Atheism and the end of the world

From what I've heard, everyone in the world right now could fit in southern california. That would leave plenty of room for farming.

 

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50 billion could be sustained, if almost every arable land on the Earth was farmed to its utmost potential and with efficiency (as my Environmental Science textbook puts it - if we used our land like the Dutch).

 

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You mean, profit? Sure they could fish less, but the shortfall in protein would have to be made up somewhere else.

Yes, it can. After many years of artificial fertilizers, it becomes simply a medium, no longer capable of production without either more fertilizer, or through a long process of re-organification. Organic farming is less productive but more sustainable.

Wishful thinking. We have enjoyed many decades of cheap oil, and it's loss will be damaging. There won't just be a different brand to switch on. Petroleum is also the source of most of our fertilizer and plastics.

 

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Still hooey. Go try to farm the Amazon rain forest. Or the Gobi desert. Or anywhere in Antarctica. Or Mount Everest. Or the Grand Canyon. Or Mount Saint Helens. Should I continue? There are many such un-farmable spots on the planet.

50 billion is obviously a gross exaggeration.

And this does not matter. Religion or religious beliefs were not a factor in any of these studies.

 

They are farming the Amazon rain forests.

Everyone in the world might fit in California, but they couldn't live that way.

 

It seems to me with everything that is actually going on in the world today Drought, famine, overpopulation etc that reducing our population is actually a paramount concern for anyone who is seriously concerned with our future. There is no global problem with depopulation, in fact it's just the opposite the human population is higher than it has ever been. Depopulation is only a concern in regards to continuing on the path of unbridled consumerism and the security of our pensions. On the whole I see this as evidence that secular society behaves more responisibly when it comes to the future of the planet.
But never fear if we continue to be so responsible in the end there will only be the faithful and they will rejoice and say "see god said we would inherit/rule the earth and now we do", right before they all starve to death

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In other words the entire premise of the thread is a joke.

 

I agree, the world is overpopulated. I predict that the religious shall wipe a lot of each other out with war, and the currrent and coming generations of children will observe and conclude rightly so that religion creates unnecessary conflict, and is unnecessary to begin with.

Of course, the religious survivors on each side will do everything they can to indoctrinate the children, spread the mind virus and feed them lies that it was entirely the "other" religions fault, but we must do everything in our power to teach them the truth.

IMO, The planet would do very well with 1 billion literate, educated, people with access to healthcare, who sustain both the numbers of their people and the needs of their people, and the environment.

 

At what density? and with what living conditions?

Besides, if everyone lived in southern california, they'd be picked off by the gangs in no time.

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A reason people live in cities is because of proximity to things they need.
But if availability increased, people wouldn't need to cram so tight.
Its kind of inhuman IMO. for humans to cram as tightly as they are crammed in some cities/ghettos of the world.

 

I've thought this before too. Oh well. The secular world, or Atheism per sey, if the fastest growing belief system so in a sense it’s growing by conversion and will continue to claim new converts - forever. Think, 200 years ago there was very few Ahteists - now there are many. As we mature as a species so will our propensity for Atheism.

But it really doesn’t matter and I don’t care. So long as in my country our basic culture and traditions of democracy and personal and intellectual freedom are upheld it doesn’t matter if most people are Xian. It’s ok.

Also, the World is crammed with too many people. We will reach a breaking point. Countries around the equator and cities near the coast (where all the people are crammed) may be FUBARed when global warming makes life a little more unpredictable.

Or when the next pandemic hits.

The Chinese tend twards non-religion due to the legasy of Communism and they have to TRY to keep their population down.

In the coming decades humans will master the aging processes that underpin our mortality.

In the coming centuries humans will master the neural net that undermines out immortality.

In summary, I think you have a point, I think the world probably has too many people as it is.


This planet will melt in 100 million years - so it’s all OK

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Michael

 

Yeah, why do we need 50 billion people? Even if the Earth could support it - when shit hit the fan, boy would it. Also, I want to live on a large plot of land near the ocean and enjoy a bit of peace and nature - it's the reason I moved to AU. I don't want to live all hemmed in like chickens in a cage!

 

Spidergoat:

And it would be.

Yes, thus it is fertilized.

We have plenty of alternative energy sources available to us. Ethanol, hydrogen, solar, nuclear, coal, natural gas, wave and wind power, et cetera, et cetera.

Finding something to replace plastic won't be an issue as we'll be able to use petroleum for plastic production for longer than we can for fuel. But we will eventually find a nice synthetic to create a plastic substitute.

To everyone on my "50 billion" number:

Consider the implementation of genetic modification, skyscraper farming, anti-desertification, and various other techniques. We are not even -near- our maximum level of production.

 

Enterprise D:

World's Hell Holes = Middle East, Central Asia, South East Asia, much of South and Central America, and the entire continent of Africa.

 

Our exploitation of the Earth to feed 50 billion people would result in the (temporary) destruction of ecosystems. This has been played out over and over on smaller scales.

Prince James,
With Africa being such a Hell-Hole, why were the empires of Europe so keen to colonize it?

 

There be doymunds in that thar hellhole.

 

could you list all the countries that are secular,
that would mean at least 51 % of their population being atheist,

FYI many if not all Ukrainians happen to be very religious.
anyways I wouldnt worry about the Ruskies,they whopped Hitlers military mighty war machine with almost empty hands,and now have the biggest suply of oil and natural gas in the world,and the riches that will bring them will no doubt make em all rich fat and happy and ready to fuck and make as many kids as never before.

Europe is overpopulated,they would be dumb to increase their numbers

are you sure its not b/c of the continous stream of mexicans sneaking in,and they have very LARGE familias,no?

nonsence,religious propaganda.
I grew up in the 99% atheistic country and you havent seen happier people anywhere.and we werent monetarily rich either

no its not, oxymoron would be Christian science!

more krapola,show me any country where this has happened?

pardon me, if I dont take a "Christian religious propaganda machine's statistics to be very accurate when it comes to atheism, and what it does to people.
all they are interested is in INCREASING the number of their folowers by scaring them with inacurate most likely made up numbers.

try www.atheists.org or www.secularhumanists.org for more honest statistics

 

“…there is no economically plausible scenario for a strategically meaningful reduction in the dependence of the United States and its allies on imported hydrocarbons during the next quarter century.”
Dr. Flynt Leverett from the New America Foundation

 

Sam, are you wearing a sandwich board?

"THE END IS NIGH!"

 

Granted (after a quick lookup

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)...but it causes a press panic (even though strictly speaking, simple farming isn't doing much harm to the rainforest). At any rate, one strike doesn't take away from the fact that there are many areas that can't be "farmed" on the planet.

And correct, I forgot to type this one. Yeah by square footage all humans might fit in that state. But where'd the nearest grocery be? Nevada, Oregon or Arizona? LOL how about the nearest farm? It'd be a b*tch to go to the bathroom in such an arrangement huh...

 

All the people of the world could fit into the state of Arkansas for each to have half an acre.