Elon Musk has said the biggest threat to civilization is there are not enough people.
China’s population has likely already peaked. China’s birthrate is about three times less than it was in 1988.
Asia’s population will likely peak before 2040.
India’s birthrate has fallen below replacement levels.
Japan’s GDP per capita briefly equaled the US GDP per capita, but Japan’s aging and shrinking population drag’s Japan’s economy with 1% less GDP growth every year. Japan’s people are falling behind the USA by about 20% every 15 years. Japan’s per capita GDP is now about 65% of the USA and will be about 50% by about 2030-2035 and could be about 40% by about 2050.
We Can Fix Global Warming by 2030
One of the major factors driving low birthrates are the memes and fears of climate change and overpopulation.
We can very affordable fix global warming by building large numbers of greenhouses and converting farmland to forests.
The Climate problem we have is about 750 billion tons of excess CO2 in the atmosphere. We have 417 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 versus 285 ppm in 1850 before the industrial revolution. 135 times 5.5 billion tons is 742 billion tons. We are also adding about 40 billion tons of CO2 per year from human activity.
The US has about 900 million acres of farmland and 1.2 billion acres of ranchland.
In 2017, researchers at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have pieced together a map using Landsat satellite imagery with 30-meter resolution that identifies every plot of land under cultivation around the globe. The map shows that 4.62 billion acres are being farmed globally, which is 15 to 20 percent higher than previous estimates.
The world currently has 9.9 billion acres of forests. U.S. forests cover over 741 million acres. 3.5 to 4 billion acres can be converted for forests. US forests for producing lumber can generate 40-100 tons per year per acre. 47.5% of the dry matter of a tree consists of carbon. If the wood is not burned then it is sequestering carbon. 3.5 billion acres of new forests would store 70 to 175 billion tons per year of carbon.
China is demonstrating greenhouse farming at a national scale. It would cost about $1 trillion to make the global greenhouses and use higher yield new seeds to densify farming to make room for more forests.
Written By Brian Wang, nextbigfuture.com
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
