A Still More Inconvenient Truth
At the end of the 19th century, the planet held about one billion people; at the end of the 20th, about six billion.
The Bible says "Be fruitful and multiply.” The whole world could put up a big banner reading "Mission Accomplished" and this time it would be true.
I’m no mathematician. But I do understand the concept of “finite planet.”
We can go as green as we want, but one finite planet plus one species with no competition that refuses to control its own population equals coming ecological disaster and human misery on an unprecedented scale. And, quite possibly, our extinction.
Politically, it’s impossible to talk about this. It would offend too many people who cherish life.
Kind of ironic.
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Recently, I received an email asking why “Original Faith” is the title of my upcoming book. I find the title works on at least two levels:
1. It’s about faith and other important aspects of who we are and who we can become more fully as known directly in our own experience.
2. Approaching spirituality and religion in this manner – setting aside beliefs and the questioning of beliefs to look squarely at what we can know first-hand – is an original approach.
The Bible says "Be fruitful and multiply.” The whole world could put up a big banner reading "Mission Accomplished" and this time it would be true.
I’m no mathematician. But I do understand the concept of “finite planet.”
We can go as green as we want, but one finite planet plus one species with no competition that refuses to control its own population equals coming ecological disaster and human misery on an unprecedented scale. And, quite possibly, our extinction.
Politically, it’s impossible to talk about this. It would offend too many people who cherish life.
Kind of ironic.
---
Recently, I received an email asking why “Original Faith” is the title of my upcoming book. I find the title works on at least two levels:
1. It’s about faith and other important aspects of who we are and who we can become more fully as known directly in our own experience.
2. Approaching spirituality and religion in this manner – setting aside beliefs and the questioning of beliefs to look squarely at what we can know first-hand – is an original approach.
Posted by Paul at 11:52 PM Permalink
28 Comments:
But, I think those forces are diminishing. I wonder how much this is implicated in reduced family sizes in the west. I know I now view myself as a symptom of nature, complex perhaps, but still an interdependent part of a seamless whole.
I think we will in time gravitate towards the optimal. Held in check, as complexity theory states, by opportunity when sub-critical and lethality where super-critical. Though the real question is whether we shape this balance, or it shapes us.
Now as for does anyone want to, that's another question all together.
Go to the dictionary and find the definition and somewhere it will say to support an idea or belief.... and this is the key.
First, to "prove" the Spirit, that person must be trying to do so.
Second, only to their belief does it need be proven.
Not some scientific, numbers rule type theory.
And, well it should be this way.
Else, there's no such thing as love, either.
Sure can't prove it.
Excellent and tragically true.
It makes me want to cry to think of all the species of plant and animal, and their habitats, that are being destroyed by human overpopulation. The Catholic Church's stand on birth control is irresponsible, I think.
At present, we human beings are, like Agent Smith said in the Matrix, a virus . . .
Out of control . . .
Killing our host organism . . .
My hope is that we somehow figure out how to reverse course . . .
I'll do what little I can . . .
Over population and fighting for resources look like a major chalenge facing humanity. ALot of politics and religion involved especially when it comes to contraception.... AIDS in Africa, the problem could be significantly reduced with common sense apporach to contraception......
I like the idea of of an original approach starting again, forgeting old dogmas and outdated ideas!
I look forward to the book!
N2: “…the real question is whether we shape this balance, or it shapes us.” I like that way of putting it. I hope the second is the road not taken, but that would take real leadership from the world’s developed nations...
BONEMAN: Proofs and types of proof and definitions… Could get complicated… My first reaction is that it seems to me that believers don't usually think of their beliefs as requiring proof. Even lots of things in science that are considered highly factual and well established – for example, the theory of gravity – I’m pretty sure aren’t strictly proved. I’ve never studied logic and was a terrible math student, but my overall impression is that unless you can basically add it, deduce it, or perceive it directly with your senses and have other people see it too, it falls short of proof.
MWM: And frustrating. We see a problem getting bigger and bigger and we see it coming from a huge distance – and world leaders are asleep at the wheel.
CRYSTAL: Saddens me too. And on the Catholic Church, I agree. I never understand what the hierarchy's thinking can be on this. It seems to me that the Catholic laity has been way ahead of them on this issue for a very long time.
Thanks for the link. One section reminds me of how people sometimes try to counter arguments for population control by saying “Well, so and so predicted that by this time we’d all be starving, but we’re not; so there’s no problem.” Is it just me or is there a flaw in this, uh, reasoning...?
OCEANSHAMAN: That’s how it’s looking to me at this juncture too. Hope we’re wrong, but as you and N2 are basically pointing out: one way or another, the human population is going to be controlled…
AIDAN: Thanks… I think…? Your post left me feeling itchy and claustrophobic - like I belong to a kind of termite colony...
Seriously, it also raises the quality of life issue. Filling the earth to the max with human biomass – who needs that??
the world will take care of it self...we don't need to worry....everything will eventually go and new life will come...its there both in Indian mythology as well as Christianity
indeed, the universe seeks balance. and balance, eventually, it shall achieve. its our choice, as a thinking species, to decide if this means our certain destruction ... or not.
The outcome was priceless~ less fuss, less worry, more of the profound and truly important in my faith....
When I started teaching in 1991, in a class of 50 students, there used to be 2 muslim students, 1 sikh and/or Christian and rest Hindus.
Over the years, it has changed drasticlly. Now we have on an average, 15 to 20 Muslim students, 1 sikh and/or Christian, rest Hindus.
It speaks for itself.
I have missed you..:D
RED M: Someday the highly evolved descendants of jellyfish will be snickering on their blogs: “And they called themselves Homo ‘Sapiens’ LOL!” {This is only a joke. If this were an actual prophesy, you would be instructed to obtain an aquarium and instruct your children on the care and feeding of jellyfish…}
CHRISTINE: I understand. Please see my reply above to Vishesh.
GAUTAMI: Good to "see" you. Just heard stats on how in Europe, the percent of Muslims is rising and expected to level off at I forget - somewhere between 20 and 30% or maybe a little lower. People all over the world need to respect each other.
FIFTY per class!? And the teachers here complain if they get thirty!
VISHESH: Not sure I’m entirely following… But for sure it’s too much to expect anyone to infer or for me to convey the book’s concepts in a thread or post, so I haven’t attempted to do that. We are thinking about having chapter one available online as it gets closer to release so people can get an idea of the approach.
The world is like a muscle that is being exercised to the point of burn out. But hey, they said exercise was a good thing right... It all depends to what extreme you take it....
Have a great night!
LEE: I do think that understanding the Word of God as the words of God can cause problems...
BLUE SKY: Not only that, but it doesn’t say: “Be fruitful and multiply ad infinitum!”
We need some kind of contemporary prophet who does footnotes like:
*Enough already!
LUCID: Thanks for stopping by. This thought occurs only, I hope, because it's so late: Maybe what the world needs are more extremist moderates. Moderates who are zealously, even rabidly committed to the ideal of moderation. Intemperate moderates.
I don't know much about the population issue. It seems pretty complicated to me. I found it curious and something I had never thought of before when I read recently that it takes a certain size population to support an economic system already in place or one that can thrive. It appears that our advances and progress have been due in part to the presence of sizable populations. That makes perfect sense when you think about it.
According to a Wikipedia article, birth rates have been on the decline for the past 50 or so years. Worldwide the number of children born per woman went from 5.02 to 2.65 between 1950 and 2005. A lot of that decline took place in Central and South America where the Catholic church is influential. So, we have made substantial progress in that area in spite of any possible pressures from religious groups to reproduce. From what understand, the reason the population exploded during the 20th century is that more people began to live longer due primarily to medical advances.
I read somewhere that all the earth can support without damage to its ecosystems is one billion people. I hope this is not true. As you pointed out, Paul, the population of the world in 1800 was about one billion and it is about six billion today. How can we expect to shrink down to that size (one billion) in time to save the earth and our species without the results being widespread human rights abuses? Can't we find other solutions?
I remember talking to someone in grade school and saying the only good thing about war is population control. Looking back on that, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think the wrong people are killed during wars. But who's to say who is "right" and "wrong" to kill in the name of population control.
Why, really, do we see life as so sacred? Yes, it's an amazing thing that we don't really understand. Yes, we have personal sympathies for those people we know. But really, when it comes down to it, why aren't we mourning for EVERY living thing that dies if life itself is so sacred? Why can't we see the death of humans in the same way as we see the death of a squirrel on a highway, or death on the food chain? Obviously we're not going to run out and kill a bunch of people in the name of population control. And we are genetically dispositioned to want to procreate. But why is it so hard to choose not to? I can't even begin to answer these questions! :D
We could hope for a technological fix – a technology so green that each of us places almost no burden on the planet. Or learning to travel past the speed of light and discovering other habitable planets. But from my limited understanding of science, these things may well prove impossible. Meanwhile, the population keeps growing.
Maybe it will have to reach the point where the population is such an obvious danger that people will generally agree, in a democratic manner, that measures of some kind have to be taken – incentives/disincentives built into the tax code??? I don't know... Also, we’d have to be really careful about unintended consequences such as how the one child policy in China resulted in the generation coming of age there today having more young men than women.
MARISSA: “Environmentalists say that one of the best things you can do for the planet is not have a child.” I’ve heard basically the same thing, I forget whether on NPR or the BBC. They just tallied up/quantified the effects of a life – I think they were comparing Indian and US middle class citizens. (Guess which uses far more resources…)
On why it’s so hard to decide not to procreate, or even, I’d add, procreate a little less, I’ve wondered about that too. (SusieQ above points to some obviously valid reasons in certain situations, but I think that here we’re thinking of ordinary Americans who don’t need lots of kids to till the soil etc.)
Total conjecture, but I wonder if a good part of it isn’t ego – the idea that there’s something special about me which, if I have kids, will live on and give me a kind of immortality that’s really important for the world because, well, it’s me…
Regarding your response: I dig it. Faith cannot be "taught," but can only be "learned" through experience. Your description of "original," in terms of faith, is a good one. I think we do need to set aside our biases and opinions when it comes to spirituality because there is only one higher power. When humans drop all the social barriers and realize this, this Earth will be a much better place.
Tim
The idea of leaving everything to God or a higher power on the population issue is where you trip me up, and for this reason: it’s impossible. "Earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow" etc. (Thine?? I should update my translation, lol...)
That is, just to survive at all, we've always had to think and plan and work and make decisions - as individuals and as societies. So while it makes sense to me to think in terms of seeking to do God's will or seeking guidance from a higher power, one way or another, we end up acting or deciding not to act on the population issue. In concert with God or out of step with God.
Because of course it's no longer the case that having sex has to produce babies like it did before birth control. Increasing numbers of dying children or preventing the fertilization of larger numbers of ova… I know which I’d choose.
Like you say, however, we’re nowhere near ready to tackle this politically. My guess is that the situation will have to become very dire before that can happen unless we somehow find a way to get real leaders in power – statesmen/women and not just politicians.
I suppose my stance on "population control" is one from a selfish perspective - I don't see how I could be able to do something about it so I don't bother with it. You are right, though. We do have a designed responsibility to tend and manage our world. We have the ability, and thus we should employ the ability. I guess I am just not comfortable with having to be the guy who makes the decision about who has to go.
In terms of "birth control," I understand your point but have something else to offer. If a woman living in "poverty" in the USA keeps having children, in spite of her inability to afford them, and continues reaping the benefits of our "social safety net," that's a Carlos Mencia "D-d-d" moment, or Bill Engvall's "Here's your sign." When a family in a third-world country has as many children as possible in the hopes that one or some of them might help pull them out of real "poverty," can a logical person blame them? You can't win the lottery without buying a ticket!
I suppose I understand socialism in its theoretical form, but can't quite wrap my mind around the reality of it. As you say, that may be why people like you or I are not "statesmen/women."
There I go, getting all "political" again...
Tim
I was dragged into health care activism with no prior interest or knowledge after I learned the hard way that our essentially self regulating health insurance industry has the power to act in the worst interest of patients.
I'm no longer a believer in capitalism any more than socialism. From what I can see, either one, made into an inflexible ideology, doesn't end up working in the best interests of ordinary citizens.
Imo, neither government nor business is "The Enemy," so to speak - until one is over-controlled by the other.
My site on health care is hmoappeals.com. What I'm going through at present isn't posted since that site went up before I had to depend on low wage/unskilled home health aides.
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