Hey now! Stop being mean, all of you!
o.o Would be fun to discuss this topic however.
Because Kedzor, you are so very wrong in what you have said.
First, you combine topics of cloning and evolution. Then take a whack at m0rality rules. Lets not discuss m0rality, however, because I'm sure you already know how imm0ral your theories are.
"Several of the alternatives involve selective breeding or outright cloning."
Selective breeding is and has always been in effect. Evolution goes on and on, and through this we weed down and select a mate based on their attributes. This is how mating rituals to prove one's self began. If you think about it, even humans undergo this, by dating. We weed out possible mates until we select the one most suited to procreate with. The male attraction to larger breasts actually began centuries ago, when it was believed that the bigger the breast, the more capable the woman is to nurture and feed their children during infancy. That evolved into more of a lust since then, but the origins remain the same.
Cloning itself is not cost effective.
"Most call for some level of direct genetic engineering. They all define a radical, but neccecary (sp: necessary), drop in the total world population."
Humans do not need to interfere in this. The world does this itself. Have you ever heard the line "survival of the fittest"? Basically, when the population grows beyond what the world can support, and when there are not enough resources for the entire population, only the most suited for survival shall remain. If there is a rapid change in population, it will call for a rapid drop in population. We have seen this be put to use in Europe, during the epidemic of the black plague. This dropped populations down to a manageable amount. When needed, disease will run ramped, killing off only so much that the population remaining will be able to keep the species alive. Our interference will only throw off the natural balance.
"Taking one of the more extreme examples- Through cloning and engineering, we create a
race of subhumans. These will be an aknittingual grunt labor force, and can probably stand as soldiers too. Reducing the number of chromosome-pairs needed for reproduction down to six will ensure the genes will be simple enough to replicate and modify for different purposes. For example, larger, stronger stock can be used to construct infrastructure such as roads and buildings, while smaller, faster types can be used in maintenance tunnels too small for normal human operators. Meanwhile, the lack of demand for grunt labor would leave most of the population unemployed- they will be compensated, however they will be chemically prevented from reproducing, preferably without consent or notification.. Therefore the entire next generation will be useful, and not weighed down be now-useless labor-class humans."
My point previously made would explain why this is not necessary. It is also unrealistic and will result in civil wars and outrage from the "grunts" that cant reproduce and are expected to risk their lives and do most the labor. We have also seen this occur in history several times before.
There are many less extreme alternatives however, although we currently lack the technology required to implement most of them, eliminating Exocolonization and transformation as a immediate option.The imminent problem of climate change and overpopulation is leading towards the most undesirable option-death- if we don't do something fast.
Let the world take care of itself. It has done fine and will continue to do fine, because everything has its way of falling into place if you just allow for nature to run its course.
Also, because you may try to bring up this argument; yes, it is the 21st century, and yes, we do have an better medical knowledge. However, our knowledge will not help if we cannot find a cure for a new disease fast enough. The latest swine flu epidemic was made into such a big deal, because tracing back in history, the flu has dealt immense damage to populations; we are still worried about the ever evolving flu! Besides that, in recent years, we have has a smallpox epidemic, that was only vaccined in the generation of most of our parents. HIV and AIDS is rushing across Africa, malaria and yellow fever have been recent epidemics: Spanish flu, dengue, typhoid! We cannot stop the nature of a disease, even if our medical knowledge increases. When the population grows too much, only the fittest will survive.