On 2/20/2003 6:47:21 PM, Nathan Snyder wrote:
>On 2/16/2003 9:16:27 PM, Samuel Rutledge
>wrote:
>Otherwise, with no
>>attrition, people would over
>>populate the planet in
>>absolutely no time at all, and
>>in doing so would kill off all
>>our food.
>
>I think sustainable farming and
>permaculture would handle this perceived
>problem nicely. :)

Not to be a pessimist, but even with really excellent technology for sustainability, which we are no where near having, all species have a degrading effect on the environment when their numbers aren't periodically thinned. Permaculture would be a misnomer in a world where our population increased by one every time someone was born, and no one ever died. Eventually, all the land on the planet would be used to grow food for people, or to house people. If you were to assume (as I do) that, since human beings are animals, and as such, the rules which apply to animals also apply to us, than you would have to agree that overpopulation is a problem, and will become much more of a problem if we eliminate death, unless we also eliminate birth. Unless you were to suggest that the elimination of death should only be made available to a select few, in which case I would have to call into question the ethical problem of; who gets to stay alive, and who has to die?