Re:The Unrealized Horrors of Population Explosion
by ars on Tuesday June 02, 2015 @02:51AM
(#9644293)
I checked your list and it makes the same mistake malthusians make over and over and over. It assumes no change in production, just that everything stays the same. (It also assumes no recycling.)
But in the real world when there is a shortage people find new sources, figure out alternatives, recycle more, and tons of other things. Like I said several times: Humans create resources when they need them.
> You started with how we can't ever run out of resources, and then you added the proviso
I didn't add it, energy was explicit from the start. We don't have to harness energy from other galaxies, our own home planet has tons, and the sun has far more. The "universe" part is just to say we'll never run out even if it goes short on our planet in the distant future, ignore that part if it bothers you, it's not necessary.
> In the actual world, where we don't have this unlimited tappable energy at hand at the moment (and with the limitations of energy production methods) we can very much run out of resources.
No. We can not run out. You keep underestimating people. If we need it, we'll make it. You don't need unlimited energy, just a finite amount.
Look at water in Israel - 20 years ago they had a shortage, now, they have an abundance. Why? Because they needed it, so they figured out how to make driking water.
If we run short of energy, we'll find a new way to make it. All that is required is the the need. There are tons of untapped energy sources, many of them environmentally clean.
Why don't we tap them now? Because we don't need to. That's all.
But in the real world when there is a shortage people find new sources, figure out alternatives, recycle more, and tons of other things. Like I said several times: Humans create resources when they need them.
> You started with how we can't ever run out of resources, and then you added the proviso
I didn't add it, energy was explicit from the start. We don't have to harness energy from other galaxies, our own home planet has tons, and the sun has far more. The "universe" part is just to say we'll never run out even if it goes short on our planet in the distant future, ignore that part if it bothers you, it's not necessary.
> In the actual world, where we don't have this unlimited tappable energy at hand at the moment (and with the limitations of energy production methods) we can very much run out of resources.
No. We can not run out. You keep underestimating people. If we need it, we'll make it. You don't need unlimited energy, just a finite amount.
Look at water in Israel - 20 years ago they had a shortage, now, they have an abundance. Why? Because they needed it, so they figured out how to make driking water.
If we run short of energy, we'll find a new way to make it. All that is required is the the need. There are tons of untapped energy sources, many of them environmentally clean.
Why don't we tap them now? Because we don't need to. That's all.