Population is the root issue
Mark Paxton’s column
”
Are We Losing the Green Revolution?
”
gave food for thought. U.S. investors and our government are
slower than their foreign counterparts to realize the cost of
continued carbon emissions and global warming, and also the
opportunities presented by
”
Green Energy
”
and energy conservation. Sort of like Detroit’s failure to
anticipate how the market would suddenly shift toward
fuel-efficient cars.
We certainly need energy conservation and green energy, but
these measures can only postpone the onset of impending problems
far worse than expensive fuel and climate change. We ignore a
bigger threat
– the world’s relentlessly growing population. Since the 1970s,
we have added over 70 million new humans each year. Furthermore
this growth is expected to continue far into the future. Many
ominous signs now indicate that our earth cannot long sustain even
today’s 6.7 billion souls. Our myopic den
ial of this fact has been compared to a fierce beast in the
parlor, which no one wants to mention.
We must admit the existence of this of growing threat and become
concerned
– very concerned. Governments, business and especially, the
public need to face the hard truth about the worsening problem. It
dwarfs matters like economic recession, terrorism and other bad
news the media prefers to deal with.
What can we do? The short answer: There is much we can do.
Limited efforts have demonstrated conclusively that families will
have fewer children, given the knowledge and the means. Education
and empowerment of women help too. So we can stabilize and then
reduce world population, and do so voluntarily, humanely and
affordably. But we must get concerned enough to act. Otherwise
nature will act, by war, pestilence and famine.
John Blake
Hollister
Population is the root issue
Mark Paxton’s column “Are We Losing the Green Revolution?” gave food for thought. U.S. investors and our government are slower than their foreign counterparts to realize the cost of continued carbon emissions and global warming, and also the opportunities presented by “Green Energy” and energy conservation. Sort of like Detroit’s failure to anticipate how the market would suddenly shift toward fuel-efficient cars.
We certainly need energy conservation and green energy, but these measures can only postpone the onset of impending problems far worse than expensive fuel and climate change. We ignore a bigger threat – the world’s relentlessly growing population. Since the 1970s, we have added over 70 million new humans each year. Furthermore this growth is expected to continue far into the future. Many ominous signs now indicate that our earth cannot long sustain even today’s 6.7 billion souls. Our myopic denial of this fact has been compared to a fierce beast in the parlor, which no one wants to mention.
We must admit the existence of this of growing threat and become concerned – very concerned. Governments, business and especially, the public need to face the hard truth about the worsening problem. It dwarfs matters like economic recession, terrorism and other bad news the media prefers to deal with.
What can we do? The short answer: There is much we can do. Limited efforts have demonstrated conclusively that families will have fewer children, given the knowledge and the means. Education and empowerment of women help too. So we can stabilize and then reduce world population, and do so voluntarily, humanely and affordably. But we must get concerned enough to act. Otherwise nature will act, by war, pestilence and famine.
John Blake
Hollister
