Part 10: too many people, too little water, too little energy, too little resources

In a brilliantly written book, Too Many People by Lindsey Grant, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Population Affairs, he brought a lifetime of global experience into his profoundly direct book.

No matter how much the mainstream media, which includes all major television networks, radio and print—do, to avoid, ignore and evade the population issue—it rears its ugly head in every newscast—daily  across the United States and around the world. 

Notice how National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service and local TV stations do not mention or engage any connection of any problem of “too many people.”  For example: if you wander through the streets of India, their ‘sacred cow’ is actually a cow.  And, those cows by the hundreds of thousands wonder all over the streets in India, creating horrid cow waste, urine waste and generally mess up everything, but since Indians consider them ‘sacred’, no one will do anything about them.

While ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and FOX report on terrible problems with collapsing fisheries, extinction rates, air pollution, acidified oceans and climate destabilization—they won’t touch the ‘sacred cow’ of human overpopulation.  They cannot avoid its brutal reality much longer.

“In this essay, I will survey the current evidence and make the case that we can turn the present deteriorating system around only by ending infatuation with growth and embracing the idea of a return to a smaller population,” said Grant.  “Our future depends on learning to come into better balance with the rest of nature and to find a sustainable relationship we have yet to achieve.”

SOMETHING NEW ON EARTH

“Human systems have grown to the point at which the damage we do  has become intolerable, not only to other species,[Human encroachment causes the extinction of 80 to 100 species daily around the globe. The die-off is so great that it is called the ‘sixth extinction’ session.], and thus, dangerous to our own future,” said Grant.  “As our problems have been caused or compounded by the growth of populations and economic activity, their solutions requires that we turn growth around.”

Consequently, we stand at a critical juncture as indicated by Dr. Jack Alpert, www.skil.org, where he calls for a ‘rapid population decline’ of one child per woman worldwide if we are to survive the 21st century.  He makes the cogent case, that if we desire to live at the present wealth and resource use level as the United States, we must drop to 100 million humans worldwide. If we fail to make the drop gracefully by birth control and family planning, Mother Nature will do it for us, rather brutally. See Alpert’s video: Rapid Population Decline, seven minute video by Dr. Jack Alpert- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTWduFB_RX0

Grant states the ugly obvious, “All these issues have a self-evident connection to population growth. I find it astonishing that the technically literate seldom touch upon that connection and never—almost literally never—mention population policy as part of the solution.”

Energy expert Richard Heinberg said the same thing after last year’s Global Climate Conference in Denmark:

"...the discussions in Denmark took place in a conceptual fantasy world in which climate change is the only global crisis that matters much; in which rapid economic growth is still an option; in which fossil fuels are practically limitless; in which a western middle class staring at the prospect of penury can be persuaded voluntarily to transfer a significant portion of its rapidly evaporating wealth to other nations; in which subsistence farmers in poor nations should all aspire to become middle-class urbanites; and in which the subject of human overpopulation can barely be mentioned.

... It's no wonder more wasn't achieved in Copenhagen."  http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=311db31977054c5ef58219392&id=1853646c28&e=411677039a 

In Grant’s second chapter, he hits on the simple reality of our predicament, “The United States’ population was 75 million in 1900. It hit 300 million in 2006. It expects to hit 438 million in 40 more years. World population adds 77 million annually. Migration pressure is a product of overcrowding on the land, of unemployment and wage differentials, all of which are driven by population growth. Those driving forces would subside if somehow the growth should stop or turn around.”

FASTER AND FASTER TO A HIGHLY DESTRUCTIVE ENDING  

In my world travels, I witnessed horrific ocean damage in dead zones at the mouths of rivers out of the U.S., China, India, Brazil and Europe.  Really ugly stuff!  Also, it’s beyond imagination that humans could and are, for the past 20 years, killing 100 million sharks annually.  Humans ‘clear cut’ the oceans with 40 mile long drift nets that grab everything and kill it.  Then, when cut away and left hanging on reefs, those plastic nets continue slaughtering millions of hapless marine creatures forever.

“The whole world is engaged in a pell-mell race to grow faster—driving toward an impossible objective. It is a daunting objective: the idea of a race to increase economic activity in a world already under stress,” said Grant. 

THE FINAL ARBITERS FOR HUMAN EXPANION: WATER AND FOOD

While we enjoyed the ‘green revolution’ to produce more food back in the 1970s, it unfortunately resulted in another three billion humans added to planet in a blink of time. 

To give you an idea of how crazy our human predicament: Bangladesh, with a landmass the size of Iowa, carries an astounding 144 million people.  Demographers predict they will add another 100 million in 40 years with their extraordinary birthrates.  Canadian environmentalist Tim Murray laments, “Humans are too dumb to survive.”

Currently, you can look this up: 18 million human beings die of starvation or starvation related diseases annually around the world.  (Source: World Health Organization) That’s eight million adults and 10 million children.

Grant talks about food and we will address that in the next part of this series.

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International Services Assistance Fund web site:  www.isafonline.org , please contact Mr. Don Collins at dcoll28416@aol.com for more information. 

Must see DVD:  “Blind Spot”   http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/blind_spot/  , This movie illustrates America’s future without oil, water and other resources to keep this civilization functioning. It’s a brilliant educational movie!  www.blindspotdoc.com

Must see: Rapid Population Decline, seven minute video by Dr. Jack Alpert-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTWduFB_RX0

Must see and funny:  www.growthbusters.org ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXSTrW_dARc
Dave Gardner’s Polar Bear in Bedroom: http://growthbusters.org/2010/03/save-the-polar-bear-in-your-bedroom ; Dave Gardner, President, Citizen-Powered Media ; Producing the Documentary, GROWTH BUSTERS; presents Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity, Join the cause at www .growthbusters.org ;760 Wycliffe Drive, Colorado Springs, CO  80906  USA; +1 719-576-5565

Chris Clugston: Following is a high level summary of a detailed analysis of America’s “predicament” and it’s inevitable consequences. The complete analysis and associated models, evidence, and references can be found at http://www.wakeupamerika.com/PDFs/On-American-Sustainability.pdf.  On American Sustainability—Anatomy of a Societal Collapse (Summary)

coclugston@comcast.net  ;  www.wakeupamerika.com

Exceptional books on this subject:

Too Many People by Lindsey Grant

Peak Everything: Facing a Century of Declines by Richard Heinberg

The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler

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Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled across six continents – from the Arctic to the South Pole – as well as six times across the USA, coast to coast and border to border.  In 2005, he bicycled from the Arctic Circle, Norway to Athens, Greece.  He presents “The Coming Population Crisis in America: and what you can do about it” to civic clubs, church groups, high schools and colleges.  He works to bring about sensible world population balance at www.frostywooldridge.com  He is the author of:  America on the Brink: The Next Added 100 Million Americans.  Copies available:  1 888 280 7715