An interesting little phenomenon is underway throughout the month of February called the “Global Population Speak Out.” It was first started in 2009 by environmental writer John Feeney. This year, he’s enlisted the help of a group that calls themselves the Population Institute. Their stated goal with the GPSO campaign is to break the taboo of talking publicly about Earth’s human population problem and related ecological and environmental ills.
Instead of writing one of my usual posts about research, I’m just going to direct you to the GPSO site, and also to the Center for Biological Diversity’s Overpopulation Campaign which has some good information about the connections between human population and the current extinction crisis, including this nice little USGS graph showing how species extinction rates are linked to the growth of a single specie’s meta-population:
12 thoughts on “Overpopulation and species extinctions”
SuSuum
This graph shows it better than a thousand words.
It scares the hell out of me, and makes me grieve for the lost species.
You may wish to have a look at:
http://susuum.wordpress.com/2010/08/
tarhartzo
“This year, he’s enlisted the help of a group that calls themselves the Population Institute. Their stated goal with the GPSO campaign is to break the taboo of talking publicly about Earth’s human population problem and related ecological and environmental ills.”
Where else can I read about it?
Alec Sevins
That graph needs to be shoved in the face of “sportsmen” who claim the animals they kill (often for fun) are “overpopulated” and that humans are mere “stewards” of the situation. They ignore root cause & effect. Man has wiped out natural predators and constricted habitat in countless ways. Shooting the remaining animals “for their own good” is a farce, even if it has become necessary due to imbalances.
Keith Meredith
This is dramatic. not just for the wildlife but for our own good. we are 7 Billion on the planet and that is projected to rise to 9 billion by 2050….
But 2050 is just a generation away… That’s over 28% increase in just 27 years… What will the situation be in 3050 , do you care? You will not be around but your descendants will …. Actually they will not unless the problem of world population is stemmed rapidly…. otherwise there will be terrible wars over limited resources like food, water and land…
If population continues to rise at the present rate, by year 3050 there would not even be 1m² of space for each human being on the planet….
hebintn
Soylent Green comes to mind. Is that our future?
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Martin Gustavsson - Vetenskapliga partiet
I started a political party to solve this issue in Sweden, my country. I suggest we all do the same everywhere. The political parties has to be run by scientific people in the future. I have made an English page for this also. I call it http://intelligentunion.wordpress.com Do copy and translate to your own countries!
Publish if you like, or not, but this is only for you DeLene, because you are a rare beautiful flower in the midst of … less ability… to use the brain:
– When ever you need insemination of intelligent genes, in order to create humans who do understand the exponential function and have the heart and courage to act on it then do feel free to contact me!
DeLene
Martin: 1. I’m married. 2. I have a son. 3. Though I’m sure you meant this as a compliment, it is no way a compliment for a man I don’t know to offer to inseminate me; as if this is some sort of wonderful gift you’re willing to bestow. It’s not a gift. It’s harassment, pure and simple. Since you were so eager to offer your overwhelmingly generous gift, and were unafraid to have it published, I’ve shared it far and wide: http://bit.ly/1tqJR2A.
Martin Gustavsson - Vetenskapliga partiet
Insemination for the well-being of all humans and animals in the future is in my opinion the ultimate token of pure love.
So. I suggest you take your disturbance as an awakening sign that you misunderstand something you assumed you understood!
If I hand you a lemon and tell you that its sourness lies outside the lemon, you will think I am joking. Yet, with a perfectly straight face you tell me that your sour experience is caused by me. When will you learn that you are the cause of your own feelings of either happiness or anxiety?
And by the way. Since you look so young I assumed you were not married, and if you were, you might still need insemination for many different reasons.
In wordpress-admin you can go to settings-write-discussion and adjust your publishing policy if you like! WordPress rocks! ;-)
Chuck Aster
This is a note to Martin. Martin mate, you seem a bit mixed up. What you are doing is so astoundingly inappropriate, you have no idea. Or maybe you do. If you don’t, I’d suggest you seek help. You comments are extremely creepy. Please take this poor behavior elsewhere … or better yet, nowhere at all. Thanks, and good work as usual Ms. Beeland.
Martin Gustavsson - Vetenskapliga partiet
Thanks for caring for my mental health, Chuck. Ugly such things can be. Meditation is the key to mental health.
However I do not agree that what I say is inappropriate considering what is being done with nature by mentally insufficient people not wanting to have morals, who do not care at all for what happens to humanity or nature, the very thing that DeLene actually cares about, which means she has both a brain that is healthy (I like that), but not only that, she has a good heart and I love that in a pure way.
There are so many assholes, Chuck, who do not care at all or just look for the exterior in people. Just take a look around!
Creepy, Chuck, is people who vote for destruction of this planet, when the solution actually is quite simple. It is called balance.
The poor mental behavior of these poor individuals we will be able to deminish, by letting better genes reproduce, letting non-caring, unintelligent genes dissappear, Chuck.
And feel sure and relaxed Ms. Beeland, I am respectable and was absolutely not refering to “natural insemination” since I live in celibacy like a Buddha.
I am only here because I looked for the diagram she has as a picture here in order to convince unknowing assholes to become caring individuals.
This is my last post unless someone adresses me here again. Now I have a planet to save. Take care of your own mental health everyone!
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