The following are overpopulation myths and faults guided by me (Restoration Ecologist) into Chat GPT. Some of these bullets can (and should) be expanded upon for context/nuance reasons, but I think they are all pretty good. I think it covers most levels of education on the topic.

Myth 1: Overpopulation is a Myth

• Faults:
  • Often based on claims that population growth has slowed or stabilized in some regions. While this is true for parts of the world, global population continues to grow, particularly in developing countries.
  • It ignores the uneven distribution of resources and the strain caused by dense urban populations in specific regions.
  • Overlooks the compounding effects of high population numbers on climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion.

Myth 2: Technology Will Save Us

• Faults:
  • Assumes that technological innovation can infinitely outpace population growth and resource consumption, which is not guaranteed.
  • Ignores diminishing returns in efficiency gains and the unintended consequences of technologies (e.g., fossil fuels initially improved productivity but led to climate change).
  • Overreliance on unproven technologies like geoengineering or lab-grown food as "silver bullets."

Myth 3: The World Has Plenty of Space

• Faults:
  • Misinterprets "space" as merely physical landmass, ignoring that most land is unsuitable for human habitation (e.g., deserts, mountains).
  • Overlooks the ecological "space" required for biodiversity, agriculture, and carbon sequestration.
  • Ignores infrastructure limits like water, food production, and waste management.

Myth 4: Overpopulation is Only a Problem in Poor Countries

• Faults:
  • Fails to account for the disproportionate resource consumption and environmental impact of wealthy, developed nations.
  • Overlooks global interdependence; consumption in developed countries often drives unsustainable practices in poorer regions.
  • Population growth in developing nations intensifies pressures already exacerbated by global inequities.

Myth 5: Population Growth Always Boosts the Economy

• Faults:
  • Oversimplifies the relationship between population growth and economic growth, ignoring how diminishing resources and infrastructure strain reduce productivity.
  • Does not account for overpopulation-induced costs like healthcare, education, and unemployment.
  • Fails to factor in the negative effects of environmental degradation on economies.

Myth 6: Family Planning and Birth Control Are Enough to Solve Overpopulation

• Faults:
  • While crucial, these measures alone cannot address overpopulation's existing pressures or systemic issues like poverty and resource inequities.
  • Often met with cultural, political, or religious resistance in certain areas, limiting their effectiveness.
  • Cannot retroactively fix decades of high growth rates and their accumulated impact.

Myth 7: Declining Birth Rates Mean the Problem is Solved

• Faults:
  • Population momentum: even with declining birth rates, population numbers can continue to grow for decades due to younger age structures.
  • Ignores regional disparities; some areas have stabilized populations while others still experience high growth.
  • Fails to address existing resource depletion and environmental damage caused by current population levels.

Myth 8: Nature Will Naturally Regulate Overpopulation

• Faults:
  • Assumes that famine, disease, or conflict will reduce population to sustainable levels, which ignores the ethical and humanitarian catastrophes these involve.
  • Environmental collapse or mass die-offs don’t solve underlying systemic issues and may worsen societal inequities.
  • Overlooks the long-term degradation of ecosystems and carrying capacities, which can make recovery more difficult.

Myth 9: Overpopulation is a Recent Problem

• Faults:
  • Historical examples like Easter Island, St. Matthew Island's deer population, and other localized collapses show that overpopulation has been a recurring issue throughout history.
  • Modern global connectivity and industrialization have simply scaled the problem to a planetary level.
  • This view ignores long-standing warnings, such as those by Thomas Malthus or Paul Ehrlich, which remain relevant in principle.

Myth 10: Reducing Consumption Alone is Enough

• Faults:
  • While reducing consumption is vital, it does not address how population numbers exacerbate resource use, even at modest per-capita levels.
  • Assumes equitable reductions in consumption globally, which is politically and socially challenging to achieve.
  • Ignores the tipping points caused by overpopulation in fragile ecosystems and resource-limited regions.

Myth 11: Overpopulation is a Problem for Future Generations

• Faults:
  • Misunderstands the urgency of the issue; many overpopulation-related problems (e.g., resource depletion, environmental degradation, food scarcity) are already evident today.
  • Ignores cumulative impacts: the longer overpopulation persists, the harder it is to mitigate its effects.
  • Neglects how current population growth exacerbates climate change and biodiversity loss, which will disproportionately affect future generations.

Myth 12: Immigration Will Solve Low Birth Rates in Developed Countries

• Faults:
  • While immigration can offset declining populations in some regions, it doesn’t address the global overpopulation problem—population growth is simply redistributed.
  • Can lead to political and social tensions in host countries, creating resistance to sustainable solutions.
  • Fails to consider whether the carrying capacity of developed countries can handle significant population increases without exacerbating environmental pressures.

Myth 13: Economic Development Reduces Population Growth Automatically

• Faults:
  • While economic development often correlates with lower birth rates, it doesn’t happen uniformly or quickly enough to address urgent overpopulation issues.
  • Economic growth can increase resource consumption, often worsening ecological impacts.
  • Cultural, political, and societal factors can override economic trends, delaying or preventing reductions in population growth.

Myth 14: Population Growth is Necessary to Support Aging Populations

• Faults:
  • Short-term thinking: increasing the younger population to support aging demographics only delays the problem and creates a larger aging population in the future.
  • Ignores alternative solutions like technological advancements, improved productivity, and adjustments to retirement and labor policies.
  • Places unsustainable demands on resources and ecosystems to sustain larger populations.

Myth 15: Overpopulation Can Be Solved Without Addressing Inequality

• Faults:
  • Overlooks how poverty and inequality drive high birth rates in many regions due to lack of access to education, healthcare, and family planning.
  • Ignores the role of wealthier nations in consuming a disproportionate share of global resources, exacerbating the impacts of overpopulation.
  • Sustainable solutions require equitable resource distribution and empowerment of vulnerable populations, not just a numbers-based approach.

Myth 16: Urbanization Solves Overpopulation

• Faults:
  • While urbanization can concentrate populations and reduce per-capita resource use, it often leads to overcrowding, poor living conditions, and strain on urban infrastructure.
  • Urban sprawl caused by expanding cities consumes arable land and disrupts ecosystems.
  • Cities depend on rural areas for food, water, and other resources, so urbanization doesn’t eliminate the pressures of overpopulation—it redistributes them.

Myth 17: Education Alone Will Solve Overpopulation

• Faults:
  • While education, particularly for women, is a powerful tool, it must be combined with accessible healthcare, family planning, and economic opportunities to be effective.
  • Systemic barriers (e.g., cultural norms, political resistance) often hinder the implementation of educational programs in regions with high birth rates.
  • Education takes time to affect population trends, making it insufficient as a standalone solution for urgent crises.

Myth 18: Climate Change is a Bigger Issue Than Overpopulation

• Faults:
  • Frames the two issues as separate, when in reality, overpopulation significantly contributes to climate change through increased emissions, deforestation, and resource consumption.
  • Solutions to climate change (e.g., renewable energy) become harder to implement effectively with an ever-growing global population.
  • Reducing population pressures can amplify climate change mitigation efforts, making them complementary issues rather than competing priorities.

Myth 19: Overpopulation is Too Controversial to Address

• Faults:
  • While sensitive, avoiding the topic worsens its impacts and delays necessary action.
  • Solutions like voluntary family planning, education, and sustainable policies can address the issue without violating human rights.
  • Framing overpopulation as an environmental and quality-of-life issue rather than solely a demographic one can make it less polarizing and more actionable.

We have too many children who aren’t being looked after and don’t have loving caring parents

The rules need to change so that anyone male female non binary single or in a relationship who is wanting to become a parent is instead directed to adoption until all children are cared for

Then and only then should sex become legal again

Any excuse about how people need sex is pathetic and just not true

(were you having sex as a kid? No? Then you don’t “Need” it now)

I think we need to understand that the current situation we are where the world lacks the resources to provide for so many people and where nobody can afford housing, healthcare and food as we used to before calls for some massive changes. We can’t afford pensions for old people anymore, and we can’t keep growing in numbers just to make everyone have worse jobs and less life quality than the previous generations. Those who want to keep the population growing know they won’t be the ones most affected by the downsides of it, even on contrary they might be benefiting from it, like pensionists or rich people who need cheaper and desperate working force.

I'm sick and tired when I see on reddit - people being contented with the fact that India's fertility rate is below the Replacement rate of 2.1. I'll be contented when your population actually starts declining.

I'm so frustrated that people just look at one statistic on India's fertility rate without looking at the entire picture. Having lower fertility rate doesn't always mean declining population. India's population will still grow until atleast 2060s and maybe even 2070s and will reach the threshold of around 1.6B - 1.8B which means atleast 200M - 400M more people than what we have now. Can you imagine this?

I live in this country - in the most polluted city on planet Earth right now - New Delhi. It's a rat race every day in this country. Every day you're fighting a war in this country. War against pollution and fighting for clean air, war against unimaginable traffic congestion and chaos, war against 1000s of people applying for just 10 job positions, war against skyrocketing inflation and real estate prices, war against billionaires who pay you $3,000 a year (not month) but a year who say that young people of this country are lazy bums for not wanting to work atleast 80hrs/week for $3,000/yr pay, war against horny people who breed like rabbits and use those children as begging scammers and retirement pension schemes, war against people who want to chop down entire forests and destroy habitats for their own financial motives, war for your own personal space, war for a below average (not good) but just a below average standard of living etc. Imagine living in this modern day shithole and you're telling me to be optimistic about the fact that fertility rate is down and below the replacement rate. Absolutely NO.

Nobody respects us Indians. We are just slaves who build infrastructure in middle East and then die building that infrastructure in extreme heat. You ask why - because these rich middle East nations have shit tons of oil but very less people. Less people and more resources means better quality of life for everyone. More people who just can't stop breeding with very scarce resources and space - and you end up like a country which is India.

How often have you seen Americans or Canadians or people from rich countries trying to come to India for better opportunities. Very less or never? It is always the other way around. Indians flock in massive numbers and immigrate to these rich countries in the millions in hope for a better quality of life. Is escaping India the way forward or solving your horny problem to control overpopulation is the solution. I believe the latter one is.

Our government allows people to breed like rabbits because they could then export this labour to foreign countries where they'll be heavily exploited for a shit pay that they'll send to their families in the form of remittances which is the one of the main sources of income for countries like India. And that's why our corrupt and incompetent government doesn't stop people from nonstop breeding.

The answer is plain and simple. Earth has limited amount of resources. Less people means better resource distribution and higher quality of life for all people. More people and you end up like India where people fight a war every single day for survival.

Scandinavian countries are perfect examples of this. You got these tiny countries with high amount of resources that have a population size of less than or equal to ten million and with that you end up with an incredibly rich and prosperous nation with highly educated people, unparalleled social benifits and the highest quality of life you could find on the entire planet.

So, let me finish this by saying - Nobody gives or should give a shit about the falling fertility rate of India. I'll become optimistic when population actually starts declining and I hope it declines at a rapid pace...

Meanwhile, politicians and the wealthy elites get richer with our labor and taxes. The motive is clear. Don't believe their BS. End of my short rant.

But do kids want to be born?

I think they assume that kids going into this world are happy or will learn to deal with it are just too selfish and if not bad.

I know that there are chances that i could bring someone so unadjusted to our not so great world

I wll not bring anyone to this world ,despite or not how wealthy i am .

I don’t know why nobody ever think about it ?

And some people said that best way to deal with unhappy life is too just be happy , do this and that , but if they are in your situation, we wouldn’t even sure they can be as good as you ,so really , we can not compete for who have more problems or whose have it worse .

The best to ask them do they need help , if that’s available, not to compete. It does not help them .

Especially in my country - India. I live in New Delhi which right now is the shittiest and most unlivable city in the world thanks to its extreme overpopulation and pollution.

It's sad to see people pumping out babies left and right without realising how detrimental and toxic the air is and how ridiculously pathetic the economy is.

People in such countries are pumping out babies left and right to eventually export them to the rest of the world and use them as their retirement income. It's sad and unfortunate.

That's why I believe it's high time to stop these mfs from breeding like rabbits and prevent them from detoriating the quality of life of a country that already has one of the worst quality of lives of any countries on planet Earth and bring that to other rich nations.

If you want kids, please adopt. There are hundreds of millions of kids in this world that demand our attention and care and would be eternally grateful and loving to their adopters. Advocating for Overpopulation doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself of the pleasures of parenthood.

So in a nutshell, I think every country especially countries like India and China and other nations with really high birth rates should introduce a rigid strict one child or two child policy to curb overpopulation.

https://en.namu.wiki/w/1%EC%96%B5%20%EB%82%B4%EC%88%98%EB%A1%A0

In fact, many people hope that South Korea's population will surpass 100 million, even though South Korea is mountainous and smaller than England.

Hey everyone - Happy Thanksgiving! (For my non-American friends, happy thursday!)

I need your help. I am putting together a myth busting paper on overpopulation.

I have been on Reddit for a year now and I think I have a decent grasp on most of them, but I need input from you all in case there are some I am missing.

So, if you would be so kind to offer up annoyances/arguments you can't stand to hear and post them below so I can adequatley "bust" them.

With the help of Chat GPT (Wish I had this in Grad School lol.) I have a massive outline put together and I am going to start writing over the next few weeks. My hope is that it will be something you can all use.

Thanks!

The theme of the paper will be how all modern problems lead to overpopulation. (Kinda like all roads lead to Rome.)

There are places that are overpopulated, but if people were dispersed, there would be enough space for everyone.

https://unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com/p/the-earth-is-better-with-more-people

I've seen claims that a planet with 100 billion people is a better place to live than a planet with 2 billion people.

TBF tho, he stated that wants "talents" from other countries, but his companies laid off many people* with skills and education. Also he plans on laying off many government employees with talents too.

It sounds like his actions are* saying that his businesses and the government is overpopulated.

Edit: typos

What's on your mind? You can chat here if you don't want to make a new post. Or drop in and see what others are talking about.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink

Not sure if anyone else has posted about this before. What are y'all's thoughts about the social effects of our current population trends?

What's on your mind? You can chat here if you don't want to make a new post. Or drop in and see what others are talking about.

https://preview.redd.it/9qs02msjc81e1.png?width=717&format=png&auto=webp&s=5932003d019247c808092ffdd22a85acb6ff1ce6

As you can see from the area marked on the map, there are over 50 million people living in such a small South Korean land. If the average population density of the world were South Korea, it would be close to 70 billion.

You may know that Korea's birth rate is extremely low, but I doubt that it is at an extinction level. In creative works based on the future, there are many alien races with extremely high aging rates and civilizations. Rather than being afraid, wouldn't it be more reasonable to seek a change to such a society?

In addition, since the marriage rate in Korea has been increasing explosively recently, I doubt that this birth rate will continue.

For one, it doesn't account for Cost of Living. Nowadays I take anything from the government and MSM with a grain of salt.

Off-topic. Delete if you want, my man.