X-Message-Number: 22709 Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 08:48:50 -0400 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: CryoNet #22705 - #22707 Well, everybody, I guess I must log in to the discussion about population. The first point is that many European countries aren't producing enough children to replace their numbers. Though I don't have the statistics, I wouldn't be at all surprized to learn that some ethnic groups in the US aren't replacing their numbers, too. In Germany, for instance, ads and other inducements are provided to produce more children. As an immortalist, I would comment that if a group doesn't want to see its numbers decrease slowly over time, it really has TWO choices rather than one: the first and obvious one is to make more children. The other one is for people to live longer so that don't need replacement for longer. And as human beings have lived longer, they have universally (though with some delay, admittedly) decreased their rate of producing children. This has gone on for literally thousands of years. Not only that, but ALL the small populations of Pacific islands almost as a matter of course used a form of birth control. Yes, that form is one many would object to now, but it worked: they directly or indirectly killed those babies they decided that their island could not support. And remember that these were so-called "primitive people". We've got better forms of birth control now, but in any rare case in which push comes to shove, I would expect that the older ways would be used --- no doubt with lots of excuses and explanation all round. It's called "child mistreatment" in some circles. Perhaps unreasonably I am assuming that all this interest in Cryonet about overpopulation comes from an implicit belief that it would interfere with our own immortality. No, it would not, because population large enough to put a strain on the Earth, or even on our present lifestyles, just won't happen. Humans just don't work that way. Yes, some humans can be quite vicious, and hardly lovable, but the one thing humans do not do is to allow too many people to exist. And yes, I include the former events 30 years ago in India in what I say, and the present events in Africa, too. Did I say that humans were always friendly and nice? As for India, note that by now it's self-supporting in food. Best wishes and long long life to all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22709