4thought.tv

ROYA.I GET THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU ARE A PERSON OF SOME CONSIDERABLE EDUCATION AND INTELIGENCE.AND PERHAPS YOUR WEE SNIP HAS PRESENTED YOU UNFAIRLY.BUT,CHILDREN BEING BORN , IN MY HEART FELT OPPION, COULD NEVER BE A WICKED THING.EVEN IF,AS YOU SUGGEST, IT HAS BEEN MANIPULATED BY A MALEVOLENT GOVERNMENT. THE EXCISTANCE OF THESE 'EXTRA' CHILDREN CANNOT , IN THE SIGHT OF GOD, BE BAD, EVEN IF THE ENCOURAGEMENT BEHIND THAT POPULATION INCREASE MAY HAVE BEEN. AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, GOD NEVER GIVES US, THE WORLD, OR INDIVIDUALY, MORE THAN WE CAN HANDLE. ( WHICH, ON THE LIGHTER SIDE,MIGHT MEAN THAN WHEN ANY ONE OF US IS PRESENTED WITH A HUGE PILE OF SEEMINGLY UNBEARABLE SHIT, PERHAPS WE SHOULD TRY TO FEEL FLATTERED!BEEN THERE.)WHO KNOWS, WHO AMONGST THAT DOUBLED POPULATION MAY BE THE ONE TO LEAD HUMANITY AND THIS LOVELY WORLD WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING AFTER,TO A FAR BETTER FUTURE.G X

I totally agree...about the population of Iran and indeed the whole world. People should understand that this is not because we are again 'new life' or that we count the reproduction as a bad thing...we just say...there ought to be moderation in this as in everything else...and like anything if over population is not addressed...it creates the many problems we see in the world because of it. It is wise to halt, think logically and take stock. Very impressive talk, Roya xxx

With the birth of the 7 billionth human just a short time ago this almost identically coincides with the fact that we now have more people to feed than there is food in the world. This is not so much of a problem for the rich and stable countries other than the social implications. However if your in a poor contry you will now find it becomes increasingly more difficlut to feed your family, this in itself will stablisie population growth in the poorest of countries. The real problem with population growth is however, China and even more so India neither of which are poor. Therefore I predict continued population growth and continued hunger and poverty in the poor countries of the world. Engineering does not have the anwser there are simple not enough aribal lands in the world without knocking down all the trees, which we are doing at an alarming rate, destabilising the entire planets eco system, causing more droughts and more flooding, non of which are good for crops. The laws of nature would tell us that the world will reach a natural balance, and we may have reached that now.

House prices, non-renewable resources (e.g. OIL, Coal et al) that we are over dependant on and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
at what point do you say 'you know what, life would've been much better had there only been fewer people' but instead we just let it grow making things exponentially worse. An inconvenient thought but it's just too obvious to ignore

Excessive waste. Hoarding of resources. War. Greed. Now your telling us the average person having children is the main cause of concern? Get on your bike, change a light bulb, better yet, recycle a depleted uranium shell, the hypocrisy! The problem with Iran is overpopulation? Obviously not corruption, also forget to mention sanctions, minor details though! People in the US also need homes, jobs, food, but too busy burning cash on the Military Industrial Complex to profit corporations and I just saw a wonderful story of how they dump US soldiers remains on landfill sites, got to be economical I suppose! Overpopulation, what a joke, when we have vast real problems like war. Forgot to mention her carbon footprint that flew her over from Iran, brought in those nice clothes from sweatshops. I'm guilty of it too, least I'm not a raving hypocrite. If your so 'concerned' about resources etc, why did you travel to the studio to give your opinion? Heard of a webcam? I understand where these people are coming from, but the hypocrisy is hilarious! Think about how much we waste everyday, packaging, not finishing food on our plate, throwing away unfinished snacks etc. I waste enough food a day to easily feed 2 others, think about Xmas and New Year and how much we wasted then yet have the nerve to say resources are scarce. If they are, why are you bloody wasting them? We have the moral superiority to tell people in third world countries who live on a pittance they can't have more children? What a joke. Sorry, but there hypocrites.

Whilst I agree that the world population cannot continue to grow indefinitely, I felt this program showed a particularly unfair and unhelpful bias in singling out Iran as a culprit.

It is true that the population of Iran has nearly doubled between 1970 and 2010 but it is wrong to suggest that this increase was caused by a deliberate and wicked government policy and Iran is the only country which has had a high growth rate. Just looking around, you will find that the population of Asia as a whole doubled over the same time period. In fact, Iran’s rate of growth was moderate in comparison with some of the other Asian countries that are more economically challenged than Iran.

Furthermore, during the same period, the population of Africa rose by 186% and Latin America by 104%. Oceania and North America were not too far behind at 84% and 51% respectively.

The population growth is a worldwide social issue and not a political or ideological issue. Long range forecasts of population growth show that the world population will peak out but will eventually start to fall. The key question is how we manage our limited resources in the meantime, which brings me to my next point.

It is wrong to view this issue just in terms of number of people – consumption level is the other side of this issue which seems to get completely ignored. The level of consumption per individual and the associated level of waste and pollution per head in the Western economies is many times that of the poor and developing countries. At a moderate level of consumption our world can support a much higher level of population.

Rather than pushing the full burden of this issue onto the poor and developing nations to curb their population growth, we need to educate the developed countries to reduce their consumption levels to allow a more equitable distribution of food and other resources across the globe.

Wise girl - you speak good sense. Due to the population explosion in your country the people are now suffering in spite of the oil revenues that must be coming in. I feel sorry that your government did,nt halt the massive baby boom after your revolution in some way. Britain,s governments also have not halted the population here, but stupidly encouraged it by giving out child benefit for every child born, plus a council house to live in as well!! Unbelievable when you think about it.!!!

ROYA SPEAKS THE TRUTH.

The Lady did not ask the question in the caption. She asked whether it was responsible for a country to plan on promoting population growth in a situation where it would plainly not be capable of meeting their needs. She cited Iran where she maintains a return to demographic expansion is being used as a tool of religious aggression: 'The Army of Islam', notion. Roya stated her case plainly. She is not against natural population growth nor is she advocating population control she is simply opposing the deliberate use of demographic expansion for quasi religious purposes. The exact same point could of course be made in relation to Israel where population expansion is being used to bolster Zionist ambitions for an Eretz Israel with the aim of entirely subsuming Palestine. Of course in Israel's case demographic expansion is encouraged by natural means, by conversion and by assimilation of all kinds of compliant immigrant groups. By contrast the populations of China and of India have expanded entirely through natural means despite decades of population control measures. And then there's the wider global argument which the caption refers to. Of course Hitler asked that very question and was rightly torched for attempting to determine the answer. Hopefully his successors will meet the same fate. Anyone who dares to ask the question in such a crude and callous fashion should mark their sincerity by signing off with a quill dipped in the inkwell of their own heart. Roya Kashefi thankfully has more wit than the web-site editor. She posed the question with respect and intelligence.

well said

@ Paul V. Cassidy

As ever, the moment anybody mentions managing human numbers, the pitchforks are out and the questioner effectively branded a Nazi. This is patent nonsense.

The simple fact is, as Roger Martin points out in his film, that if humanity does not manage its own numbers (as all other species do in response to scarcer resources) then Mother Nature will do so for us. Brutally.

Every day we are bombarded by images of children already living in appalling conditions all over the world; whether it is abject destitution (e.g. Brazilian or Indian street children) or the thousands upon thousands given up (or removed for their own safety) to the care of local authorities in the developed world. Those who so want to have children show a remarkable reluctance to take in those who have already been discarded.

For my own part, I could not bear to raise and love a child, for them to face a 'kill or be killed' fight for the last bucket of water.

If you think that is far-fetched, look at the tensions between Ukraine and Russia over piped gas supplies. Or Singapore's reliance on peninsular Malaysia for their water. Increased competition in the short term leads to higher prices (anybody else noticed that food prices have caused riots and bloodshed in numerous countries already?). The longer term is a much uglier affair.

We must choose whether to stabilse and then reduce our numbers, voluntarily, and in a humane fashion (i.e. having smaller families; nobody here is advocating euthanasia) or whether to watch the quality of life for every person (and every other species) on this planet eroded and eventually destroyed.

I only wish that those with the power to shape global policy (e.g. the UN etc.) would face up to their responsibilities and start addressing the cause, instead of trying to treat the symptoms.