Estimated World Population to Pass 6,666,666,666 Today

suso writes ""The estimated population of the world will pass 6,666,666,666 today. No doubt an interesting number for people everywhere (not referring to any religion connotations). 5,555,555,555 was passed about 14 years ago. You may not realize that only a 80 years ago, the population of the Earth was only around 2 billion. This shows how the population of the world has increased at an alarming rate in recent times. Although the growth rate is almost half what it was at its peak in 1963, when it was 2.2%. Unrelated but also an interesting coincidence, the estimated number of available IPv4 addresses is getting very close to 666,666,666. It should cross over today as well.""

An update

The two counters just crossed over each other about 10 minutes ago (2:42:36pm EDT). I estimate that the population counter will reach 6 repeating at approximately 11:30pm EDT.

Re:An update

6 repeating? How do you have 2/3 of a person?

Re:An update

Use an axe.

How do they know? What about Burma?

Didn't that put a dent in things? I don't want to be crass but the disaster in Burma isn't even countable. I know they can do estimates and such but major events like Burma should be accounted, are they? What about Iraq?

Besides, whats the fear? Its not like this planet cannot support double that if not more. Do people realize just how much arable land is not in use? Hell on my recent 1600 mile trip to and from Ohio I can tell you this, this country is empty in many spots and I am sure it is in others. Hell I know there are substantial areas of Europe that are essentially empty. Yeah there are villages and towns nearby but its not like we even try to exploit the lands we have. Look at Africa! How much of that is still like America of a hundred if not two hundred years ago?

One thing I have learned in my short time on this planet. Every doomsayer's predictions of over population and food shortages comes to nothing. We always shift how things are done and accommodate it. If we didn't we would not be here today. Food shortages are all the rave now but forever in our history some groups have been short of food but this is how we progress. If the population cannot create more food then it supports less people. Its a horrid fact of life but it happens. We actually do very well in this day and age from allowing nature to takes its course.

It all comes down to need. When the need arises we always step up.

going to hell!

looks like ipv4 is the antichrist, three times over...

Re:going to hell!

i always thought that porn was a redeeming factor for the internet!

In an unrelated note

Slashdot comments passed the 66,666,666 mark, and CowboyNeal was passed over by 6,666 women.

Did you know...

Did you know that 6 to any power other than zero produces a 6 in the resulting number?! It's just as arbitrary as this...

7,777,777,777 Get!

Come on slashdotters, we can make it

Re:7,777,777,777 Get!

Disclaimer for /.: You can't impregnate your left hand.

Population Control & Modern Views

You may not realize that only a 80 years ago, the population of the Earth was only around 2 billion.

I think it was in Billions and Billions by Carl Sagan that I was first exposed to this idea that poverty and illiteracy could be linked to high birth rates. Since then I have read articles by Paul and Anne Ehrlich as well as Collapse by Jared Diamond. I had been exposed to the Chinese way of economically pressuring citizens to have only one child. I ignorantly thought this was a form of extreme fascism.

But a key difference at that time was I was still Catholic.

One of many reasons for divorcing myself from Catholicism was its stance towards birth control. Iâ(TM)m not talking abortion (or âoebaby killingâ as some of them like to refer to it)â"Iâ(TM)m talking about preventative measures like condoms and Plan B. For some reason, the Vaticanâ"the organization that is the Catholic Churchâ"took it upon itself to stop the use of preventative measures. In pre-industrial times, this may have been advantageous to a religion and even a people. However, as it stands now this attitude results in a powder keg leaving the populace open to drought, famine, disease and brutal warfare (probably as a result of the famine) to keep the human population in check. Just look at the enterovirus (EV71) in China [google.com].

I think a lot of the responses are going to be along the lines of what Iâ(TM)ve said so far; that if we donâ(TM)t start to pay attention to population and think of non-intrusive non-immoral ways to keep it in check then weâ(TM)re in some serious trouble. Instead, Iâ(TM)d like to relay some views Iâ(TM)ve heard from people quite close to me on this issue. Iâ(TM)m not sure if this will become a political issue in the near term but I know that, at least in the United States, there are people with conflicting views.

A close friend of mine who is a Christian and a bit conservative voiced concern that the United Statesâ(TM) population growth is lagging behind many other countries. Many of the Western countriesâ"such as those in Europeâ"are also lagging behind those of Muslim nations like Turkey and several others in the Middle East & Africa. He claimed (or âoefear mongeredâ if you will) that if the current trend continued the end state of the world would most certainly be Muslim Dictatorships everywhere. I would like to quickly point out that I do not share his ideas in this Christian Vs Muslim war he believes has been going on since the crusades. I am merely relaying what many conservative Christians in the world are probably subconsciously thinking.

Now just last week my uncle sent me an e-mail that was along his thinking of people should have to have a license to have children. They should have to pass tests demonstrating they can provide food shelter clothing water all the basic life necessities before they can start to procreate. This would require a source of income to sustain a child ⦠he also has said that criminal record and health history should be taken into consideration. He linked an unfortunate story [foxnews.com] and was perhaps half joking.

Are either of these ideas the future? Is the idea of a procreation license issued by the state an unfortunate reality? Is it my friend wrong to push to close the âbirth rate gapâ(TM) between West and East?

Personally, all I can do is rail for education worldwide for all and, with that, the power to do what is right for us and the future of our children.

Re:Population Control & Modern Views

Iâ(TM)d like to say â"great postâ", but somehow Iâ(TM)ve found I canâ(TM)t focus on the âbirth rate gapâ(TM) discussion therein. Weâ(TM)d all appreciate it if your future postsâ(TM) punctuation was âoevalid HTMLâ ⦠thanks.

Re:Population Control & Modern Views

First thing I thought about while reading that story on Fox news was the movie Idiocracy [imdb.com]. It's becoming more of a reality (horror) movie than a comedy/scifi/adventure movie.

Today Numerology ...

Tomorrow Phrenology. Coming soon: Tea Leaves, Entrails, Astrology and Tarot Cards.

This is going to sound cold

But considering how distracted and divided humans still are, the earth will likely fix this load we are putting on it's resources. It has been known to erase lives hundreds of thousands at a time. In the USA alone there is a super volcano about due, and a few plate movements are overdue. A lot of people take issues with the population control methods utilized by the Chinese -- how much more densely populated would China be without those measures? What's point of a new bouncing baby girl if there isn't enough food available to feed her?

Re:This is going to sound cold

You're close, but cold is:
"What's the point of a baby girl?"
In China, that is.

Good thing

I resent people who are stating that 5, or 6, or 7 billions is too many and that the growth of world population should make us worry. I would like to point out that, compared to the era when world population was less than 1 billion, the average life expectancy, quality of life and, yes, access to ressources and opportunities has dramatically increased for our species. How far is the time when a single pandemic, natural disaster or mass migration would wipe out a third of a continent population and make whole civilization disappear from History ? Notwithstanding the current price fluctuations that call for natural adjustments in production and distribution systems, REAL hunger, the one where the basic intake of food necessary for survival simply isn't available within reach, has been reduced to cases relatively limited in scope and mostly due to geopolitical circumstances rather than natural resource limitations.

Just goes to show..

..God is a sixist bastard!

Well.

Probably a meta-beast.

Or a meta-meta-beast.

Re:Satanic

666 is the number of the beast. Whose number is this?

The Super-Devil. He is at least six inches taller than the regular devil, rides a flying motorcycle, and carries a jar of marmalade that causes adultery.

Re:Satanic

> [...] a jar of marmalade that causes adultery.

So, uh...do they sell that at Tesco?

Re:Satanic

Not to be pedantic, but the number of the beast is actually 616... they have a wikipedia article about it here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast [wikipedia.org]

Re:Satanic

I think the Beast can have any fucking number he wants.
Hell, he can probably have two!

Re:Someone care to estmate

Probably no time soon. The recent population boom wasn't caused by an increased birth rate, but rather by increased longevity. Birth rates are down in most of the first world, to the point that Japan is worried about a dropping population.

Re:Someone care to estmate

Looks like most of us have been getting screwed repeatedly for a long time. That seems to be the primary cause of the problem.