Do You Agree With David Attenborough Or Not?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population

Is it a waste of time sending food aid to third world countries when population growth is the problem?

[mikey4444]

I'm glad to hear it Bazile !

On the subject of the original post, David Attenborough is the nearest thing to a living Saint that an old atheist like me is ever going to admit to having. If he would only stand for Parliament, or even Pope, he would have my vote. ! So I really don't like him being used by some people on AB for their own purposes.

Of course overpopulation is a growing ( ! ) problem on our planet, but the starvation of lots of hapless foreign people, some of them black, is hardly going to deal with the situation. What is needed is education in the third world.

[pixie373]

I've read it, boxy. He has a point. We can't sustain the population increasing at the current rate. If we don't control it, natural diseases and disasters will. It is right and humane to feed poorer people, but it's a very short -term fix to a long-term problem.

[naomi24]

SP, //I'm curious as to why you've brought Islam into this. //

I'm not. It’s perfectly reasonable. You brought Catholicism into it - and Islam is no better when it comes to promoting unfettered procreation.

[Gromit]

A lot of the world's arible land area is given over to feeding livestock to feed and kill. We should maybe aim to make cattle and sheep endangered species and grow food for humans to eat on our pastures.

[ShoeLadyQ]

I agree with that old proverb about teaching them to fish instead of giving them fish. If we were all self sufficient and allowed to migrate where we can grow things, and this was our first priority, there would surely be no one going hungry. but of course we have all those greedy ones who crave power and money who sponge off the workers and cause world hunger. The many so called 'leaders' priorities are all wrong, and have been for many years.

[youngmafbog]

He has only said what I think you will find I have written on this site many times in the past.

So clearly I agree with him.

[youngmafbog]

Pass the Musellei and yoghurt Gromit.

The answer is stop the population growth not deed it to exponentially grow more.

[jim360]

Is it not a bit of an ethical problem, though, to let people starve to death in the interests of keeping the population down? We ought to reduce population growth by targeting birth rates, to stop them from being born in the first place.

[Gromit]

People have this the problem wrong way around. They blame Africans for having children which die in natural disasters such as droughts and floods. But the ignore the real problem, that of the rich countries increasing their populations.

In 1913 the US had less than 100million people. Today it is 350million. That growth is far more serious for the planet than a population increase in Ethiopia.

Why? Because 1 US citizen uses the same resourses as 370 Ethiopians.
High birthrates in poor countries is a problem. But high birthrates in wealthy countries is an even bigger problem because the wealthy 16% of the world uses 80% of its resourses.

So discussions about giving aid to feed a starving African or not, misses the problem of increasing populations massively.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

Hold on a moment before you accuse me of making personal digs at you and demanding that I to show the respect you afford me.

You have shown no respect for me whatsoever here.

First I can't see how I was showing any disrespect towards you, I was simply defending what I said after you told me that was a shocking stance to take.

/// Population growth should not be checked by allowing people to die through starvation/malnutrition. ///

/// That's a shockingly cruel stance ///

To which I replied;

"Where does it say that is what David Attenborough is suggesting?" and for that fact neither am I, so I was right to accuse you of inventing issues.

You further added;

/// Population growth needs to be checked by education, especially in outcries where Catholicism has 'taken hold'. ///

Further you stated;

/// I'm curious as to why you've brought Islam into this. ///

/// No..not curious...I'm being polite here and holding my tongue. ///

Wasn't it you who first accused Catholicism of causing the population growth in these countries? I simply referred to Islam since most of those countries so affected by population growth are in fact Islamic countries and not Christian.

So I was perfectly in my right to say;

"Once again the act of inventing issues so as to get one's own agenda over".

Which is precisely correct, if you do not wish others to respond unfavourably to what you state, then perhaps it would be wise for you to consider what you type.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// In 1913 the US had less than 100million people. Today it is 350million. That growth is far more serious for the planet than a population increase in
Ethiopia. ///

Blimey that is a problem, better forget Ethiopia and rush off 'FOOD AID' to America, because it seems obvious from those figures that the US have a much greater problem.

[Gromit]

AOG,
I am sure you a deliberately missing the point. America does not need aid. Ethiopia needs aid because the US is consuming more than its fair share of the worlds resourses. X 370 more than an Ethiopian.

[sp1814]

AOG

I've politely asked you to stop making personal digs. I accept that you cannot do that.

[sp1814]

From http://www.romereports.com/palio/church-statistics-catholic-population-growing-in-africa-and-asia-english-10059.html#.UjrC0ue9KK0

In Africa and Asia the Catholic population is proportionally growing double the rate when compared to the general population growth. It's not the same in Europe and Latin America though. There, the Catholic rate has not grown. Rather, it's proportional to the population.

The problem with the Catholic faith is that it does not allow birth control.

Which is what I was referring to.

I have no agenda.

[jim360]

"... if you do not wish others to respond unfavourably to what you state, then perhaps it would be wise for you to consider what you type."

There's a certain amount of irony in your giving out this advice. Heed it yourself, perhaps?

[Gromit]

AOG
Maybe I need to make it simpler for you.

A town has a field that grows enough food to feed all 370 inhabitants. But one man eats all the food himself. He can offord to. Everyone else dies. Can you spit who is the problem?

[Gromit]

Spot who is the problem

[tamborine]

As they live like animals, so be it - survival of the fittest !

[Bazile]

mikey4444

//I know what irony is -
It's like "goldy" and "bronzy" only it's made out of iron. //

That was uttered by Sir Baldric , in Blackadder

[ummmm]

What other religions do not allow contraception?