Just finished a new article on the economics of declining population, check it out and leave a comment!
Discussion
Have always thought overpopulation is a problem. You make some good points I haven't thought about before. probably need more time to think on it to come around. I am still stuck on the earth having finite resources being a problem. topsoil degradation scares the shit out of me.
Thanks for the feedback!
There are definitely serious problems to deal with, no denying that. But I think the evidence shows that the more people we have working to solve those problems, the more successful we'll be.
Topsoil degradation is one I can speak to personally as a farmer. Yes, it can certainly be a problem. But it's a problem we know how to solve. Topsoil can be created as well as destroyed, and it's really a choice in farming practices. Just the fact of growing crops doesn't destroy topsoil. The biggest threat is erosion, which is mostly a side effect of tillage destabilizing the soil structure and exposing bare dirt to be washed away by rain.
On our farm, we switched to 100% continuous no-till about a decade ago. We don't do tillage at all. That eliminates most soil erosion by always keeping the soil covered with residue, and never disturbing the soil structure that holds everything together.
To build topsoil, you need organic matter. And the more productive your crop is, the more residue it will produce, which breaks down into organic matter for the soil. So fertilizing your crop to make it lush and productive, and leaving the crop residue on the field will build organic matter and topsoil over time.
On top of that, we also plant a lot of cover crops. These are typically planted in fall after the cash crop is harvested. It takes up any excess nutrients and keeps the soil stabilized and covered over the winter. Then in the spring we kill it off and leave the residue to break down and build organic matter, while also serving as a mulch to keep weeds down in the cash crop.
The improvement in our soil since making these changes has been incredible.
And in spite of the problems with soil degradation, crop yields just keep rising year after year. Again, agriculture productivity is a complex problem. But with so many people studying and experimenting, we learn to be more productive every year.
The biggest threat to agriculture isn't anything related to resource limitation. It's actually the threat of attack by governments and globalist organizations who seem determined to handicap our ability to produce food.