As if we didn't have enough to worry about between the spooky and downright unsettling rise of artificial intelligence and global warming, scientists are now warning that the Earth's population is getting out of control. This shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise as it's not exactly new news, but population ecologist William Rees of the University of British Columbia in Canada (as per ScienceAlert) is now coming forward to say that there may be a dire need for a population correction. As terrifying as it sounds, the move could point to extreme consequences over the next few decades.
In his study, Rees found that how humankind is growing is unstable to maintain the world around us, with the number of resources dwindling with each birth. Because of this, a population correction may be our only hope for survival. A process that the researcher sees happening before the end of the century, the idea is that it would slow down the density of people around the globe and give the planet time to bounce back.
Should we not take advantage of this scientific study and its findings, taking a population correction into our own hands, Rees warns that there may be a civilizational collapse on the way. Essentially, if we don't do the work and take the steps and sacrifices necessary to turn things around, the Earth will do it for us.
While we often hear the phrase "only the strong survive," in this case, it would more likely be the societies with the most wealth and resources who would come out of this population correction swinging.
The examples of how we as humans have taken the globe for granted and drained it of its natural resources are all around us as wildfires tear through Maui, our water resources dwindle, the rainforest becomes less and less, and fossil fuels take up a big part of the global warming conversation.
Rees also points to humanity's ability to only see things in the short-term rather than looking at the broader picture for how our choices today affect our tomorrow. With all this in mind, it's not hard to understand why we may be headed toward a population correction during this century.
Also known for our consumerist tendencies and continued push for capitalism, Rees says that how we've fueled these urges is through overspending and overuse of the world's natural resources. As the number of people on the planet continues to increase, the price of goods will only go up, making the possibility of a population correction only more probable by the day.
MSN
Should we not take advantage of this scientific study and its findings, taking a population correction into our own hands, Rees warns that there may be a civilizational collapse on the way. Essentially, if we don't do the work and take the steps and sacrifices necessary to turn things around, the Earth will do it for us.
While we often hear the phrase "only the strong survive," in this case, it would more likely be the societies with the most wealth and resources who would come out of this population correction swinging.
The examples of how we as humans have taken the globe for granted and drained it of its natural resources are all around us as wildfires tear through Maui, our water resources dwindle, the rainforest becomes less and less, and fossil fuels take up a big part of the global warming conversation.
Rees also points to humanity's ability to only see things in the short-term rather than looking at the broader picture for how our choices today affect our tomorrow. With all this in mind, it's not hard to understand why we may be headed toward a population correction during this century.
Also known for our consumerist tendencies and continued push for capitalism, Rees says that how we've fueled these urges is through overspending and overuse of the world's natural resources. As the number of people on the planet continues to increase, the price of goods will only go up, making the possibility of a population correction only more probable by the day.
As for our hope to combat population correction, there's still a chance that those tools found in artificial intelligence and other pieces of technology will be able to save humankind as they stand at the forefront of climate change and food production. A lesson in coming together and being led by our common threads, the study points out that one of the major chances of survival comes from working together. Otherwise, the likelihood of war, food shortages, and other breakdowns in our ecosystem will set us on a track to change the world for the worse over the next century.
MSN
Couldn’t hurt to give it a try.
