If folks lived to 1000, my guess is that there would be overpopulation very quickly,
And your guess would probably be wrong like all the other failed predictions of doom and gloom from overpopulation.
This planet could easily hold a trillion people or more if we manage resources efficiently and ensure that we don't destroy the ecosystems that we depended upon. Both are perfectly feasible. The moon could be home to a trillion more people. Mars, other planets and their moons, and space stations could house many more. The galaxy could be home to thousands of trillions without any of your distopian fears ever coming to fruition.
resources would be scarce,
They don't have to be. Recycling resources better is a perfectly viable option. More efficient usage of energy is also possible.
and there would be tons more pollution and waste. !
There might even be less. You're judging future efficiencies based on 19th and 20th century ignorance, laziness and poor social planning. There are many revolutions ahead of us that will put put the last two centuries on technological and resource utilization par with that of Roman or Egyptian eras.
I suspect that death is part of nature's way of keeping things in check.
I suspect that nature doesn't care about keeping anything in check and simply chose replication as a means of continuation than evolving infinitely complex repair mechanisms.
Edited by maestro949, 02 November 2007 - 07:01 AM.