Subject: Re: Overpopulation
Yes, overfishing is a problem. I heard about the Alaska salmon thing. That is another consequence of overpopulation. Even if we get carbon under control (unlikely), demands for food will continue to strain the ecosystem. It will take time, but as I pointed out, women in developed nations are opting to have fewer (if any) children. If that trend continues, the population will probably start to decline. Loren on TMF thought it would peak around 8-9B, and then reverse. I forget now what his projected final steady-state population figure was. Maybe 6B? It will take decades, and we may not have that much time. I fully expect a more sudden population reduction in the form of a huge war, largely caused by climate changes that make food and water scarce (e.g. fish stocks collapsing, droughts, etc). Loren was more optimistic about that, but I wasn't.

In addition to food and water, there is energy (as Dope1 said). That is vital to have a developed society, and a developed society -that emancipates women- is much more likely to have limited population growth. But energy at the expense of the environment -and all the environment provides us- is a pyrrhic victory, at best.