Episode 2: Why the Population Bomb Never Goes Boom

There’s a bomb that keeps ticking but never goes boom: the population bomb. For centuries, pessimists have predicted that population growth will overwhelm the planet’s resources and lead to an ecological armageddon. Yet, time and again, their doomsday prophecies have proven spectacularly wrong. Not only does the human race keep growing, but living standards keep going up, not down. Why do they keep underestimating humanity? They don’t understand that our ultimate resource is not anything in the ground. So what is it? Watch this episode of FEEcast to find out!

Links from this episode:

[fireflowers]

Why the Population Bomb Never Goes Boom








because there would be less population after it.

[ryancampbell]

Where can I learn more about Tasmania's regression?

[maxscott]

Population and bomb in the same title and a minute in there's still no carnage. What the hell?

[liamstacey]

1. Massive virus outbreaks. 2. Biggest extinction event in 60M years. 3 “islands of plastic”, 4 perpetual war and refugee crisis due to water shortages in the Middle East. 5. Massive fires in Brazil and Australia. 6. Highest wealth gap in history.
They are quite wrong about ecologists not understanding economics: we use the same math; and we well understand the problem of economics: the categories are “arbitrary”. Economists create categories of “good things” : but we don’t all agree on what is good.
Basically these guys and gals are really just religious types who are defending a growing population. The fact is that the population boom concept has dramatically reduced population growth by making it culturally taboo to have lots of kids, and has spread this idea world wide.