When The earth Has Had It Up To Here With Humans

Hello, ATS. Not sure if this is the correct forum, however, I just want to pose this question to ATS and see what kind of response I get:

Does nature have a self destruct switch for humans? Once the world population reaches a certain number, is there a "kill" switch that turns on and wipes out a large number of the populous? Aside from natural resource depletion, will the kill switch be psychological? Genetic? Or otherwise? Is there a maximum capacity of humans/life forms that the Earth can take? If so, then what is that number? I found an article which places the magic limit for which the Earth can sustain humans at 9 to 10 Billion. The current population is at 7,758, 597, 500 and climbing.

Aside from the limited availability of freshwater, there are indeed constraints on the amount of food that Earth can produce, just as Malthus argued more than 200 years ago. Even in the case of maximum efficiency, in which all the grains grown are dedicated to feeding humans (instead of livestock, which is an inefficient way to convert plant energy into food energy), there's still a limit to how far the available quantities can stretch. "If everyone agreed to become vegetarian, leaving little or nothing for livestock, the present 1.4 billion hectares of arable land (3.5 billion acres) would support about 10 billion people," Wilson wrote.

The 3.5 billion acres would produce approximately 2 billion tons of grains annually, he explained. That's enough to feed 10 billion vegetarians, but would only feed 2.5 billion U.S. omnivores, because so much vegetation is dedicated to livestock and poultry in the United States.

So 10 billion people is the uppermost population limit where food is concerned. Because it's extremely unlikely that everyone will agree to stop eating meat, Wilson thinks the maximum carrying capacity of the Earth based on food resources will most likely fall short of 10 billion.
Fortunately, we may be spared from entering the end-times phase of overpopulation and starvation envisioned by Malthus. According to the United Nations Population Division, the human population will hit 7 billion on or around Oct. 31, and, if its projections are correct, we're en route to a population of 9 billion by 2050, and 10 billion by 2100. However, somewhere on the road between those milestones, scientists think we'll make a U-turn.
www.livescience.com...

I'm finding conflicting information on this subject. The first article from LiveScience says the Earth will reach 10 billion by 2100 and the article from World Population View says 2050.

In 2018, the world’s population growth rate was 1.12%. Every five years since the 1970s, the population growth rate has continued to fall. The world’s population is expected to continue to grow larger but at a much slower pace. By 2030, the population will exceed 8 billion. In 2040, this number will grow to more than 9 billion. In 2055, the number will rise to over 10 billion, and another billion people won’t be added until near the end of the century. The current annual population growth estimates from the United Nations are in the millions - estimating that over 80 million new lives are added each year.
worldpopulationreview.com...

I confused now as to what year Earth will reach its limit. However, I think it's something important Humans need to be aware of. What says ATS?

worldpopulationreview.com...
www.livescience.com...

Considering that the vast majority of the world is not actually populated I think their assumptions are off quite a bit.

I do think nature has a way of cleansing itself with disease. Over population will eventually cause disease to take root and kill off a bunch of people. Zombie apocalypse here we come.

The Earth as an entity doesn't even know we exist. Numbers? What numbers. there are a trillion times more ants in the world and the Earth doesn't rebel against them.
Stop falling for this Eugenics BS of over population. I read somewhere (look for yourself) that if all the humans were put together they would only cover 1-8th of the land mass, and that land mass is only 1 3rd of the Earth. There's more room than people realise.

I believe the kill switch could definitely be a pandemic. As the population grows people will be closer together. Close quarters are a friend of deadly viruses.

Now because of more population there is more building over and destroying habitats that, up until that time, humans rarely strayed into (aside from maybe hunters etc). When we get into places that haven't seen much human interaction (at least in a direct physical manner) there could be a high likely hood that there is a deadly virus and/or bacteria that has the potential to wipe us all out.

Viruses can lay dormant for decades....All it takes is something with the right protein configurations (humans or animals) to come in contact with it through air, ingestion of food, water etc to then activate and spread.

I sometimes think humans are a virus...

originally posted by: crayzeed
The Earth as an entity doesn't even know we exist. Numbers? What numbers. there are a trillion times more ants in the world and the Earth doesn't rebel against them.
Stop falling for this Eugenics BS of over population. I read somewhere (look for yourself) that if all the humans were put together they would only cover 1-8th of the land mass, and that land mass is only 1 3rd of the Earth. There's more room than people realize.

Whoa! Slow down there...........I'm only asking a question. As far as Ants go, they aren't even close to being as destructive to the environment as we humans are.

a reply to: crayzeed

Ants don't drill for oil and lithium. They don't produce plastics or cell phones. They don't mass manufacture automobiles. They don't dig for coal. They don't build rockets and shoot them into space.

Seriously... use your brain man... this isn't a question of room, it's a question of resources.


The self destruct mechanism the OP speaks about is built into all of us.

Those mechanisms are called, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wraith, Envy, and Pride.

originally posted by: Edumakated
Considering that the vast majority of the world is not actually populated I think their assumptions are off quite a bit.

I do think nature has a way of cleansing itself with disease. Over population will eventually cause disease to take root and kill off a bunch of people. Zombie apocalypse here we come.

Interesting viewpoint. Thanks.

originally posted by: BerkshireEntity
I believe the kill switch could definitely be a pandemic. As the population grows people will be closer together. Close quarters are a friend of deadly viruses.

Now because of more population there is more building over and destroying habitats that, up until that time, humans rarely strayed into (aside from maybe hunters etc). When we get into places that haven't seen much human interaction (at least in a direct physical manner) there could be a high likely hood that there is a deadly virus and/or bacteria that has the potential to wipe us all out.

Viruses can lay dormant for decades....All it takes is something with the right protein configurations (humans or animals) to come in contact with it through air, ingestion of food, water etc to then activate and spread.

I sometimes think humans are a virus...

Thanks for your input!

originally posted by: MarkOfTheV
a reply to: crayzeed

Ants don't drill for oil and lithium. They don't produce plastics or cell phones. They don't mass manufacture automobiles. They don't dig for coal. They don't build rockets and shoot them into space.

Seriously... use your brain man... this isn't a question of room, it's a question of resources.


The self destruct mechanism the OP speaks about is built into all of us.

Those mechanisms are called, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wraith, Envy, and Pride.

I'm glad that you get it.

a reply to: MarkOfTheV
Your reply is no way near the OP posit. "Will the Earth shuck us off". Your reasons are pure man made. yes, I can agree with you that man will be the down fall of man but it aint got anything to do with the Earth as an entity.

Double post.

Sorry

a reply to: lostbook

Population growth is already declining in developing nations. It is likely that our global population replacement growth will slow as we approach 2100 and eventually stop or fall to negatives by 2100.

250 years from today, the crisis will be maintaining a population to carry our civilization. Of course, by then we will have merged with our AI and the conversation will be fairly irrelevant.

originally posted by: 0zzymand0s
a reply to: lostbook

Population growth is already declining in developing nations. It is likely that our global population replacement growth will slow as we approach 2100 and eventually stop or fall to negatives by 2100.

250 years from today, the crisis will be maintaining a population to carry our civilization. Of course, by then we will have merged with our AI and the conversation will be fairly irrelevant.

I for one welcome our new AI overlords.

When The earth Has Had It Up To Here With Humans

It will shake us off like a bad case of flea's..I think the process has started!

the earth is not a sentient being so the earth won't ever "have it up to here" as you put it. why would nature try to kill us anyway even if that wasn't the case and it was sentient?

a reply to: crayzeed

Oh it knows we are here..

There still are some individuals who connect, but sooner than later, the day shall come when we are separated entirely, and on this day will start to wilt and die.

The sickness already is here.

a reply to: namehere

It is not nature that is trying to kill us, it is ourselves not wanting to be a part of nature.

We are our own death.

a reply to: solve

the way i see it, the ultimate goal of nature is to create a lifeform that can trancend worldly limitations and spread out into space, to spread nature where natural processes cannot. i don't think nature cares how we do it, even if it has to sacrifice one world to do it.

originally posted by: crayzeed
a reply to: MarkOfTheV
Your reply is no way near the OP posit. "Will the Earth shuck us off". Your reasons are pure man made. yes, I can agree with you that man will be the down fall of man but it aint got anything to do with the Earth as an entity.

Earth is just the local neighborhood for God to express Itself as dense animated life forms. God is Earth as well (a conscious thing). In approximately 1000 years this TSI experiment will cease and Earth will be pristine wilderness again. Humans will have moved on as occupants; but will still be able to visit.