Overpopulation - Then and Now (copied from National Geographic Magazine, this month's editon)

"In the year 8000 BC, only 5 million people were alive--roughly the population of today's Papua, New Guinea. Overuse of the world's natural resources was hardly an issue. Now some 6 billion mouths must be fed, and bodies clothed and housed. Misuse or depletion of the Earth's resources to meet those needs, for example, unsustainable logging, poor farming practices, and overfishing, threatens human life and health around the world.

Industrialized countries in the past have done their share of plundering and polluting. But today most such problems occur in developing countries commonly called the Third World, which also happen to be the areas of greatest population growth.

According to the United Nations, population increases have slowed or even stopped in Europe, North America and Japan. Nevertheless, world population continues to rise at a rate of roughly 78 million people per year. Most of the growth is taking place in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South and Western Asia--areas which are least able to afford more people. Not coincidentally, the same areas are plagued by deforestation, and other unsustainable exploitation of natural resources."

What does this mean? Humanity certainly has become like a virus on our planet. Countless species have become extict and countless more are doomed to do so because our our influence. My favorite quote, summing it all up (at least in my mind) is from Michael Crichton in his book "Virus":

"If you compressed the history of life on earth into 24 hours, then multicellular organisms appeared in the last 12 hours, dinosaurs in the last hour, earliest men in the last 40 seconds, and modern man less than one second ago." Why, why, why are we still having more than two children per couple, especially in the poorer nations? If they cannot afford to feed themselves, why would couples elect to bring new life to look after? I truly believe there should be a global licensing system for having children. There's a test for being able to drive a car anywhere in the world, shouldn't there be some criteria for bringing new lives into this overpopulated and overwhelmed planet?

Life in Bocas - local kids watching cartoons at restaurant

 

BP Oil Spill

This oil spill in the Gulf is yet another reason I belive our time, as well as the earth's itself, can no longer be measured in epochs or millenia, but perhaps merely in a handful of years. And we only have ourselves to blame. In our unmitigated arrogance, we humans have simply assumed that we have not only the right, but the expectation to consume all that the earth has to offer, regardless of the needs of other living things that share the planet, upon whom our own existence depends.

We have reproduced ourselves throughout our short history at a rate that would make a rabbit blush; we have transformed almost every beautiful corner of our natural environment into concrete and filth; and we have consumed every gift of nature to the point where it will soon run out of its bounty.

acidic ocean waters

Happy Earth Day, fellow Earthlings. Although we have made some progress, we still have a long way to go before we can feel confident that our planet will survive the next few generations.

Some of the things to feel good about: In Los Angeles in the 70's, the smog was twice as toxic from vehicle emissions, etc., as it is today, and yet we have twice the vehicles in the area now than there were at that time.

Many of us who shop are picking up a few things and declining to use the plastic bag at all, or bringing in reuseable canvas bags instead.

Of course there are many more easy solutions that most of us may not even know about, much less taking steps to implement; such as:

* Using less (or even none) detergent in our laundry. Not only will this help the environment, it will also leave your clothes actually smelling better (like clean water), feeling better (because you're not wearing all that leftover soap imbedded in your bathtowels and clothes - as an experiment, try rinsing your "clean" towels in the sink and see how much soap you still have in there!) Plus, you'll save MONEY (which I'm sure we can all identify with)!

* Make your own cleaning chemicals! For instance I just ran across a recipe for streak-free window cleaner that costs pennies per batch using 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup alcohol and two cups of just plain water. Try it!

* Lobby your local, state, and federal politicians for more recycling centers. This will also create more jobs!

Update - just saw a posting on Yahoo which made me ill, Sigorney Weaver (Alien(s)) herself just went to testify in person before Congress about the level of acidity in the oceans - apparently the pH level of sea waters has become 30% more acidic in the last generation, and baby oysters and clams are simply dissolving in this acid water before they even have the chance to grow shells.

God bless us all and good luck.

welfare, overpopulation

God Bless the USA. We cater, in this country, to the average person. Have you ever thought about the consequences of democracy in this sort of scenario? The best we can ever hope for is a "C" rated government. Unfortunately, this best hope has taken a downturn over the past few decades, and worldwide, our average citizen can't even compete with some third world countries in knowledge of current USA or world events, or even basic mathematical or reading skills. I feel it is a direct result of undereducated, underprepared people having too many children to whom they cannot even teach basic intersocial skills, much less make competitive or confident in the world to come.

So what is to be done? I feel it is crucial to lobby, lobby, lobby - write our Congressmen and Senators to pass at least some kind of legislation to limit welfare and foodstamps to people who have more kids while they are still receiving state or federal aid. Think about it. Two children should be enough, both for our economy and the planet. And evolution.

I talked to a woman buying enough candy and toys to fill Santa's sleigh the other day, who said they were for her daughter's EIGHT children. I couldn't help blurting out "Oh my God," to which she replied, "Well that's what she wanted and she can handle them." I couldn't quite manage to stifle my reply "but can the planet?"

This blog is intended to point out the obvious, which seems to be so obscure to so many, that we are soon to be homeless upon this once bountiful and rich planet. Humans have, in the relative blink of an eye, put the very planet on the brink of extinction.