In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk offered a hopeful perspective on the future of humanity. He argued that building a city on Mars is not just a necessity but a critical step towards safeguarding our civilization’s stability. Musk highlighted that the current birth rates in developed nations, such as Japan and Korea, are at levels that could soon cause theipsoid’s population to dwindle significantly over the next generation. He questioned the current argument that population growth—even if slow—could be irrelevant if the birth rate were stable. By limiting the Earth’s population to a level adequate for sending发射飞船到 Mars, Musk posits that we can secure a stable future. His earlier statement on Mars feasibility seems to carry forward this optimism.
When it comes to population dynamics, Musk encountered a complex issue. The world’s population has surged over the past century and continues to grow. The United Nations projects that by 2050, the population could reach 10 billion and rise to 10.5 billion by mid-2080s. This exponential growth presents a significant risk, known as “population explosion,” which could potentially threaten humanity’s survival. Despite the projected population growth, Musk agreed that maintaining a world compensatory growth is necessary. He noted that while population growth has generally been positive over the past centuries, historically, there have been periods of slowdown. Most recently, global growth rates averaged 0.04% annually, slightly higher than before the Industrial Revolution.
Musk further pointed out that the population growth of specific developing nations, such as Japan and South Korea, is significant. He calculated that by 2020, Japan’s population might neck down from 24 million to approximately 3 million, based on a 10% annual reduction rate. Similarly, South Korea’s figure is more concerning, as it could shrink from 12.5 million to about 2 million within two generations. These projections suggest that a reduction in population, even for developed nations, could have profound implications.
In addressing population decline, Musk emphasized that human actions, including economic incentives like the children tax credit, have the potential to control population trends. For instance, he cited the Florida panther—a dominant land mammal in the eastern United States—as an example of ingeniously reversing a population crash. By introducing genetically diversekeyup春人们的 (a project finally kicked off in 2015 to raise populations in the U.S.), conservation biologists recaptured genetic diversity, mitigated road traffic fatalities, and restored a viable population to 30 individuals. This illustrates how proactive conservation efforts can sustain populations despite challenges.
Musk also touched on the broader ecological issue, suggesting that by making Mars suitable, we could harness humanity’s power in new ways. He środkled towards creating a “multi-planetary” species—an idea he likened to acompassionate conservation move. However, he pointed out that this idea is posed as the last resort in a world increasingly vulnerable to climate change and other environmental challenges.
Musk’s focus on population resilience and potential harnessing of Earth’s resources, such as sending colonizers to Mars, offers a hopeful approach. He humorously questioned the urgency of addressing global population growth, suggesting that perhaps the adult diaper theory of population decline is more insurmountable than other threats. However, as he laid out, population growth is a persistent and complex challenge, with Earth as a whole rather than specific regions at fault.
