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elocs

(24,486 posts)

83. The "survival of the planet"? The Earth is not "alive" but has living things on it that can die.

Sat May 31, 2025, 07:44 AM

May 31

The Earth is just a rock in space that could be destroyed from its planet form, but it cannot "die" in the sense that we know death.

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What will happen if(when?) the birthrate drops dramatically? [View all] LAS14 May 29 OP

Isn't that why Trump and co. want to pay women to have babies? ananda May 29 #1

Yes, but if you read the interview, you see that it's a real problem. nt LAS14 May 29 #5

I do see that. ananda May 29 #15

No, it isn't. Why are you falling for right-wing bullshit? valleyrogue May 29 #24

Douthat is NYT's token republican right winger. defacto7 May 30 #79

I can't get into the article. Why is it a problem? yardwork May 31 #93

Pay white women to have babies. White women. mucholderthandirt May 30 #74

Well, I'd appreciate it if they'd pay me for giving birth to twins Crunchy Frog May 30 #78

That's an interesting take. ananda May 31 #105

Only white women. They want to keep whites as the majority. kerry-is-my-prez May 31 #100

Exactly! ananda May 31 #104

The Earth might breathe a sigh of relief? flvegan May 29 #2

Right. The earth is way too overpopulated now. raccoon May 29 #6

The earth might, but if you read the interview, you'll get the idea that humanity might not. nt LAS14 May 29 #7

i'm cool with that...if the other species get to survive. ret5hd May 30 #26

We're really going to go full Handmaids Tale on DU behind forced-birther Douthat's column? Prairie Gates May 29 #3

People can't afford to have children pcdb May 29 #17

Why is that scary? LearnedHand May 29 #4

Too little population to support civilization. Read the article. nt LAS14 May 29 #8

So, when did human civilization first begin, Crunchy Frog May 30 #29

Long time ago and when there wasn't a policy system of younger people supporting older people uponit7771 May 30 #31

The issue is our economy is built around growth EdmondDantes_ May 30 #33

Yes, it's time to begin seriously thinking about new economic models. Crunchy Frog May 30 #36

This is incompatible with liberalism. Self Esteem May 30 #41

Again, that's not a sustainable model EdmondDantes_ May 30 #55

Nope. Self Esteem May 30 #56

The Earth is not "just fine". NickB79 May 30 #71

Sure it is. Self Esteem May 30 #73

I'll probably get thrown out of here for this, but, Conjuay May 31 #89

If you want to support the social safety yet - yes that's the only answer. Self Esteem May 31 #99

So making ever greater quantities of junk Crunchy Frog May 30 #75

You're making an argument that isn't being made. Self Esteem May 31 #101

You accuse me of throwing out meaningless strawmen, then throw in meaningless stories about US cities. Crunchy Frog Jun 1 #107

Incorrect Self Esteem Jun 1 #114

TLDR, putting you on ignore now. Crunchy Frog Jun 1 #115

lmao...slink away. Self Esteem Jun 1 #116

No, it is not. RandomNumbers May 31 #88

Overpopulation is not the issue. Self Esteem May 31 #103

Capitalism also demands endless growth Retrograde May 30 #53

Civilization can maintain. The Plague proved that. haele May 30 #70

More like too much population that can't be supported on the limited resources this planet has. mwmisses4289 May 30 #58

The "survival of the planet"? The Earth is not "alive" but has living things on it that can die. elocs May 31 #83

Normally when people say "survival of the planet" RandomNumbers May 31 #96

I'll take the truth & honesty over rhetorical shorthand any day. elocs May 31 #97

You're calling someone "dishonest" RandomNumbers May 31 #98

I was asking why you said the falling birthrate was scary, not what the article said LearnedHand May 29 #10

Not enough young working folks to support an aging population.... Happy Hoosier May 30 #46

Yes to your last sentence RandomNumbers May 31 #86

Ross Douthat?? A right wing hack. madinmaryland May 29 #9

I don't know RJ-MacReady May 29 #11

Could you explain a little more? nt LAS14 May 29 #12

Not really RJ-MacReady May 30 #39

Douthat is not a scientist, anthropologist, statistician, or sociologist. There is no reason to take what he says WhiskeyGrinder May 29 #13

He was interviewing a person who had studied this issue extensively. nt LAS14 May 29 #14

Ha, that's on me, for drinking on a Thursday night. What do you find scary about it all? WhiskeyGrinder May 29 #16

Here's a fairly recent study from The Lancet TheProle May 29 #18

doesnt the workforce make things for ppl? wont fewer ppl need fewer products? mopinko May 29 #21

need vs want Retrograde May 30 #57

since 60% of americans mopinko May 30 #59

LOL. AI is going to make all of us obsolete anyway. The last thing we need is more people to Scrivener7 May 30 #37

Handmaids. milestogo May 29 #19

The article says the birth rate hasn't declined as much with muslims questionseverything May 29 #20

Disney parks and eating out will be a helluva lot more enjoyable. BannonsLiver May 29 #22

LOL!!!!! valleyrogue May 29 #23

Alice Evans appears to be a lunatic (not to mention an idiot as well) Wiz Imp May 30 #25

No, there are some who agree with her. Don't ask me who, because I'm not going to go seek Scrivener7 May 30 #38

Governments around the world are trying to find ways to replace their populations. nt LAS14 May 30 #48

That sounds extremely dangerous. MorbidButterflyTat May 30 #67

Well, we're not. We're imprisoning and deporting immigrants. yardwork May 31 #94

If you keep going backwards jumping 1000 years, the world was always surviving with fewer people and if the RoeVWade May 30 #27

I think Elon talks about it quite a bit Crunchy Frog May 30 #28

Not sure when we reached 1 billion, but we reached 4 billion around 1980, and in just the following Cloudhopper May 30 #30

The world population reached one billion in the early years of the 1800s. Crunchy Frog May 30 #35

obviously there was no innovation and no economic growth DBoon May 30 #54

Automation will fill in where humans can't uponit7771 May 30 #32

Meh. When I was born the population of the USA was about 180 million. Today it's twice that. Scrivener7 May 30 #34

The thing of it is, more women are not going for men at all. valleyrogue May 30 #61

Yes. Because for the first time in history, they don't have to. That's a good thing. Scrivener7 May 30 #62

I think pro-natalism is the wrong path. Oneironaut May 30 #40

Kudos for taking the question seriously and proposing a path forward. nt LAS14 May 30 #49

Going with, appreciate MORE who is here and not act like just churning out workers? Brainfodder May 30 #42

I only scanned the article, but... LudwigPastorius May 30 #43

I see that a lot of people assume that bringing attention to a problem is the same thing... LAS14 May 30 #44

what problem though? RJ-MacReady May 30 #45

Did you read the article? nt LAS14 May 30 #47

Yes I did RJ-MacReady May 30 #52

This is DU where there is no requirement to actually read an article to respond to it elocs May 31 #84

Endless population growth is a problem ITAL May 30 #50

Thanks for this. For acknowledging a problem and not leaping onto the... LAS14 May 30 #64

Elbow room lame54 May 30 #51

A much saner view of the topic which correctly points out that it is nothing remotely to fear. Wiz Imp May 30 #60

Interesting points. Thanks. nt LAS14 May 30 #65

+1 leftstreet May 30 #66

Make the old people take care of the babies, Crunchy Frog May 30 #80

Human population decline is a very good thing for the biosphere Mysterian May 31 #90

So women are supposed to get pregnant chowmama May 30 #63

The interview did not propose a solution. It simply described... LAS14 Jun 1 #113

Manufacturing fear MorbidButterflyTat May 30 #68

Climate change is expected to kill 10's, maybe 100's of millions Kaleva May 30 #69

Food insecurity (starvation) and declining health due to Mango Menace policies will do far worse damage dickthegrouch May 30 #72

Could be, could be. nt LAS14 Jun 1 #112

We allow in more immigrants, that's what we do. viva la May 30 #76

Supposedly it already has. Littlered May 30 #77

Evolution has no direction. Maybe the survivors will shrink to Hobbit size and learn how to live and let live. Ping Tung May 30 #81

We should be so lucky Raine May 31 #82

Same as it ever was ... the rich get richer, the poor suffer RandomNumbers May 31 #85

Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful response!! nt LAS14 Jun 1 #111

There Are Many Threats to Humanity. A Low Birth Rate Isn't One of Them. RandomNumbers May 31 #87

Thanks for a response that addresses the question, not the personalties. nt LAS14 Jun 1 #110

Such nonsense. 8 billion people in the world. travelingthrulife May 31 #91

Islam eventually takes over the world madville May 31 #92

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. yardwork May 31 #95

I liked the article, but I don't think it has solutions. gulliver May 31 #102

It absolutely doesn't have solutions. That's why I found it scary. LAS14 Jun 1 #109

More right-wing bullshit. Aristus May 31 #106

Aha! An answer that addresses the question, not the people articulating it. Thanks. LAS14 Jun 1 #108