WOA! World Overpopulation Awareness

[BlueStar]

So much of the focus gets placed on improving our economies, which is almost a triviality compared to other issues facing the planet. One is overpopulation -- basically we're exceeding the capacity of the planet's ability to sustain us.

http://www.overpopulation.org/

A topic definitely worthy of focus.

[Lion Spirit Walker]

When it comes to this issue I've often thought of humans as being like lemmings. The difference being we know what we're doing.
Irregardless of the species, without change the outcome remains the same.

[Narnia]

Since I was a young kid, the rate of the Human population has always worried me ...

It is runner up reason why I don't ever plan on having children of my own ... there just too many people.

[BlueStar]

It's funny, when someone has a new baby, I'm happy for them but a little part of me is thinking "stop, we don't have room for anymore!" I do have great concerns about how resources will support us as we reach what they call 'the bottleneck' in history. Yet, I am glad when people that are truly fit parents bring a child into the world, knowing that this child will be raised well and will presumably become a decent human being. It's the people that are unfit to be parents and that seem to pop them out like they were rabbits that vex me. Children raised by unfit parents often tend to replicate their parents dysfunctions. When it comes to nature vs nurture, I'm on the side of the social scientists - I believe it's largely down to nurture. I actually believe prospective parents should undergo psychological testing before they're allowed to have children, for the sake of the children and the future of the human race.

[Lion Spirit Walker]

I was honestly dumb-struck when I realized that in my lifetime to date over a BILLION new human beings have been added to the global population.
It seems unreal.

[Narnia]

It's funny, when someone has a new baby, I'm happy for them but a little part of me is thinking "stop, we don't have room for anymore!" I do have great concerns about how resources will support us as we reach what they call 'the bottleneck' in history. Yet, I am glad when people that are truly fit parents bring a child into the world, knowing that this child will be raised well and will presumably become a decent human being. It's the people that are unfit to be parents and that seem to pop them out like they were rabbits that vex me. Children raised by unfit parents often tend to replicate their parents dysfunctions. When it comes to nature vs nurture, I'm on the side of the social scientists - I believe it's largely down to nurture. I actually believe prospective parents should undergo psychological testing before they're allowed to have children, for the sake of the children and the future of the human race.

Agreed, agreed, agreed and agreed!

[Lion Spirit Walker]

This is a valid issue of concern. But how can it be dealt with realistically?
I agree that psychological evaluations are a good idea in theory. But who has the wisdom to actually carry out such evaluations?
Here in the USA, from the 50's through the 70's many people were surgically altered so they couldn't reproduce. And many of those people were made to go through the proceedures without awarreness or consent. And it was all done because they were considered 'unfit' to reproduce.
Honestly, who can rightly pass such a judgement?
Still the over-population of our species continues, ever closer to a point of critical mass.

[BlueStar]

You're right of course Michael. Any such strategy would necessitate a very right-wing authoritarian approach, although I can see a time in our future where we may be forced into it for the sake of our own survival. What I sometimes find concerning is also the fact that often the people that reproduce the most are those who are least fit as parents (to put it politely), and whose inadequate parenting passes on psychological dysfunction from generation to generation. I see this so often and think, 'this is the future of society'. Hmm. I don't know. The key I think is not dwelling on this, but focussing on the only thing we ourselves can change, which is elevating our own consciousness, which can't help but heal the world and the collective in ways we can't yet begin to imagine. Once the inner change is in place, the outer can't help but change. Maybe we'll awaken to what we're doing to the planet and just know what we need to do to keep things (specifically ourselves as a species!) under control and back into alignment with the natural world. Change will come. It has to.

[Lion Spirit Walker]

I do agree my friend. An awakening to the Reality that truly is is our greatest hope. And we can only awaken our Self.
One day...

[BlueStar]

I think it was Eckhart Tolle who once pointed out that evolution happens out of necessity. The first fish didn't crawl onto land because it wanted to - something must have forced it to change, evolve and develop. same with birds! and same will probably be the case with us now. The dire necessities facing us, the need to change and adapt and evolve in order to survive will surely hasten our evolution as a species. And I do believe the true evolution will be an evolution in consciousness rather than form.

[Lion Spirit Walker]

As a species we are so numerous that as we change the entire Earth changes with us...

[kowalskil]

... The dire necessities facing us, the need to change and adapt and evolve in order to survive will surely hasten our evolution as a species. And I do believe the true evolution will be an evolution in consciousness rather than form.

Evolution in consciousness is indeed an important part of our evolution, as oppose to what happens in the animal world.

Ludwik Kowalski (see Wikipedia)