These 12 charts show how the world's population has exploded in the last 200 years

[lordsummerisle]

(I didn't try to verify any of this, just thought it's an interesting read...)

There are currently more than seven and a half billion people on earth, with the UN projecting that number will hit 10 billion by 2056.

It took 200,000 years for humanity to reach the first billion people, but after that it only took 200 more years to hit seven billion.

In honor of the United Nation's World Population Day, here are five graphics to help you understand how the number of people in the world has grown.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/populations-around-world-changed-over-the-years/

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Welcome to the world of Malthus!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism

The rapid increase in the global population of the past century exemplifies Malthus's predicted population patterns; it also appears to describe socio-demographic dynamics of complex pre-industrial societies. These findings are the basis for neo-malthusian modern mathematical models of long-term historical dynamics.[23]

There was a general "neo-Malthusian" revival in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s after the publication of two influential books in 1948 (Fairfield Osborn's Our Plundered Planet and William Vogt's Road to Survival). During that time the population of the world rose dramatically. Many in environmental movements began to sound the alarm regarding the potential dangers of population growth.[1] The Club of Rome published a book entitled The Limits to Growth in 1972. The report and the organisation soon became central to the neo-Malthusian revival.[24] Paul R. Ehrlich has been one of the most prominent neo-Malthusians since the publication of The Population Bomb in 1968. Leading ecological economist Herman Daly has acknowledged the influence of Malthus on his concept of a steady-state economy.[25]:xvi Other prominent Malthusians include the Paddock brothers, authors of Famine 1975! America's Decision: Who Will Survive?

The neo-Malthusian revival has drawn criticism from writers who claim the Malthusian warnings were overstated or premature because the green revolution has brought substantial increases in food production and will be able to keep up with continued population growth.[14][26] Julian Simon, a cornucopian, has written that contrary to neo-Malthusian theory, Earth's "carrying capacity" is essentially limitless.[1][how?] Responding to Simon, Al Bartlett reiterates the potential of population growth as an exponential (or as expressed by Malthus, "geometrical&quot curve to outstrip both natural resources and human ingenuity.[27] Bartlett writes and lectures particularly on energy supplies, and describes the "inability to understand the exponential function" as the "greatest shortcoming of the human race".

Prominent neo-Malthusians such as Paul Ehrlich maintain that ultimately, population growth on Earth is still too high, and will eventually lead to a serious crisis.[11][28] The 2007–2008 world food price crisis inspired further Malthusian arguments regarding the prospects for global food supply.[29]

[customerserviceguy]

2. Seems to coinicide

with the development of modern medical techniques. Wasn't it only about 200 years ago that we learned that vaccination can prevent smallpox?

[Igel]

3. To some extent.

Technology, infrastructure, economic systems, interconnectedness through trade, medical knowledge (not just treatment) are all interconnected.

Economics and technology are connected with agriculture and food production. Look at how industrialization produced more wealth = more technology = more infrastructure and medical knowledge. More technology and energy use let Haber come up with a way of producing a lot of nitrogen-based fertilizer, the basis for the Green Revolution; and with medical knowledge to increase herds, and pesticides and hybridization/varietal production you get greater yields.

People are good about converting more food into more people.

[customerserviceguy]

6. All true

I was only looking at one aspect of it, thanks for taking my blinders off!

[Applegate]

4. Population growth enabled by a two-century-long fossil fuel feast.

But now the kitchen is on fire.

[Delmette2.0]

5. +1

[dalton99a]

7. Damn too many fucking people

[roamer65]

8. +1000

[BannonsLiver]

9. Not to worry

The planet will eventually thin the herd. Probably sooner than anyone thinks.