Mary Dolan wrote: > "Overpopulation" problems exist where there are too many UNPRODUCTIVE people
Correct. However, to be productive people need the use of sufficient "land" (natural resources), and "capital" (tools, technology, infrastructure). Labor is not enough if there isn't anything to apply the labor to. There is also an issue of depletion. It is not just whether some biosphere is momentarily overpopulated, but whether the current population is sustainable in the long term. By that standard, the planet is overpopulated, if the only land and capital expected to become available is the kind available now, namely that based on surface agriculture and scattered living on the surface of the planet. As I have pointed out in an early paper, "Three Futures for Earth", http://www.pynthan.com/vri/3f4e_002.htm , there is an alternative, but it would involve housing all people and their economic activities in sealed, compact cities, probably sited below the surface, which operate like multi-generation starships, completely self-contained in materials, using only a little energy (probably geothermal). It is open living on the surface that is nonviable in the long term, a grim prospect for those of us who prefer to live in the open. -- Jon ---------------------------------------------------------------- Our efforts depend on donations from people like you. Directions for donors are at http://www.constitution.org/whatucando.htm Constitution Society 7793 Burnet Road #37, Austin, TX 78757 512/374-9585 www.constitution.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get your free digital certificate from http://www.thawte.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/KlSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
