J Curve

Take a look at this chart
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Population_curve.svg>

It is a classic J curve, the sign that a population of an animal, any animal, has exploded beyond any reasonable bounds and quickly approaching the point where it is going to collapse, catastrophically.

That is where humanity is at, right now. Our population has exploded beyond any reasonable bounds, and is quickly approaching the point of catastrophic collapse.

This is the underlying reason why our society, both here and around the world, is starting to come apart. We simply don't have the resources to continue to support this kind of population. Our technology can't solve this problem, our social programs can't solve this problem, our economic models can't solve this problem, nor can resource reallocation solve this problem. At best these are short term band aid solutions that would put off the time of reckoning for a short time.

Yes, yes, I've heard it all before, "If you're so concerned about this, kill yourself", but that is not a serious answer for this serious problem.

In reality, the only solution is to institute a massive birth control program. That way, we can back down from this precipice we're on.

Otherwise, nature is going to take care of the problem for us, as it does for all species, with a spectacular crash and burn that will destroy humanity and possibly a good portion of the world.

We can voluntarily limit our population. This isn't a real popular notion, especially with the "forced birth" crowd, that thinks every ejaculation needs a birth certificate and a name. We would also have a tough sell with populations that have experienced true genocidal episodes, and are really sensitive to notions that any population should be limited. They hear "exterminate" all of their kind.

We can forcibly limit our population. This is, oddly enough, a more popular idea. Everyone seems to have a favorite for a group that should be scrubbed from the face of the earth. The problem here is cost, and the unpleasant tendency of target populations to fight back against existential threats.

If we do not put the brakes on our population growth, and get down to 3-5 billion persons, something else will do it for us, and whatever that force is, it will probably not be very selective. AIDS was looking like the bad-ass disease that was going to reduce world population, but humanity fought back pretty quickly and agressively. AIDS is still no walk in the park, but at least in more affluent countries, it's not the automatic death sentence it was even 25 years ago. But as horrific as AIDS was and is, the next contagion will most assuredly be worse.

Our major adversary right now is time, because the longer we delay, the more likely it is that something really bad is going to happen. We've frittered away about 50 years already, and the fuse is getting shorter. Who knows how much of the earth's flora and fauna we'll take with us as our numbers are "corrected"? I don't think humanity will be completely destroyed, but a massive die-off is in the works if we don't do something ourselves.