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Page added on March 17, 2014
NASA study: Over-population, depleting resources and wealth distribution
Civilisation could be facing collapse within the next few decades as a result of rising global population,. depleting resources and economic divide. Source: ThinkStock
LOVING life? Well, lap it up because the days of driving around in comfy cars, feasting on fancy food and enjoying an aircon-cooled civilised existence could be numbered.
With rising population, depleting natural resources and stretching social divide, civilisation could be facing collapse within the next few decades according to a scientific study funded by NASA. And if you think this is a load of scaremongering tosh, it’s happened before. Remember the Roman Empire?
In the report conducted by applied mathematician, Safa Motesharri, his ‘Human And Nature Dynamical’ (Handy) model claims “the process of rise-and-collapse is actually a recurrent cycle found throughout history”.
“The fall of the Roman Empire, and the equally (if not more) advanced Han, Mauryan, and Gupta Empires, as well as so many advanced Mesopotamian Empires, are all testimony to the fact that advanced, sophisticated, complex, and creative civilisations can be both fragile and impermanent.”
Our modern world might appear to be pretty sure of itself with advanced technologies helping people live longer and revolutionising everyday life but this might be to blame. Using his theoretical model Motesharri explored several factors and ran different scenarios that could lead to the collapse of industrial civilisation and found a break down of society could arise from global population growing rapidly and unsustainable resource exploitation.
And as resources deplete, they will become more expensive. This is where he further states that “economic stratification” — where society is further divided based on wealth — will create “Elites” (rich) and “Masses” (poor) with the Elites being responsible for over consuming leaving the Masses in famine and collapsing social structure.
But before you start hoarding resources, the study does conclude that this scenario is not inevitable and that in order to prevent such catastrophe it calls on action by the Elites to share the wealth and to do their bit in restoring balance.
“Collapse can be avoided and population can reach equilibrium if the per capita rate of depletion of nature is reduced to a sustainable level, and if resources are distributed in a reasonably equitable fashion”
It does serve as a wake up call that if we don’t want to face disaster we need to seriously consider how we manage resources, population growth and wealth. The end is not yet nigh…if we can help it.
6 Comments on "NASA study: Over-population, depleting resources and wealth distribution"
Davy, Hermann, MO on Mon, 17th Mar 2014 12:52 pm
“Collapse can be avoided and population can reach equilibrium if the per capita rate of depletion of nature is reduced to a sustainable level, and if resources are distributed in a reasonably equitable fashion”
Any of you that read my post know I am a systems proponent. My world view is based on a systematic approach. My mind works that way and I admit I am repetitious and anal about it. Yet, it has a place in our discussions. The author offers a possible solution that is as likely as world peace and prosperity. It has zero chance in my book if one realizes nothing escapes life cycles in a finite world. Society will break to a lower level and it will be messy, ugly, and irreversible.
noobtube on Mon, 17th Mar 2014 2:42 pm
The population problem is always the area where people are screaming about it the most… namely the United States and Europe.
Each useless eater in these places adds an immense burden on the resources of the planet.
They are the forest destroyers, oil burners, and nuclear wasters.
Too many Europeans and Americans. I wonder will they take the lead in eliminating themselves as the biggest burdens on this little blue globe.
Will Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller, and their ilk take themselves and their useless families and eliminate themselves to give the world a break? I’m quite sure their private jets and mega-mansions are not exactly eco-friendly.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Mon, 17th Mar 2014 3:08 pm
Noob, the little more than rabbits breeding people in the 3rd world are no better than the wealthy fat obese and brain dead 1st world and their rich criminal 1%ers. We humans are a plague species rich to poor.
Boat on Mon, 17th Mar 2014 4:14 pm
Last I read the US average family has 1.9 children and it takes 2.1 for the population to remain stable. We could start by ending immigration and quit giving tax breaks to those that have children. Many other developed countries are or would decline without immigration. Seems like a reasonable place to start.
rollin on Mon, 17th Mar 2014 5:19 pm
When a person takes the wrong direction and pursues it to it’s inevitable conclusion, the end result is failure, sometimes death, and one lives with the consequences.
When much of a world insanely pursues many wrong directions, there is nowhere to hide from the resulting inevitable conclusions.
Joe Clarkson on Mon, 17th Mar 2014 7:46 pm
System dynamics models used by Meadows et al over forty years ago showed the same thing as Motesharri’s Handy model. I expect that Motesharri’s work will have the same impact on business-as-usual as did the publication of Limits to Growth in 1972; absolutely none.