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Musk has it backward on human population

Posted 1/16/25

Elon Musk said, “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far.”  Actually, a fast-climbing birth rate is the bigger danger to our present …

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Musk has it backward on human population

Posted

Elon Musk said, “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far.”  Actually, a fast-climbing birth rate is the bigger danger to our present civilization.  Just during my lifetime, the world population grew from two billion people to eight billion people!  
According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “land degradation is increasing.  Almost two thirds of the world’s population face water scarcity today, and this could reach 75 percent of the population by 2050 leading to high risk of food insecurity.” A total of 1.84 billion people are already exposed to drought, according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
There is a finite limit to the Earth’s resources available to sustain a large world population.  Yet, Elon Musk is calling for increased population and is devoting financial resources to accelerate population growth.  He seems not only oblivious to the impact from the degradation of agricultural land and the future reduction in our food resources, but is actively promoting and funding an increase of the planet’s population.  Larger populations will require a corresponding increase in food availability despite the growing number of hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and excessive heat, all of which are rapidly degrading the planet’s cropland.  It has been estimated that 40 percent of the planet’s land is already degraded, and the amount of unhealthy acreage is increasing yearly.
Our livelihood literally is dependent on healthy soil.  The latest COP 16 meeting indicated half of the world’s GDP, about $44 trillion, is reliant on healthy soil.  Food shortages can result in population starvation deaths and can foster wars for food and potable water to fulfill his goal for an increase in population.
So far, Musk has fathered 12 children with three women.  Is this his example for others to follow his way to increase population growth? (with or without marriage?) 
Gerry Snyder
Ely