Earths Carrying Capacity is the number of humans that the can indefinitely survive on the available resources of the world. Some argue that the current population of the world is already well beyond this number while others believe the entire idea of quantifying this number to be foolish. Skeptics say that it is impossible to take into account all of the factors that go into calculating such a number and that even if this were possible, the variables are ever changing. There is no way to predict what new technologies will arise that allow for a more efficient use of the earth's resources and thus an increase in the carrying capacity. In fact, the higher the population, the more likely it becomes that new technologies will be developed because of the larger pool of knowledge to draw from.
Some believe that there is a sort of equilibrium that could be reached. As a species population increases, more resources are used, resources become scarce, part of the population dies off, resources are replenished, and the species population is allowed to increase again. A balance is reached when the species population and the availability of resources become stable and the two can coexist. A good example of this is the moose and wolf population which is detailed on Wikipedia:
"Without the wolves, the moose would overgraze the island's vegetation. Without the moose, the wolves would die. The first scientists who studied the issue thought that the wolves would eventually overpopulate and kill all the moose calves, then die from famine. This has not occurred as inbreeding, disease and environmental factors have limited the wolf population naturally."
The population of the wolves is kept in check by natural causes (inbreeding, disease, etc.) and the population of the moose is kept in check by the wolves. Neither species becomes overpopulated so the amount of resources remains plentiful and the carrying capacity of the land is not breached. Measuring this number becomes much more complex with humans because of the vast variety of resources that people consume.
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