I was listening to a piece on the issue of overpopulation this evening on NPR.
To sum it up: We're screwed.
Some of us knew this all along, others are learning, and still others cling to the notion that somehow we don't live in a closed system.
In 1932 there were approximately 2 billion humans on the earth, we're now approaching 7 at an ever increasing rate.
A summary view of many of the real problems facing our kinds reveals what seems like common sense upon realization: pollution, disease, stress, the economy, malfunctioning social interaction on a global scale, famine, climate change, poverty, widening gaps between economic classes, increasingly unequal resource distribution, exponentially less resources to distribute; Nearly every ill which faces our species in these times can be traced directly or indirectly back to overpopulation. It seems that no matter what issue one seriously ponders, all thoughts eventually converge upon human population dynamics.
Unfortunately any real dialogue on this topic has yet to occur. Partly becuase we lack sufficient data to logically engage in discourse and partly because its a very touchy subject. Touchy because the human herd cannot separate itself from its feelings and view things in an objective manner.
But what it all boils down to is that there are too many of us.
So now one has to wonder if there is anything we CAN do about it. After all no species ever voluntarily controls it's own numbers. And no one really wants to die.
Lower birth rates in dense populations of deer, for example, are due to the effects of increased stress and disease on reproduction. Lemmings walking into the sea is a myth.
If history has any lessons for us its that we don't learn our lessons. So unfortunately I arrive at this conclusion: No, we are simply another animal species who, despite what we think are signs of advanced reasoning, are ultimately controlled, on the whole, by our short-sighted biological urges to breed and consume. We really don't have any say in the matter.
As an ecologist it's very difficult to remain optimistic about the near future.
I hope i'm wrong.
I saw a scantily clad lady exiting the passenger side of a police cruiser and returning to her own vehicle while adjusting her attire this evening.
To sum it up: We're screwed.
Some of us knew this all along, others are learning, and still others cling to the notion that somehow we don't live in a closed system.
In 1932 there were approximately 2 billion humans on the earth, we're now approaching 7 at an ever increasing rate.
A summary view of many of the real problems facing our kinds reveals what seems like common sense upon realization: pollution, disease, stress, the economy, malfunctioning social interaction on a global scale, famine, climate change, poverty, widening gaps between economic classes, increasingly unequal resource distribution, exponentially less resources to distribute; Nearly every ill which faces our species in these times can be traced directly or indirectly back to overpopulation. It seems that no matter what issue one seriously ponders, all thoughts eventually converge upon human population dynamics.
Unfortunately any real dialogue on this topic has yet to occur. Partly becuase we lack sufficient data to logically engage in discourse and partly because its a very touchy subject. Touchy because the human herd cannot separate itself from its feelings and view things in an objective manner.
But what it all boils down to is that there are too many of us.
So now one has to wonder if there is anything we CAN do about it. After all no species ever voluntarily controls it's own numbers. And no one really wants to die.
Lower birth rates in dense populations of deer, for example, are due to the effects of increased stress and disease on reproduction. Lemmings walking into the sea is a myth.
If history has any lessons for us its that we don't learn our lessons. So unfortunately I arrive at this conclusion: No, we are simply another animal species who, despite what we think are signs of advanced reasoning, are ultimately controlled, on the whole, by our short-sighted biological urges to breed and consume. We really don't have any say in the matter.
As an ecologist it's very difficult to remain optimistic about the near future.
I hope i'm wrong.
I saw a scantily clad lady exiting the passenger side of a police cruiser and returning to her own vehicle while adjusting her attire this evening.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
25/25 slide identification
35/35 preserved specimen identification
15/15 short answer
Get ready to give it up, big fella.