--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the beginning of the 20th century…" description: "\"At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than 3 billion people on the earth, closer to 2 billion. By all measures that we can come up with..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the_2133479.jpg" --- # At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than… ![“At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than 3 billion people on the earth, closer to 2 billion. By all measures that we can come up with right now,. with the lifestyle and consumption pattern of the Western industrial civilization, we can probably sustain about 2 billion people on…” quote by Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the_2133479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the_2133479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the_2133479.jpg) > “At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than 3 billion people on the earth, closer to 2 billion. By all measures that we can come up with right now,. with the lifestyle and consumption pattern of the Western industrial civilization, we can probably sustain about 2 billion people on this earth. We already have over 6 billion. China and India are aspiring to come on as industrial nations, aspiring to the lifestyle of the Western world, and it simply can't happen.” [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that current consumption and lifestyle patterns make supporting a population beyond 2 billion unsustainable, warning of overpopulation crises. **In simple terms:** Western consumption cannot sustain billions more people. Key Takeaway Reduce consumption, adopt sustainable practices. Themes environment population sustainability resource limits technology Mood concerned urgent Type environmental policy When to use this quote - policy making - urban planning - education campaigns Key Concepts carrying capacity ecological footprint industrial growth Questions to Reflect On - What changes can individuals make to lower their footprint? - How can societies balance growth with sustainability? A Different Perspective Technological advances could offset some limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [China and india](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china-and-india/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/india/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Western world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [To have six billion people on Earth, two billion of whom are carrying around a warped view of you? That has to register.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toback/to-have-six-billion-people-on-earth-two-billion-of-whom-are-carrying/) [James Toback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toback/) > [“It goes something like this: I am one person among 6.5 billion people on Earth at the moment. That's one person among 6,500,000,000 people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/it-goes-something-like-this-i-am-one-person-among-6-5-billion-people/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [Our galaxy is 10 billion years old. The Earth is only 4.5 billion years old. We are a firefly flicker in the great astrobiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-marcy/our-galaxy-is-10-billion-years-old-the-earth-is-only-4-5-billion/) [Geoffrey Marcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-marcy/) > [“A billion hours ago, human life appeared on earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles changed music. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/a-billion-hours-ago-human-life-appeared-on-earth-a-billion-minutes/) [Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/) > [Interestingly, modern science has estimated that the age of the earth is about 4 billion years. Scholars feel it is uncanny that the Vedic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-kak/interestingly-modern-science-has-estimated-that-the-age-of-the-earth/) [Subhash Kak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-kak/) > [More than a billion people have downloaded Google Earth. More than a billion people use Google Maps. They are very comfortable tools for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-moore/more-than-a-billion-people-have-downloaded-google-earth-more-than-a/) [Rebecca Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-moore/) > [A billion could live off the earth; 6 billion living as we do is far too many, and you run out of planet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/a-billion-could-live-off-the-earth-6-billion-living-as-we-do-is-far/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [“According to recent estimates, life on Earth will last for another billion years, until it will be destroyed by the increase in solar temperature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-floridi/according-to-recent-estimates-life-on-earth-will-last-for-another/) [Luciano Floridi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-floridi/) > [“Modern industrial civilization has developed within a certain system of convenient myths. The driving force of modern industrial civilization has been individual material gain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/modern-industrial-civilization-has-developed-within-a-certain-system/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Industrial civilization is only possible when there's no self-denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by hygiene and economics. Otherwise the wheels stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/industrial-civilization-is-only-possible-when-there-s-no-self-denial/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“No successes we might have are guaranteed to last as long as industrial civilization stands. Conversely, most of our losses are effectively permanent. Extinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/no-successes-we-might-have-are-guaranteed-to-last-as-long-as/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“The incommensurability between the modern economic system and the people who staff it explains why modern workers have so often been depicted as 'cogs'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-m-gay/the-incommensurability-between-the-modern-economic-system-and-the/) Craig M. Gay > [“The innumerable losses of industrial civilization’s collapse will, over time, bring forth a new story and a new relationship with people, resources, things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-baker/the-innumerable-losses-of-industrial-civilization-s-collapse-will/) [Carolyn Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-baker/) > [“It is not certain that the standardized habits of modern life lead to the optimum development of human beings. The present ways of living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-carrel/it-is-not-certain-that-the-standardized-habits-of-modern-life-lead-to/) [Alexis Carrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-carrel/) > [We may get to the point where the only way of saving the world will be for industrial civilization to collapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/we-may-get-to-the-point-where-the-only-way-of-saving-the-world-will/) [Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/) ## More by Edgar Mitchell > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Our success and our understanding is that all beings are right inside, the deeper we go inside ourselves. There's a saying that Unity uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/our-success-and-our-understanding-is-that-all-beings-are-right-inside/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [To kill a citizen of our own country is evil, but to kill a citizen of another country is 'good.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/to-kill-a-citizen-of-our-own-country-is-evil-but-to-kill-a-citizen-of/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/you-develop-an-instant-global-consciousness-a-people-orientation-an/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [When I learned that aliens really do exist, I wasn't too surprised. But what did shock me when I started investigating extra-terrestrial reports a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/when-i-learned-that-aliens-really-do-exist-i-wasn-t-too-surprised-but/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I believe we have these capabilities. It doesn't mean that we will use them. Our future is not assured here. It's not clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/i-believe-we-have-these-capabilities-it-doesn-t-mean-that-we-will-use/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [What we're starting to see is a quantum biology, it being applied in biology and cosmology and a host of other sciences, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/what-we-re-starting-to-see-is-a-quantum-biology-it-being-applied-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [The Big Bang has gone away, but as far as Super String, that is suspicious for me. It all starts out with the notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/the-big-bang-has-gone-away-but-as-far-as-super-string-that-is/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Unfortunately, religions have become a part of the problem instead of part of the solution. We have fought our wars in the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/unfortunately-religions-have-become-a-part-of-the-problem-instead-of/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Another way to think of this is there are now 6.8 billion people on this planet, and half of them weren't even born when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/another-way-to-think-of-this-is-there-are-now-6-8-billion-people-on/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [We all know that UFOs are real. All we need to ask is where do they come from, and what do they want?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-all-know-that-ufos-are-real-all-we-need-to-ask-is-where-do-they/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Undoubtedly we will go on to Mars in due course, provided we don't blow ourselves up with our stupidities in the short run. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/undoubtedly-we-will-go-on-to-mars-in-due-course-provided-we-don-t/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [The quantum hologram is a mechanism to explain this concept of the ancients of the Akashic Records. It also explains Rupert Sheldrake's work among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/the-quantum-hologram-is-a-mechanism-to-explain-this-concept-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Our mission on Apollo 14 was to be the first to do science on the moon, so we had to be careful about getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/our-mission-on-apollo-14-was-to-be-the-first-to-do-science-on-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) [Explore all 100 Edgar Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than 3 billion people on the earth, closer to 2 billion. By all measures that we can come up with right now,. with the lifestyle and consumption pattern of the Western industrial civilization, we can probably sustain about 2 billion people on this earth. We already have over 6 billion. 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