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7,000,000,000 People

2011-10-27 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Global development · news analysis

Lower-confidence wave

2011 videos did not pass the QA gate (17 %); their analysis is shown but less reliable.

As world population reaches 7 billion, Hank argues that calling population 'the problem' is useless and objectifies people; the real problems are distribution of food and water, and the trends (birth rates, poverty, disease, education) make him hopeful.

What is said

00:00:00 — 'Love Earth' brought to you by the number 7 billion; contact-signing psychosis; Hank's shirt and mask

  • ★★ Hank admits it is a little silly to discuss the pressing issue of global population while suffering from 'contact-signing psychosis'. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank's description: world population is about to hit an arbitrary landmark, but its growth and the explosion in resource use in the developing world are not insignificant issues; overall he is optimistic. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — The 7 billionth person may be born while you watch; counting people is hard, so it is all statistics

  • ★★ Hank says the 7 billionth person may be born while viewers watch this video, though nobody will know who that person is. (hedged) — 00:00:29
  • ★ Because counting the world's people is very difficult, Hank says it is all statistics, joking there is about a 10% chance of a second '7 billionth person' after a death. (playful) (hedged) — 00:00:29
    • number check: 10% — doubtful

00:00:58 — Hank's two problems with calling population the problem: the only way to reduce it is death, and it treats people as problems instead of forces for good; food for 11 billion yet a billion hungry

  • ★★★ Hank says he has a problem with talking about population as the problem; EcoGeek commenters always say 'this wouldn't be necessary' if only the population were smaller. — 00:00:58 · EcoGeek
  • ★★★ First, Hank says wishing for a smaller population is as useless as wishing to eat air: the only way to reduce the existing population is for people to die. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ Second, each of the 7 billion is a person; seeing them as problems or mouths to feed rather than powerful forces for good objectifies them and hampers real solutions. — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ Hank says the world produced enough food last year to feed 11 billion people, yet of its 7 billion people a billion struggle with hunger. — 00:01:27

00:02:11 — Problems (half the food fed to livestock, scarcer fresh water) and good news (birth rates, contraception, disease, poverty, education)

  • ★★ Hank says about half of that food was fed to cows, chickens and pigs, which he calls a problem. — 00:02:11
  • ★★ Hank says fresh water is the most important ingredient of human health and happiness and is becoming more and more scarce. — 00:02:11
  • ★★★ Good news, per Hank: birth rates are down to 2.5 babies per woman, near replacement; contraception use is up dramatically; disease and poverty rates are lower; education is higher. — 00:02:11 · extreme poverty, education
  • ★★★ Hank says humanity is doing surprisingly well compared with what was expected 40 or 50 years ago, and he is very hopeful: immense challenges, but immense resources. — 00:02:11

00:02:48 — Hopeful conclusion: an exciting, vibrant and dangerous era he is privileged to live through; sign-off; end screen begins with the Halloween goatee

  • ★★ Hank predicts the coming era will probably be one of the most exciting and vibrant in human history, and also potentially violent and dangerous. (hedged) — 00:02:48
  • ★★ Hank feels privileged to be one of the seven billion people who get to live through this era. — 00:02:48

00:03:18 — End screen: guess his Halloween costume; links to Dr. Noise's song, HankGames (Swindon Town, Super Mario Bros. Wii with Katherine) and Truth or Fail; DFTBA

  • ★ On the end screen Hank says his goatee is prepared for Halloween, his costume will be revealed in his next video, and viewers can guess in the comments. (playful) — 00:03:18 · Halloween
  • ★ Hank's end-screen picks: a song by Dr. Noise (watch to the epic end), HankGames videos (Swindon Town, Super Mario Bros. Wii with Katherine) and last week's Truth or Fail on October holidays. — 00:03:18 · HankGames, Katherine Green, Truth or Fail

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