I was listening to my favorite radio program the other night instead of falling asleep as I should have. The topic was over population. The people calling in were irate! They defended their positions that they can have as many children as they can afford. They spouted religious dogma and attacked the host for suggesting that religion had any thing to do with the problem. The host was interviewing an author. I forgot his name. The author said while the program was on, He was being bombarded with hundreds of e-mails on his website. About 90 % of the e-mails agreed with him. Over population of our planet is a very serious problem.
This reminded me of an experiment I learned about in college. Researchers set up an ideal environment for mice. It was healthy. Food was plentiful. They let the mice breed indiscriminately. They kept the environment clean and disease free. There was a mice explosion in the contained environment.
Mice behavior changed because of the stress of over crowding. Homosexuality was identified. Withdrawn behavior was identified. Females had spontaneous abortions or absorbed their fetuses . Aggressive behavior was shown. Abnormal mice behavior was seen...call it mice mental problems. Eventually, the mice population stabilized and last I checked, was remaining at the same level.
I think this experiment is a good indicator of why We have social problems in the human population. We are way too over crowded. We are stressed. I know that I am.
Even if We stabilize out numbers, as the mice did, We have another problem...using up natural resources and degrading our environment. There is no science researcher dropping food into our world and cleaning up the pollution.
h I suppose We can sustain a growing population, but at the cost of a lower standard of living. Do you want to live without your car? Central heating? Grocery stores? Do you want to have to patrol your property to keep your neighbors from stealing the produce from your garden? Would you shoot someone who wants the peaches on your peach tree?
The author (not the one being interviewed on the radio)...the author Jard Diamond wrote a book, "Collapse". It made the New York Times bestseller list. The topic is how societies choose to fail or succeed. In this well researched report, Mr. Diamond discusses how societies failed as they used up their natural resources. He gives ancient and modern examples. After the society descended to a desperate situation, the citizens had to disperse, die of disease or starvation , or resort to cannibalism. Mr. Diamond gave example after example. In historic terms, excess population could choose to migrate to another island, or geographical location to start again. We now live on a world where all the islands are populated. If We degrade the earth, there is no place else to migrate to. Only the four horsemen are left as an alternative. I think this explains a lot of the social ills We now endure. Very few societies succeeded with this challenge. They did so by limiting their numbers so as to not stress their environment beyond its ability to recover.
The world now has so many people that I don't think such large numbers have the ability to cooperate with each other....to agree to solve global problems. I don't think our national leaders have the guts to put the welfare of the earth and its people above their own political agendas. For people to solve this problem, they need to be aware that there is a problem. They need to be educated. They need to have evolved beyond the "I got mine. To hell with you" mentality that I see on every level of society. We need education and birth control. It should be all right to live a life without children. Making a contribution to our world through art or science is a good legacy. The more people, the cheaper human life is. Don't you want each and every single person to be treasured and welcomed to our world? We can do that with smaller numbers.
I see animals, fish and birds living in the survival mode. When migrating birds come up north, the first thing the males do is stake out territory. They sing for territoy. They need that territory to assure a food supply. They need the food supply to attract a female to raise a new brood of birds. The males can be fierce to gain that territy. Weak males don't breed.
My guess is that We haven't evolved out of that survival mode. Countries invade other countries to gain territory and natural resources. We're the same as the birds, fish and animals.
I am not hopeful.
When I was little, each succeeding generation was healthier and better educated that the generation before. My parents lived longer than their parents . I am living healthy and longer than my parents.
My grandparent's education stopped at the 8th grade level. My parents finished high school and some education beyond that. I finished my bachelor's and master's degrees and went back for more. I had to, because the press of numbers became competition for a job. My children did not finish college. My grandchildren quit high school. Is my generation some sort of peak...Are we not on a downward slide?
This reminded me of an experiment I learned about in college. Researchers set up an ideal environment for mice. It was healthy. Food was plentiful. They let the mice breed indiscriminately. They kept the environment clean and disease free. There was a mice explosion in the contained environment.
Mice behavior changed because of the stress of over crowding. Homosexuality was identified. Withdrawn behavior was identified. Females had spontaneous abortions or absorbed their fetuses . Aggressive behavior was shown. Abnormal mice behavior was seen...call it mice mental problems. Eventually, the mice population stabilized and last I checked, was remaining at the same level.
I think this experiment is a good indicator of why We have social problems in the human population. We are way too over crowded. We are stressed. I know that I am.
Even if We stabilize out numbers, as the mice did, We have another problem...using up natural resources and degrading our environment. There is no science researcher dropping food into our world and cleaning up the pollution.
h I suppose We can sustain a growing population, but at the cost of a lower standard of living. Do you want to live without your car? Central heating? Grocery stores? Do you want to have to patrol your property to keep your neighbors from stealing the produce from your garden? Would you shoot someone who wants the peaches on your peach tree?
The author (not the one being interviewed on the radio)...the author Jard Diamond wrote a book, "Collapse". It made the New York Times bestseller list. The topic is how societies choose to fail or succeed. In this well researched report, Mr. Diamond discusses how societies failed as they used up their natural resources. He gives ancient and modern examples. After the society descended to a desperate situation, the citizens had to disperse, die of disease or starvation , or resort to cannibalism. Mr. Diamond gave example after example. In historic terms, excess population could choose to migrate to another island, or geographical location to start again. We now live on a world where all the islands are populated. If We degrade the earth, there is no place else to migrate to. Only the four horsemen are left as an alternative. I think this explains a lot of the social ills We now endure. Very few societies succeeded with this challenge. They did so by limiting their numbers so as to not stress their environment beyond its ability to recover.
The world now has so many people that I don't think such large numbers have the ability to cooperate with each other....to agree to solve global problems. I don't think our national leaders have the guts to put the welfare of the earth and its people above their own political agendas. For people to solve this problem, they need to be aware that there is a problem. They need to be educated. They need to have evolved beyond the "I got mine. To hell with you" mentality that I see on every level of society. We need education and birth control. It should be all right to live a life without children. Making a contribution to our world through art or science is a good legacy. The more people, the cheaper human life is. Don't you want each and every single person to be treasured and welcomed to our world? We can do that with smaller numbers.
I see animals, fish and birds living in the survival mode. When migrating birds come up north, the first thing the males do is stake out territory. They sing for territoy. They need that territory to assure a food supply. They need the food supply to attract a female to raise a new brood of birds. The males can be fierce to gain that territy. Weak males don't breed.
My guess is that We haven't evolved out of that survival mode. Countries invade other countries to gain territory and natural resources. We're the same as the birds, fish and animals.
I am not hopeful.
When I was little, each succeeding generation was healthier and better educated that the generation before. My parents lived longer than their parents . I am living healthy and longer than my parents.
My grandparent's education stopped at the 8th grade level. My parents finished high school and some education beyond that. I finished my bachelor's and master's degrees and went back for more. I had to, because the press of numbers became competition for a job. My children did not finish college. My grandchildren quit high school. Is my generation some sort of peak...Are we not on a downward slide?
Labels: Over population
posted by gardenbug at Monday, April 02, 2007
3 Comments:
I don't think that we're on a downward slide - but I do think we have more choices than ever before. I graduated from tech school after attending college on and off for several years and deciding that I wanted a more focused education that would put me on a career fast track. I earn more than many 4-year college graduates - could afford a mortgage on my own. Stephen did the same thing after doing his HS equivalency. Chris and Ian are working on their college degrees - they just aren't traditional students living on campus and doing the 4 years in a row. (I can't speak for anyone else.) So - we're doing things differently (I just haven't figured out if it's better or worse.)
I do think that we need population balance and people in poorer countries will need to be better educated before that happens. I worry about natural resources - but we'll kill ourselves off before we kill the earth off. I'm pretty convinced of that. (I see where I get my global consciousness from. xoxoxo)
I think you're right about non-traditional education. How would a high school graduate know what he or she wants to do for the rest of their life, when the only life experience they have is high school? We have to explore a lot of options before We find the one that is right for us. I did the bachelor's degree, master's degree and another associate's degree. Frankly, I learned a lot, but did not earn a lot of money. Sometimes education doesn't pay off financially. I think our schools can do a lot better job of educating children than they currently do.
I completely agree, and while there is great value to the basics, how many kids did I go to school with, who graduated from HS and then had no clue to what they were supposed to be doing? I like what they do here - you can leave school at 15 and become an apprentice. By the time you're 25, you're making fantastic money and are in demand. Some people are definitely "hands-on" types; others are more cerebral. Everyone's got to find their niche. The public education system, unfortunately, caters to the lowest common denominator.
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