# World population has gone from 3 billion to 7 billion in just 50 years. Should we start panicking?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 1, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469 "2011-11-01T06:31:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bosstrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bosstrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstrain)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469/41 "2011-11-03T04:27:50Z")

</div>

> [@Stoid](#):
>
> Yes.

Yes 😃

> [@astro](#):
>
> Interesting… it’s been represented by anti-sprawl advocates that your hypothesis is entirely 180 degrees backwards, and that high density living (within limits) actually makes much more efficient use of limited resources vs spreading out over the landscape.

Ah, but friend, less people means less use of recources as well…also means less likelyhood of a massacre. (I know, that sounds stupid, less people would equal a massacre, but either way, with it being near eminent, something needs to happen, think 9/11, I still can’t believe that doesn’t happen more often, any tower is begging to be a target, maybe it doesn’t happen due to prayer though not to turn this into a religious debate, but it’s possible…anything’s possible till proven…)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469/42 "2011-11-03T04:33:04Z")

</div>

I eat less and flush the toilet less, I hope that helps.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469/43 "2011-11-03T04:38:12Z")

</div>

There is nothing I can do about this. There is nothing you can do about this. Might as well enjoy watching the world burn, if indeed it does.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469/44 "2011-11-03T05:43:23Z")

</div>

> [@rachelellogram](#):
>
> There is nothing I can do about this. There is nothing you can do about this. Might as well enjoy watching the world burn, if indeed it does.

“Burn baby burn, disco inferno…”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469/45 "2011-11-03T10:42:24Z")

</div>

> [@Bosstrain](#):
>
> I know, I’m basically saying go back to the stone ages, but if we don’t figure something out, stop polluting the vital water supply and spread these giant cities out far and wide, we run the risk of mass scale death anyway.

But that’s just it. Your “solution” is worse than any plausible worst case scenario for overpopulation. Overpopulation could end up causing death and suffering on a huge scale. But nothing like the scale of all of humanity going back to the stone age way of living.

It’s more about taking humans down a peg, than any improvement on the situation.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469/46 "2011-11-03T11:00:14Z")

</div>

> [@jz78817](#):
>
> are the people who complain about this willing to off themselves to help the situation?
> 
> didn’t think so.

I’ve got one child and a vasectomy.

What have \*you \*done?

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-population-has-gone-from-3-billion-to-7-billion-in-just-50-years-should-we-start-panicking/601469.md?page=2)