One Finite Planet

Explorations of Topics That Shape The Future.

May 31, 2016

My Journey To Understanding Population.

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.

One Finite Planet: Both problem and mission.

One, because given it took 4 billion years before life could exist on the surface of this planet, it is going to take a long time to ever find another.

Finite, because no matter how obvious it is the planet is finite, it is large enough for us to mistakenly overlook that the planet being finite impacts everything from the environment to the economy.

Explosion

Population Explosion: What happened to get to 8 Billion people?

Humanity has just experienced a population explosion. Whether you believe we are overpopulated or not, the facts are that we have just had a population explosion. Over two centuries of population peaking at 50x higher than the long term population growth, and peaking at 100x higher during the baby boom. Yet the explosion occurred with women having less babies than ever before, even during the baby boom, and is ending all by itself. So what caused the boom, why a population explosion when birth rates are falling? Will our population grow until we are living life like battery hens?

Overpopulation?

Overpopulation: starvation is the last symptom.

The Myth: Starvation will provide a warning of overpopulation. The Truth: In nature, we define overpopulation as when sustaining the population results in damage to the environment. Plagues are a problem were before the plague population starts to starve. Starvation will be a consequence only when overpopulation has resulted in environmental collapse that will result in a rapid population collapse. Starvation is useless as an indicator, by the time there is starvation all environmental food reserves have been consumed, and catastrophe is then unavoidable.

Pop. Principles

Economics, Housing and other effects

Leaders, Followers and Propaganda

Othering, Tribalism, Terrorism, and Religion

The Influence Industry and Polarisation

Power, Wealth Distribution: Farming Humanity

Science & Philosophy

Economic Activity: An Obsession With An Illusion Of Prosperity.

Commenced: October 20, 2021 Updated: August 21st, 2022

2022 August 21: Added Japanese youth alcohol example.

Its the economy stupid. Voters want the best economic outcome, but by measuring the economy using 'Economic Activity', governments can effectively cheat the public. In many western societies, instead of maximum prosperity, governments often pursue maximum economic activity, which benefits big business and governments, but can result in an economy which in theory is going well, while at the same time individuals so no benefits. This is the kind of economic policy makes frustrated voters turn to Trump and Brexit.

Why Population growth even before the explosion?

Commenced: August 21, 2022 Updated: August 15th, 2022

2022 August 15: First published.

Throughout history, although no other species on Earth has experienced such long term overall population growth, even before the recent population explosion, the human population kept slowly growing. Yes, we recently had an unprecedented population explosion, driven by is hidden by by the near elimination of previously tragic infant mortality, but against the background of long term growth, many of us never didn't even realise their was an explosion. But what drove population growth even before the explosion? What will now happen as the explosion ends?

Optimum Population: nature’s birth control.

Commenced: September 22, 2021 Updated: July 28th, 2022

2022 July 28: Added 'technical analysis' and the, quite illustrative, 'Elk' example.

What controls population in nature? Why is overpopulation rare? Predation and resource constraint are commonly suggested answers, but in practice these alone would result in repeated huge population swings. Human birth rates are falling at a rate that has some fearing population collapse, but is there reason for alarm, or might this be a natural response to the threat of overpopulation? Determining whether our future is population one of continued growth, collapse, or stability, almost certain requires understanding lessons from nature and examining how they apply to us.

Wealth & Happiness Vs Population: Farming Humans?

Commenced: December 8, 2017 Updated: July 22nd, 2022

2022 July 22: Add 'Fact check', Expanded Population and Happiness to a full section, linked 2022 happiness list.

The powerful and the wealthy argue that increasing population is good for the economy. But while, the larger the population, the greater the power in being leader of the population, if anything this leads to less individual wealth and happiness. Countries are a finite size with finite resources. More people means, on average, a smaller share each. Of course, everyone's share isn't equal, and those with enough wealth, can still even grow their share, leaving less for everyone else. It is not just politicians who benefit at the expense of the masses, as the larger the population, the greater the wealth of the most wealthy, and the more revenue to monopolies and the largest businesses on the stock indices.

The Population Growth Economy Ponzi schemes.

Commenced: February 24, 2015 Updated: July 1st, 2022

2022 July 6th: Refresh and reformat.

When it dawned on me that global economy is effectively a Ponzi scheme, it felt was a 'light bulb' moment'. But has anyone else seen this? I did an internet search and was not surprised to find that it has, indeed, dawned on many others as well. If you do a search, as I did, you will find many insights into this topic and that there are several different ways the global economy can be seen as a Ponzi scheme. Scary!

Ghost cities and ghost homes: housing finance crisis?

Commenced: June 15, 2022 Updated: June 22nd, 2022

2022 June 22 : Updated to add information on how desperate developers now accept grain as a deposit.

“Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist.”Attributed to Kenneth Boulding in: United States. Congress. House (1973) This applies to not just to population growth, but just maybe also to the growth in value of housing. This page is a look at 'ghost cities' and 'ghost homes', and the window they provide into how distorted investment can become in the pursuit of growth. The end result of the distortions can be overvalued assets funded by highly leveraged ordinary citizens. If that is the case, not just with ghost cities but beyond, the correction will clearly present a financial crisis.

Can Peter Dutton repair the democracy ‘loyal opposition’.

Commenced: June 6, 2022

Democracy is under threat, and a significant part of the problem stems for the distortion of the current model of 'opposition'. While the politics of division and polarisation of the USA Trump republicans vs Biden democrats attracts most attention on the world stage right now, what happens in Australia following the recent election which saw democracy strike back (page coming soon), has the potential to provide the world with an alternate blueprint for the role of the opposition party, which could reinvigorate democracy and spread to the US and elsewhere. Is there an alternative to the current Republicans vs Democrats style, where 'opposition' is about each party demonising the other?

The innocent child assumption: even Hitler?

Commenced: April 6, 2021

I recently watched an episode of "Comedians in cars getting coffee",(C6:E4 11:55) where Ricky Gervais has a photo of Hitler as a baby. And relates, "I talk about sci-fi, and I always go back and kill Hitler". And I go, I go, they go "well people tried all the time", and they go "No I'd go back and kill him as a baby". I go, "You'd go back, and kill baby Hitler, who hasn't done anything wrong yet, and just strangle him? Have you seen Hitler as a baby" and I pull out this photo and I go "He was adorable".

the surprises hiding in life expectancy numbers.

Commenced: May 17, 2022 Updated: May 20th, 2022

2022 May 20: Started discussion on further increase in life expectancy.

The main surprise is that life expectancy reveals very little about how long people typically live. From the 1500s till around 1800, life expectancy throughout Europe hovered between 30 and 40 years of age, and it was only as recent as the 20th century, that life expectancy rose from 49.2 to 80.3 years. Yet famous historical figures from 2,000 years ago, typically lived to around 70 or longer.

The Threat Of Gatekeepers: Extortion that drives inflation and eventually a dystopia?

Commenced: April 16, 2022

The internet was heralded as providing ‘disintermediation’, enabling everyone able to connect with everyone else directly. Yet, somehow, gatekeepers have emerged, controlling the ability to connect, and in many cases the potential to extort revenues for connecting people, with these additional additional fees resulting in increased prices and resultant inflation. Do we risk having legalised […]

Economic Growth: The Holy Grail, Or Another Myth?

Commenced: October 13, 2019

Economic growth. The holy grail of ensuring a prosperous society. Or is it, that, in the 21st century, increasingly economic growth could mean as few as just the wealthiest 1% get richer, while all others get poorer? Economic Growth: Is Economic Growth The Holy Grail, Or Is Its Desirability A Myth? Two sources of myth […]

Exploring The Roles Of Employment In Society.

Commenced: April 3, 2022

This is an an examination of the roles of employment in society. This a reference page as background to deeper explorations on the impact or robotics, the arguments for a 'living wage' or basic income, and other topics.

Peak Population 2055: Really? That soon?

Commenced: April 30, 2019

Is it realistic that Earth could reach peak population by 2055, there really the largest number of under 35s on Earth there will ever be? Peak newborns already? What is the reality, and what are the implications?

Robots & Job Terminations

Commenced: July 11, 2016

Job Terminators? There is a virtual barrage of reports warning that robots and automation could displace 40% to 50% of the workforce in the next few decades. During the almost 300 years of the growth age, new jobs have emerged to take the place of those replaced by automation. Will this continue, or as many […]

The Potential Scale and Impact of population growth: 7 trillion humans?

Commenced: March 8, 2017

7 trillion looks like a typo, but no, the maths shows that either by continuing the actual global population growth levels typical the 20th century, or achieving 2% per year (or far less than what is currently happening in Nigeria), the maths produce this number in a relatively short time! Alternatively, consider that if we […]

Wealth Tax: Good Idea? Bad Idea?

Commenced: October 17, 2019

Yes, another post on finances…but the Democrat candidates debate gets one thinking….now to the point. I do not like the idea of wealth tax. There is an enormous wealth inequality problem and while a wealth tax sounds like a direct solution, I feel there are problems with any implementation, such that there just must be […]

Opportune Arguments: Confirmation Bias Weaponised.

Commenced: February 1, 2017

Most of us have heard of confirmation bias. Opportune arguments are like a weaponisation of Chinese whispers, where the message is intentionally changed before being passed on, with the goal of using peoples confirmation bias as a path through their defences. Start with a message accepted through confirmation bias by a person with one set of beliefs, but add a twist designed to cross belief systems. But who is being manipulated, those promoting the new message, or those receiving it?

Population on a Finite World: No Vacancies.

Commenced: July 21, 2021 Updated: April 1st, 2022

2022 April 4: fix typos.

Every niche on Earth where life is possible, fills to maximum capacity with life, meaning except for brief periods following Earth changing events, there have been no 'vacant' liveable environments for over 4 billion years. Any increase in population of one species, requires a reduction in numbers of other species, in a process Darwin declared "survival of the fittest".

Narrowcast disunity: where does it lead?

Commenced: July 7, 2019

There was a news story recently, and I wondered , “if this is reported in other countries, how is it reported?”. In other words, how would the story look from a different perspective. I tried setting my google search to another country, and searching to see what would result. In fact I tried different search […]

Free Will: An Essential, But Dangerous, Illusion.

Commenced: March 5, 2022 Updated: March 1st, 2022

2022 March 8: corrections.

Is there such a thing as freewill? Aren't we just complex chemical reactions where the results of the reaction are entirely determined by the ingredients?

Carbon Capture and Storage: When it works, and why it doesn’t for work ‘blue hydrogen’.

Commenced: February 20, 2022

There are both vocal supporters and vocal opponents of carbon capture and storage, and there are arguments for both sides. This page goes beyond reporting on how carbon capture and storage fails to make current 'blue hydrogen' projects sustainable, and looks at the underlying principle that dictates why carbon capture and storage, despite having genuine valuable applications, can never enable 'blue hydrogen' to be environmentally sustainable, but is so popular politically.

If the earth is overpopulated, so what?

Commenced: November 21, 2014

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 environmental footprint per person, multiplied by the number of people, equals a total footprint that is too large for nature to absorb. However, as is repeated over and over, we […]

Politics. Left & Right: Merit = Wealth?

Commenced: May 16, 2019

The labels ‘left’ and ‘right’ date back to French Revolution in 1789, but that history hardly conveys what the terms mean today. This post reviews that original concept and history, and looks further into how the concepts have evolved into todays positions of ‘left’ and ‘right’. This post starts discussion on how the concepts apply […]

What should we fear: The link from fear to hatred.

Commenced: December 19, 2015

The relationship between fear and hate. There are three immediate responses to fear: Fight, Flight and Freeze. In the longer term these correspond to : ‘active hate’, avoidance or ‘passive hate’ with ‘freeze’ being an immediate response with no long term result. To hate is to either to wish to avoid the source of fear, […]

Lead, Crime and Justice

Commenced: December 21, 2015

A quick internet search with the keywords ‘lead crime’ in the search bar will reveal many articles such as this which all propose that lead pollution in the air caused a dramatic increase in violent crime. Any victim of violent crime in affected locations has a right to feel disturbed by this, but what about […]

The Housing Price Trap: A global bubble?

Commenced: April 29, 2016

The Australian prime minister (Malcolm Turnbull) was interviewed on the ABC program ‘7:30’ answering questions on government policy regarding tax concessions for real estate investments. The Prime Minister spoke of the need to retain a specific tax concession because reducing the concession would reduce demand, and to reduce demand would result in lower prices. The […]

Left Vs Right: Ideologies Clash And Outrage

Commenced: November 25, 2020

What are these competing ideologies, and why do they clash? This page is the exploration of the what and the why of the left and the right. I expect to keep revisiting and updating this topic, as it seems too deep to fully analysis in one attempt. In particular interest to me is the question: […]

Peak Population: We May Never Return.

Commenced: October 12, 2021

For the environment, our peak population will be a nightmare. This page explores alternatives for the future of population, and the possibility that the current peak population will be the last time there are ever this many humans on Earth.

Economic Cost Of Peak Population: Market Crash in Japan, China, The World.

Commenced: November 24, 2021

The world has reached peak child, and is headed towards peak population. Many economic metrics collapse between peak child and peak population, resulting in bear stock markets and even collapses, all if the real economy and outside their investment portfolios, most people are relatively unaffected. Economic Ponzi Scheme Metrics. Peak Child and National Economies. Market […]

My Body My Choice: Polarization and Outrage, But Who Is Pulling The Strings?

Commenced: November 29, 2021

The whole “my body my choice” is perfect for polarisation, as you can be outraged because: People are being forced into medical choices for their own bodies. or People are making selfish choices that can cause harm to can harm others. Whatever you believe, “my body my choice” drives polarisation. I will look into each […]

Population Growth Advocacy: Mislead Immigration Support, or Greed & Tribalism?

Commenced: December 9, 2021

In Australia, as in many countries, there appears to be almost universal acceptance of perpetual population growth. Population growth is seen as: Desirable because it is the path to economic prosperity.Inevitable. Neither reflects reality. So why is it, that so few contemplate a finite population target, given we live on a finite planet?

A Crisis Of Truth: Do ‘Alternate Facts’ Represent A Threat To Humanity?

Commenced: December 21, 2021

A key pillar to democracy is the establishment and availability of truth. Today, the establishment of truth is under question, and the availability of truth can be swamped by the availability of “alternate truths” based on “alternative facts”, creating what has been judged by the academy of sciences, to be a threat on the same […]

Births Per Woman: Not quite what you would expect.

Commenced: August 12, 2019

This is an exploration of what 'births per woman' means, and how it is measured. Key to discussion about population is population growth, which is most commonly analysed from 'births per woman', which is also called 'fertility rate'. But what is 'births per woman'? Answer: not quite what you might expect, which means a small adjustment is required for interpreting births per woman when predicting population growth.

Overpopulation solutions? See it as a ratio, not a number.

Commenced: December 28, 2020

As established in the previous exploration: Overpopulation, Starvation is the last symptom, overpopulation is exceeding 'carrying capacity'. Reducing the number of people is counterproductive if the action to reduce population, reduces carrying capacity. If society was to collapse, then even with 1/10 the people, we could still be overpopulated relative what we could then support.

Environmental Damage: The Overpopulation Indicator

Commenced: March 10, 2021

In nature, we define overpopulation as when the population is beyond number the environment can sustainable without environmental damage. Those warning of overpopulation, will often resort to warnings on the eventual starvation that would occur following environmental collapse. However, there are those who profit from overpopulation and are so rich they would not starve anyway, […]

Novak Djokovic Australian Open Adventure(AO 2022) A Shakespearean Style Tragedy?

Commenced: January 5, 2022

Update: This was written prior to the escalation of events with the Australian Government escalating things by cancelling his visa. That update is now on the Djokovic PR story page, while this page will focus on the overall story of Djokovic and his image. Both pages will be updated after the events of the Australian […]

Djokovic: Rescued from PR Disaster By Australian Leader “Scotty from Marketing” Morrison!

Commenced: January 10, 2022

Overview. There are No Heroes: Morrison – Djokovic. The Timeline. Overview. Novak Djokovic had committed a nightmare public relations mistake, appearing to gloat at having managed an exemption from the vaccination requirements for the Australian Open tennis tournament. Not necessarily a crowd favourite to begin with, Djokovic’s public announcement of the exemption that he had […]

Jobs in the ‘ECO’ age part1: outsourced & offshored?

Commenced: May 9, 2016

A friend was commenting on how her employer, a major ‘blue-chip’ employer, was transforming the workplace. The shift in emphasis is to less work needing to take place in the office, and more provision for people to work from home. The direction it is heading is for people only to attend the office for scheduled […]

Industrial/Growth Age vs Information/Eco Age

Commenced: May 3, 2016

Industrial/Growth Age Characteristics (discussed in detail later in the post) automation replaces manual labour time to travel continually decreases automation and culture spreads around the globe population growth is unprecedented economic markets expand rapidly the Christian religion is the dominant religion of the revolution Have I missed any? Most likely yes. Information/Eco Age Characteristics (again, […]

The population ‘catch 22’

Commenced: February 23, 2015

Abstract: There is a population ‘catch 22’ in that some countries with underlying population reduction continue to grow their population through immigration because these same countries are most attractive to potential immigrants. This hides the underlying population reduction, and produces an illusion that populations always grow. If you read this, chances are you live in […]

All Free? The Tech Industry is so dumb!

Commenced: March 4, 2021

Initially, it seems the tech industry is just dumb. You could think: “So they get me to watch adds, and they collect my data. It is not like letting them collect my data is going to cost me anything! It is not like Facebook, Google, Instagram, WhatsApp etc have some way of getting their hands […]

Population: Brace, the slow down has started!

Commenced: February 26, 2015

Surprising, global population growth is set to slow, because of changes to birth rates that have already occurred. Clearly families are not the size they were even 50 years ago. So why have we not already seen a change in growth? Is growth really going to slow down? The answer is that we have not […]

Biden vs Trump: A World Changing US Election?

Commenced: October 2, 2020

The US has an election this November, with the possibility of the winner being decided by the US congress, and not by the election itself. I am even going to suggest this is the most likely of all outcomes. How this is even possible, as well as how each outcome would change the world is […]

2020: Trump ‘wins’ on election Night?

Commenced: November 2, 2020

It is almost certain Trump will hold the lead in votes counted at the end of the night on November 3. While it is possible that Trump could still hold the lead once all votes are counted, Trump is extremely unlikely take the risk that will eventuate and will instead launch legal challenges to the […]

2020: Trump To Declare Victory on election Night? Violence and Intimation? (revision II)

Commenced: November 3, 2020

As I said yesterday, it is almost certain Trump will hold the lead based on votes counted at the end of the night on November 3. While it is possible that, were Trump to wait until the end of the vote count, Trump would still be in the lead, it seems less and less likely […]

OK, Election day over, who won and what now?

Commenced: November 4, 2020

Posted 2020-Nov-4 9:58am UTC As expected Trump effectively declared victory on election night, and has stated there will now be legal action call the election at the current point. Also as expect the vote was tight, and Trump does, again as predicted, hold the lead on the basis of votes counted so far, but is […]

Winners! but.. without the senate?

Commenced: November 5, 2020

Posted 2020-Nov-5 6:07am UTC (midnight Nov 4 US Eastern Time) Updated: There have been two big surprises on and following election day. The first, is how precisely election results have been in line with predictions: as predicted, Trump would narrowly lead on election night based on counted votes as predicted, Trump would declare victory on […]

US Election: Why The Flip The Switch States?

Commenced: November 6, 2020

The whole 2020 US Election scenario was extremely predictable. That is because it was predictable there would be states with an early count favouring Trump, even when the majority of the state voted for Biden. This ‘flip’ happens all the time. Imagine people in a large hall. The master of ceremonies asks ‘all those who […]

Donald Trump: Victory Still Possible?

Commenced: November 7, 2020

The US election is not officially declared. At least two days after even to me, it was clear the result would be around 306-232, there is still some uncertainty. Here in Australia, all 5 free to air Television networks had at least one digital channel focus on the US election on election day. I will […]

What if Trump isn’t lying?

Commenced: December 6, 2020

I know. There are a lot of claims that Trump “lies all the time”. But consider for a moment, what if Trump is not lying? What if he actually believes the things he says? More specifically, if you read all there is in this post, could you be forgiven for believing in many ways Trump […]

US 2020 Election: Never ending story

Commenced: January 6, 2021

Three new chapters of the story playing out: Partisan reactions to Trump call Georgia Sec of State Georgia Senate Elections The Presidential Confirmation Soap Opera On display is the huge disconnect between sides, and in general a lack of ‘theory of mind’. Theory of mind as a personal capability is the understanding that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are […]

System Failure: USA, Jan 6th 2021

Commenced: January 13, 2021

Several issues related the events of this day highlight system failures for either the US, or in some cases, the entire globe ( I will update this page over the next few days). Recap 25th Amendment: Fail Impeachment? Social Medial: Fail Blame Protesters: Fail Biden Response: Fail Romney: Not a Fail Recap On Jan 6th, […]

Off Topic Surprise: Aslan Karatsev and how self- image can mask ability.

Commenced: March 22, 2021

Tennis. Not something I normally bother to commit thoughts on, but there is a surprise in tennis sufficiently intriguing that I am creating a page to track. This a story of how someone of amazing ability, can exist in obscurity, most likely in this case due to hurdles created by their own mind. Right now […]

Search: What Search Results do others see, and can search hurt me?

Commenced: September 16, 2021

Web searches give results tailored to you. Haver you ever wonder what other people see? Search Services Exist To Earn Money, And Show What They Want You To See. The Revenues Come From Providing ‘Tweaked’ and Biased Search Results and Information. Incognito or otherwise: Personalised Search Results (with bias) = Maximum revenue. Does the bias […]

Trump: Real Problem, No Solution

Commenced: May 31, 2016

The USA does have a real problem. Donald Trump has a campaign slogan ‘Make America Great Again’. So has America stopped being great? The USA has changed from a country where most people saw their incomes increasing and saw themselves getting richer, to a country where most now see themselves getting poorer. For people seeing […]

Influence Industry / Free Tech / Social Media: Index

Commenced: March 5, 2021

There are claims that a range of web sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even Google search, can be addictive and harmful in a number of ways, so I set out to explore the topic. The findings include the potential to brainwash an entire generation to become controlled by the AI behind social media, […]

Australia: Climate Policy Fail? Or Democracy Fail?

Commenced: September 19, 2021

Of all the developed countries, Australia has the poorest standing on climate. Bas Eickhout: Dutch Parliament Delegation leader (via CNN) . The ‘Standing’: Government Climate Denial. The Politics: Coal Delivers Power. Public Sentiment Doesn’t Match Government Policy. Behind the Politics: The voters have limited influence. Democracy Fail For Australia, or a Problem with Global Reach? […]

Coffee: How many cups a day is ok, or even beneficial?

Commenced: June 4, 2021

There is conventional wisdom: too many cups of coffee can be bad for you. There are also, a surprising number of of extremely rigorous reports confirming a certain number of cups of coffee per day may be a good thing. What is most often missing is the definition of ‘a cup’. How big is ‘a […]

The Limitations of Perception

Commenced: December 15, 2020

What humans can perceive is not reality in full, but our own picture of reality, constructed by our brains from clues to reality collected by our senses. Science allows us to understand far more, and provides instruments to extend our perception, allowing continual improvement of our picture of reality, but know we do not yet […]

How long can/should/will population growth continue?

Commenced: February 18, 2015

There are at least four conflicting perspectives to population growth. Continued population growth is an economic requirement, is the optimum path for economic prosperity, and therefore must continue indefinitely. Global population will peak at approximately 9 billion around 2050 (official UN projection according to wikipedia page at time of writing), or at most around 11 […]

the economic impact of population growth and immigration

Commenced: March 3, 2015

My suggestion in my future population posts is that population growth has a greater effect on economic indicators than on real wealth of citizens. Here is an attempt to look at the economic impact of population growth, and what factors are real and identify any cases where indicators are positive beyond any real economic benefits. […]

Dilemma: Should Facebook own the Internet (or world)?

Commenced: February 20, 2021

Since Facebook launched and entered the influence industry, they have been running what sounds like a deal almost ‘too good to be true’. Using Facebook, you can have your own place on the web, completely for free. While there are many, many, organisations that will host your web site for a price, Facebook will host […]

Peak Child: When, and what does it mean?

Commenced: May 25, 2019

Globally, the when is now. Although locally, experiences differ by location. Data now clearly confirms that globally, the world has returned to 'peak child', a precursor to a likely return to peak population, and the end of three centuries of a population explosion. Reaching peak child again means we could either return to the previous trend of barely noticeable at the time population growth, to become a mature species, and exist in balance with nature and other living things. Perhaps even stop displacing other species?

Lessons from Trump: For The Democrats and the World

Commenced: October 17, 2019

I am not actually a fan of Donald Trump in the role of President of the USA. However I do feel there are lessons to be learnt from the fact that Trump won an election to be president of the USA, and I worry that neither the democratic party in the USA, nor the world […]

Population Growth Change Lag: The Population Pipeline

Commenced: May 16, 2016

There is a life-time length lag or delay between any change in birth-rates, and those birth-rates being fully reflected in the population growth (or reduction) rate. This can create the paradox where a country with low birth rates, may still grow in population for decades. It is also why the world population will continue to […]

Microsoft and newspapers join forces to fight Google

Commenced: March 14, 2021

With the support of both Republicans and Democrats The Google/Facebook and fake news vs the press continues. I thought I would open a place to keep track of any further progress in the press vs influence industry battle. I will update this page as the story evolves and new info comes to hand. Ciciline’s bill, […]

The Google Persuasion: Delaying the inevitable?

Commenced: February 25, 2021

I recently explored thoughts on ‘should Facebook own the internet‘, and as I further explore, I thought that while much of what I posted also applies to Google, Google deserved their own post. Both Google and Facebook earn their revenue as ‘persuaders’, so it comes as no surprise that Google and Facebook have both tried […]

Monopolies: A global trend?

Commenced: February 11, 2015

The wealth differential is increasing not just between rich and poor individuals, by in the corporate world as well. I have been thinking about the increasing trend towards monopolies and the problems with modern government structure and monopolies. Starting with some thoughts on the background, and then why monopolies may be on the increase. The […]

The New Economics of Population Growth in a Finite world

Commenced: February 20, 2017

Summary: Most of us now live under ‘finite world economics’, where population growth results in a smaller share of wealth for each individual and the majority of the population, but increased revenues for Governments, nationwide businesses and multinationals who gain revenue from the entire population. The rich win, the rest suffer. The now finite World […]

Wealth Inequality: Who wants More Inequality?

Commenced: August 18, 2019

The Wikipedia article on Wealth inequality in the United States describes wealth inequality as a problem almost every would like to see reduced. Yet wealth inequality is increasing, not decreasing. What gives? Is humanity unable to address this problem? Or is will to address the problem not as universal at it might appear? Either consensus […]

Population – Wealth Equations

Commenced: July 22, 2018

Formulae | Terms | Implications | Finite World The formulae: Annual-wealth-created = total-work-done + asset-wealth-accessed Total-work-done = average-personal-productivity * population Per-capita-wealth = average-personal-productivity + (asset-wealth-accessed / population) Asset-wealth-accessed = accrued-wealth + natural wealth-accessed The Terms Total Wealth. The total wealth is simply the wealth of the society overall. The sum of the wealth that is […]

A herectic look at sport

Commenced: February 16, 2015

I live a society that worships sport and ‘sporting achievement’ almost as a religion. Sporting stars are some of the highest paid people in a society where these same sporting stars are regarded as ‘role models’ for youth. The obsessions with sport worries me. But do not get me wrong, I watch the Olympics and […]

Solution: A quota system with equity?

Commenced: January 5, 2016

The ‘old boys network’ is real, and that is one key reason and many ethnic groups are unrepresented in positions of power and influence. 1: But why is this so? And 2: how do we change things?

Sport and Gender Equality

Commenced: March 18, 2015

I was reading a news article today a comment on how Venus Williams has been a tireless campaigner for women in sport: It made me contemplate how equality in sport may actually be counter productive towards achieving gender equality overall.

Race, Racism and Skin Colour: what does ‘race’ determine?

Commenced: August 17, 2016

Different people actually have different ideas of what it means to be racist. I recall once finding myself in a debate with a woman who clearly perceived my views as racists, while I perceived her views as racist. Can both be right? My Definition of racist: prejudging characteristics of an individual or a group of […]

Democrats: Self Sabotage?

Commenced: February 12, 2020

Just as it seems Pete Buttigieg may have won Iowa, I read that polls show many Americans believe the country is not ready for a gay president. There are even stories of a voter wishing to change their vote after learning that ‘Mayor Pete’ was gay. However, there has also been suggestions voters are also […]

Tribalism: Good, neutral or bad?

Commenced: October 3, 2017

My definition of tribalism: Part of the nature of humanity that leads us to support those from the group we identify with, over those from other groups. Most people watching an event at the Olympic games will support the contestant from their own country over those from other countries, even when they had not previously […]

Free Education? Why not user pays?

Commenced: December 1, 2017

The truth is there is no such thing as ‘free education’. There is always a cost so someone must pay, and the question is “who pays?”. The choice is between ‘society pays’ (free?) and ‘user pays’. At first, the economic rationalist argument “why should society pay for the university education of the elite?” appears compelling, […]

Australia: Per Capita Recession?

Commenced: March 12, 2019

It was recently claimed by the opposition party in Australia, that Australia is now in ‘Per Capita Recession‘. A response from the Prime Minister stated that there was no such recognised economic term, implying that the figures underpinning a ‘Per Capita Recession’ are of no real consequence. A recession is two quarters of negative GDP […]

Populist right vs Economic Conservatives

Commenced: August 21, 2018

Donald Trump personifies the a populist right leader. This post looks at what this means and how this movement can be so at odds with other ‘conservatives’. The Origin of The Conservative Right. The basic origin of ‘left and right‘ in politics can from the wealthy and powerful being to seated to the right and […]

Alert: A seismic shift to right for Australia, signal of a worldwide problem

Commenced: August 22, 2018

Populist Coup has begun. Will the Coup really have impact beyond Australia? How? The Judgment of Solomon Populist Coup has Begun Today Australia took a key step in an inevitable seismic shift to the extreme populist right. With Trump in power in America, ‘Brexit’ in the UK, why does this matter on the world stage? […]

Population Explosion: What happened to get to 8 Billion people?

Date: March 9, 2021

Ukraine: Putin and China, method or madness?

Date: June 16, 2022

What if Russia and China both intended that the invasion of Ukraine would trigger global inflation and food shortages, and a potentially new financial crisis? That Putin sees himself in the image of Peter the Great and restoring the Russian empire is no secret, and is generally portrayed as evidence that Putin has completely lost the plot. But what if there is a bigger plan involving both Russia and China that starts with triggering a global financial crisis? A dangerous game by two desperate leaders needing to bring others with them as their own economies collapse.

WWIII?

Date: March 12, 2022

Was Feb 24th, the start of WWIII? Is it a world war of sanctions, troops and tanks, or nuclear? NATO, and specifically the US, seem to feel the risk of WWIII is so real, that they refuse Ukraine any assistance that could defeat Putin's forces and anger him further. Their hope seems to be "let him win on the battlefield but lose through sanctions".

Salami Tactics Battle In Ukraine: What Can Be Done To Stop Russia, and China, and Potentially, WWIII.

Date: February 27, 2022

Putin taking on 'the whole salami' in Ukraine, has advanced the world to a crisis with two potential outcomes: The invasion stalls long enough for Putin to lose power in Russia, leading to an end to expansionism not just in Russia, but most likely also improving the worlds relationship with China.The invasion succeeds, showing the response of nations as powerless in response to aggression, greenlighting a path that could lead to an extension of age of tyrants, and potentially WWIII.

The Irony of The Bloomberg 2020 Campaign

Date: January 28, 2020

From a variety of media reports, I had the impression that Bloomberg first held off entering the nomination race because as long as Joe Biden had it covered. But now, Bloomberg could emerge as assisting Bernie Sanders to defeat Job Biden.

ScoMo Ingenious EV Plan: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, leading climate action blocker, stretching the truth again?

Date: November 19, 2021

After a long history resisting action on climate change, the Australian government finally ‘committed’ to net zero by 2050, and then did an about face, and announced support for electric vehicles. Or did they? Background. Relevance: A Series On Political Influencers. The Australian Government And The Democracy Failure On Climate Action. Toyota: No3 Worldwide In […]

So Long Mr. Putin, And Thanks. But Meanwhile….?

Date: March 3, 2022

War relies upon both sides feeling the other side are the "bad guys" The invasion of Ukraine has reached a point where Ukraine has defeated Putin in the global PR war, labelling Putin and the invaders the "bad guys", and requiring Putin to escalate measures to try to ensure the new does not spread to much in Russia, and in the military. Meanwhile, there is still a physical invasion war going on, and as Putin's desperation to hide reality increases, so will the resulting devastation.

Obama and Xi Jinping announcement: a huge step for climate action? Or a backward step?

Date: November 14, 2014

Obama is currently a ‘lame duck’ president with a hostile senate, and approval rating that suggests a likely hood the next US president may well be a republican. In Australia when the less conservative party took a position to take steps to address climate change, it became a call to arms for conseratives opposed to […]

Trump: Conceding? Or Plotting?

Date: September 27, 2020

The republicans in the senate have a clear motive for wanting a new supreme court judge appointed before the election, but with Donald Trump the motivation is not quite as clear. This page contemplates the possible motives of Donald Trump for his rush to appoint a new judge to the high court prior to the […]

The G20 outcome, a plan to make the earth a worse place?

Date: November 21, 2014

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 1.1% so this means the worlds richest countries will be getting richer by just over 1% avove population increase per annum by 2018. Is there any suggestion that this addional […]

Foreign fighters: Is it really a surprise that ISIS/ISIL can recruit from the west?

Date: November 26, 2014

I have heard repeated media statements on how ISIS/ISIL managed to recruit young Sunni Muslims from around the world to join their cause. It has been stated that society must reach out to the Muslim community to stop these young men being recruited from their midst. Certainly these recruits from around the world join the […]

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Australia Day Surprise: Another title for Prince Philip. Foolishness, or other motives?

Date: January 26, 2015

The Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, announced a ‘bold’ decision to award an Australian knighthood to the husband to the Queen of England, Prince Philip. I will provide background for the world majority with zero exposure to Australia’s relationship to the British royal family, but Australia ceased awarding knighthoods in 1986 as part of a […]

Australia: Yet another prime minister?

Date: September 20, 2015

On Monday September 15th, Malcolm Turnbull replaced Prime Minister Tony Abbott as the leader of the liberal party, ensuring Malcolm Turnbull would become the fifth prime minister (or head of government) of Australia within five years. This post looks at how this seemingly crazy frequency of change actually takes place, the underlying ‘crisis’ and implications […]

Australian Budget: Ignorance or Lies?

Date: May 4, 2016

Last night, the Australian Government announced a new budget. Many of the stated premises of the budget seemly clearly out of touch with the current reality. Either the government is unaware of the current reality, or the government is not being completely open with the electorate.

Brexit and Trump: Common Theme?

Date: June 24, 2016

I suggest there are two key points in common between the nomination of Donald Trump as the republican candidate, and the ‘Brexit’ vote in the United Kingdom: the failure of our economic system to deliver distribute of increased economic wealth a backlash against immigration Economics. The first point is that we have created a disconnect […]

Brexit: Litmus test, Labor vs Liberal

Date: July 1, 2016

Red or Blue? What will the litmus indicate in the Australian election just one week in the aftermath of the stunning ‘Brexit’ outcome? It could be argued that the ‘Brexit’ result will play to whichever party best manages to leverage the angle presented to them. The players and positions. Liberals Position: Strong and Steady. This […]

Syria: Why Assad did not use chemical weapons to kill Syrian citizens

Date: April 12, 2017

The proposal that Asad used chemical weapons in order to kill Syrians depends on the following steps, from the almost certain through steps with less and less certainty it was chemical weapons that were really to blame for deaths in the recent attack chemical weapons were in fact launched by forces supporting Assad, and not […]

The AUKUS FUKUS Fracas: Submarines, Really?

Date: November 3, 2021

This is an amazing diplomatic saga, that just could have an impact on the world political balance. Background. The Main Event. Round 1: Recalled Ambassadors. Round 2: Biden to Macron, “I was under the impression you had been told”. Round 3: Macron, “I don’t think, I know [Scott Morrison Lied]” . Round 4: Morrison: Denials […]

Lord Trumpemort And The Coup Eaters.

Date: December 12, 2021

As the youtube video to the right demonstrates, I am certainly not the first person to see similarities between Trump and Voldemort. In my case, the focus is on how and why they attract followers, or “coup eaters”, the Trump equivalent to “death eaters”, and the consequences of a possible return. The Plot Of Trump […]

Why wait? We should end population growth NOW!

Date: November 5, 2021

I have been asked on a few occasions, why not end population growth now? It is not like we need to get more people first. Japan has stopped population growth, why not the rest of us? What are we waiting for?

China Population Surprise: Peak Population in 2022.

Date: December 19, 2021

I read a story on population in China that I found surprising in three ways. The Story and Surprises. Peak China. The story reports China has already reached peak population. Too Few Not Too Many: The author believes that despite over 700 million people in China in around 1970 being considered too many people, 1.4 […]

Paradox Resolved: Why The Population Explosion Is Ending and birth rates falling.

Date: March 6, 2021

Surprisingly, humanity is at 'peak child' and looks to be heading to population stability and perhaps even 'leaving peak population' and correcting to a lower population. We are still have an overpopulated planet, following the population explosion, but at least the explosion is ending, due to 'births' per woman falling from over 6 prior to 1900, to 4.7 by around 1950, and to around 2.3 in 2021. So, why are birth-rates falling? There are countless studies of population trends, but in the end, most explanations for the fall in birth rates just don't add up.

Topics and Subtopics.

Next steps for mankind don’t include the Sci-Fi dream of a new home planet.

May 31, 2016 July 26, 2022

There is a dream, often explored in science fiction, where humanity inhabits not just one planet, but many.

While the dream is still centuries away, as is ‘Earth 2.0‘, the reality, working towards small outposts on Mars or the Moon or even beyond is overwhelming compelling and can provide many rewards.

Humanity may get back up outposts, but for centuries, will have no real second home, and over 99% of us will still need to live on our one finite planet.