is in natural decrease as birth rates are lower than death rates already, as is the case with most developed countries? Anyway, without young people there will be no support for older people in the future.

[Zaxxon]

Disco_Dale said:

From beyond the grave? (Hicks died in 1994)

Blimey, 17 years ago?? I feel old.

[Uhura fighter]

He is right, need to get rid of about 4 billion people.

Do private pensions get paid by taxes or just public ones?

[Zaxxon]

chrisispringles said:

Does this moron not realise that Britain's population is in natural decrease as birth rates are lower than death rates already, as is the case with most developed countries? Anyway, without young people there will be no support for older people in the future.

Think it's aimed more at the world, i.e. '- namely the ever-increasing size of the world's population.'

But also are you saying that the UK population is in decline and thus will not reach 70 million in 2020?

[Zaxxon]

Uhura fighter said:

He is right, need to get rid of about 4 billion people.

Do private pensions get paid by taxes or just public ones?

A jolly good war is what we need. Not one of these silly police actions, a proper one with trenches, concentration camps and a few nukes.

[chrisispringles]

Zaxxon said:

Think it's aimed more at the world, i.e. '- namely the ever-increasing size of the world's population.'

But also are you saying that the UK population is in decline and thus will not reach 70 million in 2020?

There is a fair chance that the U.K. population will reach 70m, but that is down to migration. Natural decrease means that the birth rate is lower than the death rate, it does not account for migration.

[Uhura fighter]

Zaxxon said:

A jolly good war is what we need. Not one of these silly police actions, a proper one with trenches, concentration camps and a few nukes.

We could just put birth control in the aid we give out.

[J B L]

Zaxxon said:

chrisispringles said:

Does this moron not realise that Britain's population is in natural decrease as birth rates are lower than death rates already, as is the case with most developed countries? Anyway, without young people there will be no support for older people in the future.

Think it's aimed more at the world, i.e. '- namely the ever-increasing size of the world's population.'

But also are you saying that the UK population is in decline and thus will not reach 70 million in 2020?

He talks about both.

How the feck are you going to regulate the Asian, African and South American population growth?

How about we help these countries -with a lot of fertile land- to produce food in an efficient manner rather than sending food supplied and handovers? Here's a novel idea.

As short sighted post and stories go yours take the biscuit OP.

[Zaxxon]

chrisispringles said:

There is a fair chance that the U.K. population will reach 70m, but that is down to migration. Natural decrease means that the birth rate is lower than the death rate, it does not account for migration.

Ah ok, but we can't stop or reverse migration can we, we'd be branded as racists by the Guardian and thats naughty.

[Zaxxon]

J B L said:

He talks about both.

How the feck are you going to regulate the Asian, African and South American population growth?

How about we help these countries -with a lot of fertile land- to produce food in an efficient manner rather than sending food supplied and handovers? Here's a novel idea.

As short sighted post and stories go yours take the biscuit OP.

So following your ideas the world population just explodes way beyond the current trend?

And you call me shortsighted?

[chrisispringles]

Uhura fighter said:

We could just put birth control in the aid we give out.

That's happening to a certain degree, along with things like family planning. Trouble is that there are still religious and moral issues around contraception in developing countries. But, the fact that developing countties have high - but starting to decline - infant mortality rates means that people still need a lot of children for their own security.

[DSM2]

Most real thinkers now agree that our biggest issue is overpopulation. The arguments against are spurious based on non-essential reasoning like religious and racial beliefs.

As for the population needs to keep growing to support the elderly, what a facetious argument that is. Not really worth arguing about if you think it through, it's a non starter.

Oh well until the elephant in the room is visible to the politicians and they are prepared to start dealing wiht it, I guess we'll get more 'global warming' and 'let's all live together without our luxuries' crap.

And more wars.

[J B L]

Zaxxon said:

J B L said:

He talks about both.

How the feck are you going to regulate the Asian, African and South American population growth?

How about we help these countries -with a lot of fertile land- to produce food in an efficient manner rather than sending food supplied and handovers? Here's a novel idea.

As short sighted post and stories go yours take the biscuit OP.

So following your ideas the world population just explodes way beyond the current trend?

And you call me shortsighted?

Do you have any idea of the potential of food production when you start adding all the land that's not being properly (or not at all) cultivated? You could double the current population and still have food on your plate at the same price (+inflation).

Add to that the fact that when a nation starts to develop its birth rate fall then it may be a long time before you reach critical food prod capacity.

But you are right. Let's dig up trenches and shoot the bds. A far more durable and intelligent solution.

[tonyvid]

Mr Packham has a very valid point though - do you remember that TV trailer by David Attenborough where he says that when he first started in wildlife the human population was a third of what it is now? How can this almost exponental growth be sustained around the world?

[Stevenj214]

Zod said:

He's a fking moron. Most Western countries' populations are barely reproducing at replacement rate. That means there wll not be enough people workign in the future to pay pensions or even to keep the lights on.

One issue of having the world's largest ponzi scheme

[Zod]

Some people need to read about Thomas Malthus.

[LooneyTunes]

Yes, there is an environmental angle, but in the UK the elephant in the room seems to be that (to me at any rate, based on casual observation) there is a major discrepancy in birth rates between socio-economic groups with lower socio-economic groups producing vastly more offspring than those in higher groups. If this is indeed the case, does it support the argument that population growth will support the elderly... or does it in fact create a situation where the growing population itself needs more support?

...I sincerely hope to be proven wrong.