Have we done...

[amcdonald]

Was it something like this

[TheFaQQer]

YAC?

I have some strong views on things, and one of them is population growth. You are a statistician, look at the numbers. There are varying projections on the rate of growth, but by 2050 the world population will have increased by 30-50%. We are constantly being told about food crisis, fuel shortages, mineral depletion and not enough housing and creative ways in which we can reduce consumption. But no one targets the other side of the problem, the increase in population of the world. In this country alone, we are in a culture of subsidising council-mums to an extent it is stupid for them to even consider going back to work and people are growing up thinking a family is something they have to do. When in reality, there are so many otherthings people can do with their lives, I have a lot of holidays, eat out most nights, can move wherever I like, see my friends when I like, am not really tied into a relationship (how many people are in unhappy relationships "because of the kids"?)

Up until that point, I believed what you were saying

[TheFaQQer]

YAC=Yet Another Cretin.

Was anyone else thinking of a different C word? I had two in mind.

[Ketchup]

Was anyone else thinking of a different C word? I had two in mind.

I have really got under your skin haven't I? Maybe because you know I am right?

I think you might not be completely happy with you life choice, bored of your wife (or vice-versa) and are only together for the kids and have to do things like by semi-dilapidated churches to give your life some excitement.

[NotAllThere]

YAC=Yet Another Cretin.

2 points, as a statistician:

1) The population argument has been overstated. Current thinking is that the world will peak at 10 billion and that that is sustainable.

2) Population growth is not a problem in the West, rather the opposite.

Biologically people exist to propagate their genes. They have no purpose beyond that - and that is why the drive to have children is strong - but you have to have be grown-up for that, not a perpetually adolescent boy, which seems to be the trend nowadays.

Please stop arguing with Ketchup. He might be persuade to propagate his genes. Goodness knows what could happen then.

[vetran]

I don't understand how it will stop increasing, this must mean that either people are stopping breeding or people are dying younger. With an ageing population (where 100+ will soon not be unusual), better healthcare, healthier lifestyles and no real advancements in contraception, I don't see how the population will stop growing.

+1

Population growth in the west is a problem, population growth in white westerners isn't a problem. The majority of our population growth will soon (if it isn't already) be mainly driven by 'recent' immigrants.

Population ageing and frailty is a problem we need to address.

Not sure what suggests population will peak at 10 Billion, the evidence is most animal populations expand until food is limited or predators / sickness culls them. The evidence of history suggests that the human population follows these rules.

Apart from the HOPE that populations will breed less and fall below replacement level based on reductions due to increased availability of contraception there doesn't seems to be much limiting population growth. Contraception certainly didn't seem to limit this persons enjoyment of her fecundity.

[TheFaQQer]

I have really got under your skin haven't I?

Not in the least - I just hadn't considered the word cretin in a list of words starting with C that people might be using on CUK as an insult.

Cretin doesn't really feature highly in my list of insulting words, to be honest.

[doodab]

I don't understand how it will stop increasing, this must mean that either people are stopping breeding or people are dying younger. With an ageing population (where 100+ will soon not be unusual), better healthcare, healthier lifestyles and no real advancements in contraception, I don't see how the population will stop growing.

The bulk of the rapid increase is in places where people still have large families. It typically takes a couple of generations for the benefits of modernity to have an effect on breeding habits. This usually goes hand in hand with advances in standard of living until you end up with a "developed" economy where people breed at or below the rate required to replace the population (which is currently the case in many "western" countries)

So the thinking is that in 2-3 generations time, the whole world will be dragged out of poverty and breeding at or below the replacement rate, and the population will stabilise.

http://www.un.org/esa/population/pub...p2300final.pdf

It should be noted that there is contradictory research available.

[sasguru]

I don't understand how it will stop increasing, this must mean that either people are stopping breeding or people are dying younger. With an ageing population (where 100+ will soon not be unusual), better healthcare, healthier lifestyles and no real advancements in contraception, I don't see how the population will stop growing.

Because people all over the world are having fewer children in general, even in countries where they used to have many.
e.g. Germany has a particular problem in that without more breeding their population (without immigration) will decline precipitously and make them an irrelevance in Europe.

[vetran]

Because people all over the world are having fewer children in general, even in countries where they used to have many.
e.g. Germany has a particular problem in that without more breeding their population (without immigration) will decline precipitously and make them an irrelevance in Europe.

why do you need a large population to be relevant? Jersey & Switzerland seem to do OK.