Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Too many people too little room.



Whether or not climate change is caused by man, or is just a normal cycle is 
irrelevant. Either way, I do believe that we contribute to it. 

The real problem is man's overpopulation and greed, which feeds the utter disrespect of the 
majority to our environment and the world's ecology in general. 

The days of 
safaris and the unchecked hunting of Africa's game has depleted and brought 
them close to extinction. Those that are left are being slaughtered for food 
and folk medicine by the hungry and greedy.

The rain forests are being cut down, also by the hungry and greedy. 
The old growth forests here in Oregon 
with the exception of a few protected acres have been cut and re-planted as 
tree farms. These forests are not the same , if and when they are replanted. 
Countless thousands of species do not survive in the interim and what 
results is a forest that is a ghost of it's former self.

The cities are expanding and all those roofs and pavements collect toxic 
water. This water unfiltered by the earth, then runs unchecked through the 
storm drains daily, by the billions of gallons and drains directly into and 
pollutes the oceans. The ocean is being literally fished out of not only the 


large predator species, but the sardines and smelt at the bottom of the food chain.
And so on......

Wherever man has reached a certain critical population, he has tended to do 
so at great cost to the earth's, and his children's future. The days of 
being fruitful and multiplying are past. The earth has only so much room, 
and while maybe not as fragile as any one particular species that may go 
extinct on any given day because of man, all of the earth's biota is 
interconnected and interdependent.

The twenty acres I once lived on far (I thought) from the city, in Florida, 
are now surrounded by developments and the small two lane country road has 
become a six lane highway. 

If you are over 30 years old, look around and remember what it was like 20 years ago. 

What is left of the forested hills here in the Willamette valley are being 
cleared to plant grape vines. This was land traditionally unfarmable, and 
was a refuge for the local wildlife and native plants. These acres are 
stripped and fenced to keep any animals out. In our local economy here, it 
is permitted to do this, but not to build a house up in the woods in addition to the old farmhouse. 
Something if done properly, would have very little impact on the local biota. (a personal gripe)

The problem cannot be solved simply by carbon credits, electric cars wind 
generators and such. The problem is that there are too many of us. I do not 
know what the solution is. But, if we haven't reached a critical mass yet, 
we soon will, and I do believe that our growth rate is unsustainable.


Can we feed everyone tomorrow? The biosphere is collapsing, and soon our diet 
will have little variation as we turn to a minimum of large scale bio engineered foodstuffs.
But we will probably still have plenty of wine. 
After all, this is not our problem, it's our children's. Or is it?

1 comment:

  1. I guess I am lucky to live in an area where the population has actually decreased from 30 years ago. Bigger farms and fewer neighbours. The city has certainly grown though. More prime farm land under concrete and pavement.

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