Since mans humble beginnings as a hunter/gatherer he has proven himself to be formidable and resilient. It is in mans nature to survive through the conquest of all adversity, whatever form it may take. He has scrambled to the top of the species ladder by constantly keeping an eye on the bottom line - regardless of the cost. The advent of civilization through agriculture only served to increase mans predatory nature. With both eyes fixed firmly on the prey, man has greedily hunted wealth in a cornucopian orgy. Wars are waged and civilizations rise and fall, but always man prospers. Millennia pass and our population numbers soar. .
The Industrial Revolution brought about the dawn of the technological age we now thrive in. The use of fossil fuels and internal combustion engines were the catalyst for exponential rates of social, economic, and technological growth. Man has seemingly conquered his only remaining predators - famine and disease. The only thing more alarming than our population growth is the rate at which we are using up our natural resources. Our population numbers have grown following the traditional J-curve of any predator with nearly unlimited resources, but when and how will the crash come? We have fouled our own lair as no 'unintelligent' species ever would. Will this eventually be the downfall of mankind? .
Disease as "nature's" population correction, rapid die-off from famine, disease, etc. are now an insufficient correction of over-population. these forms of die-off are not very efficient or effective in the long run. That is to say, human populations respond to stresses of this nature with remarkable resilience. Birth rates increase dramatically once famine and disease have afflicted a population, and within a generation populations re-bound in total numbers.[1] The only factors that seem to limit our survival as a species are the rate at which we are using up our renewable resources and the stresses we are placing upon our environment.