Population

We were born into a country that believes in unlimited resources and unlimited wealth. The term “the American dream” is still bandied about and means that everyone has the potential to own a big house, a big car, and a big TV. Many people were able to buy their dream house and are now unable to pay for it.

The earth is a finite object with finite resources. It cannot sustain an unlimited population of humans. When an animal population gets too large, it is cut back by starvation, disease, predation, and natural disaster. The same will happen with humans.

It is possible and even likely that we have already reached peak oil. For the most part, Americans think of their cars when they think of oil. A little research shows that oil is used in thousands of applications and the reduction of oil is going to have disastrous consequences worldwide.

The real necessities of life are air, land, and water. All of these are in danger. Although earth is a water planet, only 3% of that water is potable and our potable water is decreasing as lakes, rivers, and the ocean become increasingly polluted. Our air is being polluted at an accelerated rate. China is scrambling like crazy to clean up Beijing’s air before the Olympics. Our land is being destroyed through deforestation and over-planting as well as the over-use of pesticides.

The idea that a larger population means more production is crazy in the United States today. Unemployment is higher than reported by the government. Our manufacturing base has gone overseas. Food is becoming more expensive and in shorter supply. Because of Bush pushing ethanol, probably one of the worst alternative fuels, farmers are growing corn and other biofuel products and causing the price of these products to go up. Animals that eat these grains, such as cows, pigs, and chickens, are also going up in price.

To put it simply, the planet is becoming less and less able to support the population it has. Any increase in population is only going to exacerbate the problem. If we don’t begin to conserve and heal our planet as well as seriously reduce population growth, the human family is in great danger.

I’m not really concerned about the earth. She will take care of herself. If humans turn out to be a problem, she will just shake us off like fleas on a dog. The coming world crisis, as more and more people go after fewer and fewer necessities, will solve the problem. There will be famines and disease, which will ease the population