While throughout history there have been people who realised the Earth was finite, too few have stopped to fully contemplate grok the concept. Grok that the area of the Earth is finite, that the resources of the Earth are finite, and the time the Earth will exist is finite.
It was not until the 1700s that a significant number of people in different countries could even accurately picture the planet entire planet and appreciate the surface was finite, and not until the 1900s that the term 'sustainability' attracted significant attention, and people started to appreciate how resources are finite.
This missing piece in this picture is still time, with most people still having a time horizon that allows time for our planet can be considered infinite, even though finite, and there is less than 2% of time remaining for life on Earth.
Population is a complex area. To arrive at my current point of understanding, it took me a number of light bulb moments over the years since 2013, with many realisations shattering some of my previous beliefs, and sometimes taking years to be ready to take the next step.
Here is a recap of my journey, and if you can move quickly from step to step, then you can absorb information faster than I can, but perhaps this information will inspire others on their own journey.
The recent G20 wrapped up with a commitment to target economic growth level for the G20 of 2.1% by 2018. Global population grwoth is over
Yes, the Earth is overpopulated by normal definition of overpopulation: population beyond sustainable carrying capacity. Clearly we are not existing sustainably at this time. The
