[QUOTE=Starfury]You are assuming that the root cause of starvation is lack of resources, which is false. The problem isn't lack of food, it's lack of freedom.
This is correct. We actually have no idea what the carrying capacity of the Earth is. The US is one of several countries where farmers are paid NOT to plant food crops, as a glut would have severe economic ramifications.
The real issue stopping colonization is the fact that Earth's population is set to decline starting in about 2040 or so. While this may be tough to believe, the Earth faces a population deficeit as the birth rate drops and people live longer, leading to "gray" populations.
Already this has happened in the developed world - Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain and Japan face rapidly dropping populations while most others are facing slow deline. In the developed world, only the United States has maintained a growing population. Even in the developing world, populations are set to start declining soon.
The dream of a 1000-world human society seems unlikely, even with interstellar transportation available.
Mike Turcotte
This is correct. We actually have no idea what the carrying capacity of the Earth is. The US is one of several countries where farmers are paid NOT to plant food crops, as a glut would have severe economic ramifications.
The real issue stopping colonization is the fact that Earth's population is set to decline starting in about 2040 or so. While this may be tough to believe, the Earth faces a population deficeit as the birth rate drops and people live longer, leading to "gray" populations.
Already this has happened in the developed world - Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain and Japan face rapidly dropping populations while most others are facing slow deline. In the developed world, only the United States has maintained a growing population. Even in the developing world, populations are set to start declining soon.
The dream of a 1000-world human society seems unlikely, even with interstellar transportation available.
Mike Turcotte
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