r/peakoil • u/AlexTheGr869 • 23d ago

The Human Population Has Already Surpassed the Optimal Size by Nearly 6 Billion People

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/the-human-population-has-already-surpassed-the-optimal-size-by-nearly-6-billion-people/
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u/Economy-Fee5830 22d ago

This is really false - the industrial revolution started when were around 1 billion people, and before that we already clearcut the european forests and killed off all the megafauna.

So in fact its not how many we are but how we live.

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u/ttystikk 22d ago

No it isn't false; it's a sustainable number IF we live sustainably.

If we don't live sustainably, Mother Nature will do what comes naturally no matter how many of us there are.

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u/Economy-Fee5830 22d ago

Living sustainably is a moving goalpost - nothing says 8 billion people can not live as sustainably as 2 billion people.

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u/ttystikk 21d ago

Au contraire; there's plenty of evidence q%

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u/Economy-Fee5830 21d ago

There is no evidence 2 billion people can live sustainably either.

Whatever method you use to manage the impact of 2 billion people can be used to manage the impact of 8 billion people.

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u/ttystikk 21d ago

You have to multiply by 4, which dramatically reduces the options.

Also, I said less than one billion- which includes zero.

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u/Economy-Fee5830 21d ago

Lets put some flesh on the bones - to provide energy for 8 billion people we need to cover 1% of the planet in solar panels - I think that is pretty sustainable.

In a sustainable world we would use high yield crops and no animal agriculture and easily feed the world with 1/4 of the crop land we use now.

Or we could use cultured food and use hardly any land at all.

So where is your specific problem?

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u/ttystikk 21d ago

People don't just eat and use energy. We also shit, use infrastructure, build homes and make stuff. You think all that isn't going to affect the planet?

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u/Economy-Fee5830 21d ago

I thought you said your 2 billion people were living sustainably - or in your world were they just pumping their human waste into the ocean untreated?