"I think I may fairly make two postulata. First, That food is necessary to the existence of man. Secondly, That the passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state. These two laws, ever since we have had any knowledge of mankind, appear to have been fixed laws of our nature, and, as we have not hitherto seen any alteration in them, we have no right to conclude that they will ever cease to be what they now are, without an immediate act of power in that Being who first arranged the system of the universe, and for the advantage of his creatures, still executes, according to fixed laws, all its various operations.
...
Assuming then my postulata as granted, I say, that the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio."
[...]
Pimentel and Nielsen, working independently, found that the human population has passed the numerical point where all can live in comfort, and that we have entered a stage where many of the world's citizens and future generations are trapped in misery.[3] There is evidence that a catastrophe is underway as of at least the 1990s; for example, by the year 2000, children in developing countries were dying at the rate of approximately 11,000,000 per annum from strictly preventable diseases.[4][5] This data suggests that by the standard of misery, the catastrophe is underway. The term 'misery' can generally be construed as: high infant mortality, low standards of sanitation, malnutrition, inadequate drinking water, new and widespread diseases (e.g. HIV), war, political unrest.
[...]
A 2004 study by a group of prominent economists and ecologists, including Kenneth Arrow and Paul Ehrlich[13] suggests that the central concerns regarding sustainability have shifted from population growth to the consumption/savings ratio, due to shifts in population growth rates since the 1970s. Empirical estimates show that public policy (taxes or the establishment of more complete property rights) can promote more efficient consumption and investment that are sustainable in an ecological sense; that is, given the current (relatively low) population growth rate, the Malthusian catastrophe can be avoided by either a shift in consumer preferences or public policy that induces a similar shift.
This topic has interested me for a while, because i've been thinking about how we humans behave and expand. Al Gore might have won the Nobel Peace prize for awakening the world on the global climate troubles, but in my opinion thats just a small part of the picture. also, food is not only a part of the human equation these days, but energy aswell.
this is in my opinion a topic on the very foundations of global political stability, and it is actually getting close to that point that we have to start worrying about the fundations of our reality. lack of food is tragic for those at the bottom, lack of oil is tragic for those at the top. When people start uusing corn-fields to create biofuel even when there is lack of food for alot of people in the world, you know whats got priority.
we are actually living in a world where we easily sacrifice the poor for the welfare of the rich, even though the definition of rich is today more evenly distributed among the human population, its probably not fun for the 9/10 who are not a part of that group. and i find it highly unlikely that the enviromentalists of the world will be able to turn our materialistic and consumeristic ways of life around before we hit the wall.
today, the world is still a basket of fruits and vegetables, and those with power have very little problems getting enough for what they need. but we still fight because what we need is not what we want. imagine what will happen the day that people truly realize that we are no longer in the "I want this" situation, but in the "i NEED this" situation.
there will be fighting. i don't think i really want to go into the details because it is pretty much our inaction at present time that would cause the horrors of such a situation.
i had more in mind, but i believe this should cover the basics for now.