r/overpopulation • u/madrid987 • 11h ago

What does this comment mean?

3 Upvotes

"The people who complain about overpopulation haven't really changed their minds. They never will. Their position isn't reached by logic or actual knowledge."

Why is it assumed that there is a lack of logic or actual knowledge?

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r/overpopulation • u/madrid987 • 11h ago

About 90% of energy is lost when moving to a higher-level consumer (trophic level). Most humans act as secondary or even tertiary consumers, causing us to be much less efficient than if we were primary consumers (ate plants directly). This is one reason 8+ billion humans is unsustainable.

21 Upvotes

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Overpopulation: unending growth on our finite planet is impossible.

r/overpopulation

We are growing relentlessly, carrying out deforestation and eradication of other species, exhausting fish stocks, using up our resources to the limit and competing over what remains. Instead of converting a diversified biomass into more and more humans who will intensify the process, let's aim for a lower, stable, more mature population. We have the means, we need the will.

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Planetary impact ≈ Consumption × Population

The growth of our human population will eventually end somehow, whether we want it or not. But how will it happen? We can stop growing deliberately, of our own accord. Or we can let circumstances beyond our control stop us under conditions much more distasteful than anything we could decide on our own. Overpopulation concerns are about the welfare of humanity and the health of the planet, our only support system.

The only sustainable population is one where the birth rate is a close match for the death rate where humanity's combined impact on the planet can be supported by the planet's biosphere and ecology, a situation that must be stable and balanced. Clearly this is not what we have now. For the sake of ourselves and our planet, recognition of the overpopulation problem, and identifying the best solutions to it, should be one of humanity's top priorities.

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No racism. This isn't your personal platform to espouse racist views—either directly or tacitly—via overpopulation. This actually hurts the goal of encouraging planetary sustainability—all of humanity is accountable.
Encouraging murder, involuntary eugenics, or forced sterilisation is banned. The solutions to overpopulation involve ways to decrease birth rates and encourage behavioural changes and awareness of our impact on the planet—in a way that is compatible with a free and democratic society. Concepts like mass-murder, involuntary eugenics, or sterilisation do not accomplish these goals, and only result in the proprogation of extremist ideologies.
Be excellent to each other. No personal attacks, harassment, or vitriolic commentary. Presenting a kind, rational approach to the problem of overpopulation makes it likelier to convince others of the problem that is human overpopulation.
Don't be stupid. Most conspiracy-related material is not on-topic for a discussion around overpopulation.

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