Overpopulation

Hi,

I believe it is naive to think space colonization is the solution
for the overpopulation of certain areas of this world. The ticket of
1 million dollars for a two days trip to space is too expensive. And
when space colonization stars the cost of sending people to space
will remain out of reach for all, except the "chosen ones". Space
colonization will be a low scale enterprise, for at least some
centuries ahead.

Now, let's be very clear on this. The world does not have a problem
of overpopulation, but only certain countries and regions. The fact
is, in the Americas there is a lot of space for people to live, and
the population explosion is already controlled. The Americas have
less density that Europe, Asia and many other parts of the old
world, so we don't need to be overcrowded at all.

The problems of overpopulation are located in some regions of the
old world, particularly in China, in India and in the Subsaharian
Africa. In there, people don't realize the very fact they have
children in mass is producing the collapse of their world. Even in
places were people live of charity, and were hunger strike hard,
they insist in having large numbers of children. There is a lack of
responsability fueled by the belief that as much descendents they
have the better. Those regions will have to control their own growth
by themselves if they want to have a decent future. Every new kid
born in there makes those nations poored and the quality of life
goes down.

Back to the Americas, even in Mexico the problem is not really the
population explosion but the presence of a neighbourgh that is too
rich by comparison, and that attracts poor people like if it were a
magnet. Actually, if Mexico does not stop its migration it will come
the day, pretty soon, when it discovers it is getting depopulated.

This happened once in my own country, Chile, when 10% of the
population migrated because of the dictatorship that existed in
place in here. After that the country's population started to grow
very slow and we are afraid in the future we will have a demographic
colapse.

In short. Overpopulation is a problem of China, India and Africa,
not of Europe or the Americas. The world should realize the best for
those countries is helping them to stop those huge rates of growth.

Children are nice, when they can be feed and educated in the proper
manner.

Finally, nations are not in the mood of accepting masses of poors
from far away regions. And thinking that the land of other peoples
is the solution for our problems is just the recipe for future
conflicts.

Regards,

Omar Vega

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "terrierkeeper"
>
> Really am glad this conversatin is taking place.
>
> This is the main justification for moving into space as it has
been
> for movement throughout all human history.
>
> I do believe that this is the solution to overpopulation. Make
more
> land and resources available. Space is endless.
>
> Of course, I am a realist, Space Colonies won't be viable for
> overpopulation until Island Twos (One Hundred twenty thousand plus
> population units) are being produced, perhaps not until Island
Threes.
>
> Problem is, and I have been arguing this for years, is the elite
in
> Washington and society in general think the best solution to
> overpopulaton in the US and throughout the world is making
> contraception and access to abortion freely available. Their
> solution to overpopulation is by making infertile activities
> acceptable. They want to give ten year olds condoms. They want to
let
> little girls go off and get contraceptives without permission of
> their parents or even tell them. This is not the words of some
Right
> Wing extremist who has read the 'rantings' of the so called
Religeus
> Right. I have actually argued with some of these people. (Calling
> them narrow minded is over rating their intelligence).
>
> One of my ideas for a space colony novel is preventing the so
> called 'Sexual Revolution' from happening. It didn't fly in the
face
> of the 'Birth Control for Ten year olds' set. Even though mankind
> would be better off. We would be having this conversation from L5
or
> L4. Families would have on average five or more kids. It would
look a
> bit like what we were a hundred years ago except more
technologicly
> advanced. Problem is I find most Americans (and I suspect the same
> can be said for Europeans, Canadians and various others) just are
not
> ready to open their minds to this possible future.
>
> This is my main reason for putting that novel aside and going to
work
> on my current project set during the French and Indian war when
> Americans were pretty much a thriving large family oriented
society.
> Perhaps when I have established myself the space colony novel will
be