Sunday, November 6, 2011

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber

In a very cynical way, it’s a triumph for science because at last we have stabilized something –- namely the estimates for the carrying capacity of the planet, namely below 1 billion people.

What a triumph. On the other hand do we want this alternative? I think we can do much, much better.

Already with the current world population of 6.6 billion people, an overuse of resources is taking place. In the year 2050, 9.4 billion people will be living on the planet.

The earth likely will be populated by at least 9 billion people by 2050. You have to imagine that these people will reach an average level of consumption that Portugal has, one of the poorer countries in Europe. When you imagine that if all these 9 billion people claim all these resources, then the earth will explode.

1 comment:

  1. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany

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