A Case for Overpopulation

Photo by Manson Yim on Unsplash

Planet Earth can fit a million times more people; that doesn’t mean we should.

When scientist talk about overpopulation, they are not talking about the amount of empty space available; they are talking about how many people can Earth sustain. Now, you might have already known that, but I want to add something more to this; just because more people can survive doesn’t mean they will thrive.

With the help of newer technology, it is a lot more feasible to sustain a lot more people on Earth. The human species is of great power & capabilities. We can redirect & allocate resources with greater efficiency than ever before. We can mess with the DNA of fruits & vegetables to harvest a greater yield. Shit, we can even make it rain. Check out how they are doing that over in Dubai.

However, the problem with having more people on Earth, even if we can sustain them to live, is that this would cause an increase rate of resource extraction, consumption, pollution, waste, destruction, etc.

While many resources can be replenished, it still takes a long time for nature to be able to replenish the many vital resources. Fossil fuels, our main energy source, takes millions of years to replenish. Once fossil fuels run out, which they will, it’s Mad Max time! Other essential important resources we constantly use that are getting pushed to the scarcity zone are fresh water, sand, phosphorus, soil, and others.

Let’s say, however, that we have infinite resources; will this solve our overpopulation problem? Nope.