IS THIS THE FUTURE WE HOPE FOR OUR CHILDREN? © 2005
Sixteen years ago we wrote your peers of how overpopulation is the most serious problem facing our civilization. The United Nations in 1994 unanimously agreed to this fact. Since many nations didn’t address the predictions, and now the end point of the planet’s sustainability** has been reached, we are appealing to you as a member of the new generation of concerned citizens to help address this most urgent problem. (See population graph in our home page and supporting data)
The threat of our very existence is not war, AIDS, drugs or terrorism. Overpopulation is at the root of unemployment, will hunger, crime, drugs, family disintegration, and war. Top scientists predict that at the present population growth, the environment will become uninhabitable in a 100 years as it will irreparably strip the world of its replenishable supplies. As now we have already started to eat “tomorrow’s seeds.”
Long ago, in towns and farms across the lands, work was plentiful. Fathers provided for their families so wives stayed home to nurture their children, the elders and sick. There was time to spend time with the family, where their emotional needs were met, thus crime and drugs were minor. The needy had the assistance of the community for they all knew each other. Since there was much manual labor, many hands were needed, thus large families were the norm. Then, love respect and neighborliness ruled.
The advent of the industrial revolution decreased the need for able hands, but as populations enlarged, competition for jobs, food and shelter grew. In order to make ends meet, women had to join the work force. Now the world has grown competitive and cold where the survival of the fittest rules. The following are symptoms of overpopulation today, after work, spouses often come home emotionally and physically drained, so arguments erupt more often; spouses do not have much time for themselves or their family. In 2004 divorce rate in the USA is over 40%. Infanticide is the number one cause of children’s violent death in the USA. In Japan, male suicide is up 105% since 1970. Competitiveness is turning many to drugs or alcohol to ease life’s pressures. Overpopulation is destroying the very fabric that gives humans their dignity and worth.
Parents, teachers and society often have little time to give thus it is easier to give material objects than one’s time. It is no surprise that materialism is replacing the human touch. As a result, new generations equate success home and rewards in material terms. But materialism is not fulfilling the human warmth. Some children and spouses craving human affection not finding it at, often seek it elsewhere. In the USA, 34% of new mothers are unmarried. Sex is experienced by many in search of love or as a release for stress. This phenomenon was clearly seen after World War II resulting in the Baby Boom, and everywhere now, sex is marketed as exciting and Glamorous.
In 1800, the world’s population was about 1.3 billion, now 6.3 billion. The USA had 5 million people in 1800, in 2005 it reports 290.8 million. The growing numbers have not been substantially affected by wars, catastrophes, disease, or natural deaths. The numbers show the growing problem: 6 million children die annually from malnutrition, while about 80 million more are born each year. Since 1990, 40 million people have been added to the list of moderate poverty*, making their total above 2.7 billion.
In order to subsist, many farmers are over-tilling and overgrazing the land. Thousands of acres are being claimed daily for housing, mining, logging, farming, driving wildlife and plant varieties to extinction. Pollution from daily living, agriculture and industry is poisoning the fields, atmosphere and water, destroying the very essence of life. This is causing global warming, bringing more torrential floods, droughts, mudslides, forest fires and storms, creating deserts at an irreparable pace. If things are so obvious now, how can we hope for improvement if we continue adding our population? Scientific figures show the planet can sustain now** up to 6.2 billion people, but shortly it will decease this number rapidly. We have reached this turning point of our planet’s sustainability. In the last 10 years, the exponential population growth has slightly slowed down to 1.2%. This not due to improving or better access to family planning or improving economies, but due to growing food and water shortages, increasing disease and poverty in spite of better medical care and increasing affluence in other parts of the world. The stress is already touching even the most powerful economies. Now, in the USA, one out of every fifth child goes to bed hungry and so do 800 million people worldwide.
Economic pressure from overpopulation is causing some to debase themselves in order to subsist; thus crime grows, and some countries turn to war for their dwindling supplies. To bring a child to this world where there is not enough for its subsistence is irresponsible and immoral. The SOLUTION requires conservation, education, and family planning, not abortion or wars. IT IS STILL POSSIBLE to reach a sustainable future if ALL NEW families have no more than one or maximum two children, and if we become good stewards of this land. It is unconscionable to see how some of our leaders will not warn or take steps to address this problem. Let us work together as a world family, above politics and greed, so our children have a hopeful future. A world where under a clear sky they can gaze at green pastures and crystalline lakes, where the song of birds and perfume of wild flowers bring joy to their hearts. A world where they can live with dignity and peace.
* The World Bank defines moderate poverty as living on $1 to $2 US a day.
** The World Commission on Environment definition of sustainability: A sustainable society is one that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
FOR PRACTICAL ETHICAL SOLUTIONS, and details, read: Wealth Hunger and Peace.
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