Just 1 of 8 Billion

They told me this day would come ?!

“The unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates’)

Notice of intent:

The following is a departure from my usual & philosophical in nature which by definition means … I am posing questions based solely on observation. Philosophy is a thinking process not to be confused with opinion, conclusion, judgment or worse condemnation.  If you view current affairs through a political lens please stop reading & return to CNN, FOX or whichever news outlet tells you what you want to hear.  If you view current affairs through a religious lens … please stop reading & return to whatever scripture helps you feel safe, comfortable & righteous.  If you want entertainment please stop reading & return to social media for the next cutesy viral meme.  However, if you care to just consider the possibilities of our current affairs … read on …

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Dear Mr.  Al Gore & Ms. Greta Thunberg~

I’d like to thank you both for your immeasurable contributions to our global awareness & understanding of Climate Change / Global Warming ! However … & with all due respect “An Inconvenient Truth” & your activism are missing one glaring “Unspeakable Truth” which as we suffer through this recent pandemic is all the more difficult to reconcile!

Current World Human Population: 7,725,000,000 (yes that’s nearly 8 billion people living on this planet)

Average # of human births globally PER DAY:  198,000

Average # of human deaths worldwide PER DAY: 82,000

& by simple math we increase the number of humans on this small planet by 116,000 everyday … a little more math shows earth’s human population increasing by more than 30 million every year.

*these are conservative estimates … the actual numbers may be twice as stated above*

Respectfully, submitting these statistics as THE global & environmental problem of the highest order.

Regretfully,

Chris  (just 1 of 8 billion)

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The “Unspeakable Truth” is … we are on an unsustainable path of human growth & no manner of energy & resource conservation will compensate for the havoc 8-10 billion people will have on each other & this planet’s natural resources.  The arrogance is perceiving human life separate from the natural world … the ignorance becomes assuming the natural world will spare us the destruction necessary to remain in balance … & the illusion is that humanity & our way of life will be saved by our own resource management, ingenuity &/or technology !  If we can begin to view the human race as a part of nature … then maybe we will make a greater attempt to work in concert with it versus trying to manage or exploit it.  Unfortunately, it seems in regards to the natural world … we have fallen into the same thought process as our politics … them vs. us … they vs. we … what is ours & what’s theirs.

“WE ARE AT WAR !” is a message we have been hearing for weeks now … begging the question … whom  are we “at war” with ? the answer is “the virus”.  So, we are “at war” with a virus which most likely was created by the natural world … in essence then we are at war with Mother Nature & by extension ourselves?!

This then poses a philosophical or maybe more existential question … At what point does the sanctity & preservation of an individual life become a detriment to the health & existence of our collective lives ?  Currently, in the face of global disease our leaders have chosen to preserve individual lives at all costs.  The cost is mind numbing in many regards & we (the masses) have accepted these sacrifices as our civic duty.  “We are all in this together” “Stay @ home” “Stop the Spread” & “Flatten the Curve” are a few of the rally cries which propagandize the attempt to minimize human casualties.  As noble as that effort may be … @ what point does this attempt to preserve life fail ?   Seemingly, it fails when you consider the human condition … we will potentially protect one another to varying degrees until the time that one threatens our freedom and/or quality of life.  It most certainly would fail when one individual threatens the survival of another … at which point we would descend into the natural world order of … survival of the fittest.  Some might argue that this process is already taking place or, at the very least, posturing for its inevitability has begun … does wealth inequality or hording resources sound familiar?!

With all of this said, we don’t need to look any further than the natural world itself to see what possible challenges humanity may face in the future … as we will certainly survive this current viral outbreak. There are countless examples of what befalls a species when their population exceeds the ability of their environment to support them.  Famine, disease & competition/conflict are the most common & most likely issues that will lead to catastrophic changes to humanity.  People (especially U.S. American’s) don’t like drastic change … we like incremental change because that allows us time to adapt … thereby continuing our comfortable lifestyles with minimal sacrifice.

Individually, the most difficult conflict to resolve is “internal conflict” … that which we create for ourselves.  The idioms ”he is his own enemy” & “he can’t seem to get out of his own way” come to mind.  Until we view population growth as the problem … we collectively “will not be able to get out of our own way” (literally & figuratively).

So,  Mother Nature has put us … part of her family … on a “time out”.  In my observation a “time out”, as a disciplinary tool, rarely results in long term &/or meaningful behavioral change.   Simply because the “time out” is predicated on the notion that you take that time to think about what you have done & how to change it for the better.  In reality … we don’t examine or philosophize during that time … we just cope with isolation by entertaining ourselves until the time out ends & we can get back to normal with (at best) some perfunctory adjustments.  Meaningful change … lasting change … only happens when we are profoundly affected & this virus seems like another & much louder “warning shot” from the rest of nature to get our F***ing attention !

So … Al & Greta will rightfully exemplify this moment to further their messages. They/we have already witnessed, in just a matter of weeks/months, our environment beginning the repair process with cleaner air , reduced water pollution & a less fearful animal kingdom … only because we (humans) have momentarily removed ourselves from it.  Evidence that anything less is just mitigating the damage not substantially correcting it … similar to “social distancing”.

The problem of over population is not some grand epiphany on my part or new concept but so far is only spoken in whispers … hence “unspeakable” & in the furthest corners (like an obscure website).  Anyone of influence willing to shout the reality that the single greatest threat to human existence is the existence of 2 many humans would probably be committing personal … political … spiritual suicide.  Be that as it may …  We are our own enemy !   

“The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you’ll never have.” ― Søren Kierkegaard.

Footnotes:

1. In the time it took me to write this (2 weeks) yeah I know … 2 weeks WTF ?  Trust me if I could write something I like without having to edit it 8 billion times this website would be filled with a life time of stories from near & far.  Be that as it may… in these 2 weeks approximately 25,000 people sadly have died of Covid 19 worldwide … & in that same two weeks nearly 3 million children were born.
2. “Planet of the Humans” A documentary film by Michael Moore & Jeff Gibbs will air on Earth Day (Weds April 22, 2020) *This film speaks with greater detail & expertise to the grim future of an over populated planet*

 References:

World population statistics can be found at:

United Nations (www.population.un.org)

World O Meters (www.worldometers.info)

or a simple internet search