REALITY CHECK - Human health, wealth and population growth in the last 200 years

[Cjay]

Great graphical view of changes in the health, wealth and population growth of all countries over the last 200 years. No wonder we are consuming everything at an alarming, ever-increasing rate. We all know that can't continue forever.

200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes
http://www.flixxy.com/200-countries-200-years-4-minutes.htm

That's just a flashy opener for a sobering reality check -
or WHY we WILL run out of resources
and why we MUST find a better way to do things...
or find some more planets to trash.

If we don't figure this out FAST, mother nature will reduce our population for us and that won't be pleasant. The NWO creeps won't need to lift a finger.

This video series is titled "The Most IMPORTANT Video You'll Ever See" (in 8 parts - each about 9.5 minutes)
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb3JI8F9LQQ
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFyOw9IgtjY
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQd-VGYX3-E
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-X6EpvWWu8
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3y7UlHdhAU
Part 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyseLQVpJEI
Part 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoiiVnQadwE

Or as Yoda should have said... "Do or DIE"

Anyone still not get it?

[Zook]

There is already a thread here on Avalon that discusses the exponential function and Professor Bartlett's video lecture:
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?11255-The-real-problem-with-population-growth-Exponential-Growth&p=97505&viewfull=1#post97505

The following was my rebuttal in that thread to Bartlett's application of the exponential function to human population growth.

beginRebuttal
The good professor does an exquisite job in laying out the exponential function, let me just get that out of the way.

But the rest is a prelude to ((Agenda 21)), IMHO.

He makes some assumptions and forays into speculation that are not valid. For one, human population growth is the problem, not the current absolute numbers; he fails to emphasize this fact. Two, any consumption (not merely exponential consumption) of a finite resource will bring scarcity. To this point, he focuses on oil - a finite energy resource ... even alludes to the finite nature of the Sun (when he speaks of the need to bring in Suns from elsewhere once our own Sun has been fully tapped) in a hysterical understanding of human time. The good professor attempts to turn negative issues as war, famine, and disease, etc. ... into instruments of necessity as opposed to what they really are, e.g. instruments to sweep population and resource mismanagement under the rug. The good professor attempts to portray positive advances in civilization (e.g. healthcare, abundance of food, quality of life, etc.) as a burden on finite resources when, again, the real culprit is mismanagement of human and hard resources. Etc.

In short, the good professor morphs the solid mathematics of the exponential function into an argument for zero population growth (which is laudable) ... but without proper care to underscore the fact that present population numbers can be managed better, indeed, that twice the number can be sustained with proper management protocols. Instead of trying to understand the word sustainability, he derides the same term by focusing his presentation on exponential growth against finite resources (space, water, oil, etc.) ... alas, sustainability requires a new approach to utilizing finite resources. To this exercise, zero population growth is crucial. However, this does not mean we should seek the method (and the madness) of the Georgia Guidestones.

Indeed, those seeking human culling - by explicit or implicit argument - are merely framing the population debate for the existing paradigm of greed and waste. Change the paradigm, and they become educators without clue or cause. Humble opinions all around.

ps: The good professor is being sincere, IMO; nonetheless, he is working in the duty of the old empire and its paradigms. As a mathematician, he has an impeccable understanding of quantity. What he lacks, however, is a basic understanding of quality. The expression of quantity without quality, alas, is the measure of the mob. To wit, the good (and necessarily elitist) professor - in the sweetness of irony - is engaging in common mob-thinking.
end

:typing:

[Cjay]

Zook, thanks for letting me know about the previous thread.

I added the professor's video series as an afterthought, after I had already searched for the first video in this thread.

I absoulutely agree with most of your comments. Growth is not sustainable in a finite world. I believe the world could sustain a higher population IF we did things better and smarter. I agree, mismangement - and greed - are largely to blame.

I am reminded of The Story of Stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM
and the other videos in the series:
The Story of Cap and Trade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA6FSy6EKrM
The Story of Bottled Water http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0
The Story of Cosmetics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8
The Story of Electronics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_7i6T_H78
The Story of Citizens United v. FEC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5kHACjrdEY

All very interesting, confronting, entertaining and imperfect.

I would be surprised if they have not already been discussed in this forum but I am sure a lot of people have not seen them yet, so I mention them here purely as a part of the reality check/wake up call.

If we get too concerned with pulling them apart and critiquing every little detail, we are missing the bigger point. The sad thing is, we can watch all this "stuff" and then go back to our same old bad habits, thus perpetuating the problem. I am guilty of that.

We MUST find better ways to do things... sustainably and fairly.