It's All About Population

The bottom line is that most, if not all, of our environmental problems, as well as many social problems, can be traced to our exploding population.

The following is from Tom, a colleague in my Ishmael group:

People of our culture who procreate do so for many reasons, but they rarely consider the environment in their decision-making. I didn't. As decendents of the Great Forgetting, we do not respect the feedback that the Earth gives us and insist that we have the right and the might to "grow" as we see fit.

Breeders and non-breeders alike, most people think that growth is our destiny. In our business and personal lives, we are insatiable. Our religions teach us that ("human life is precious.") Business and technology insist on it (conquer disease, see the world, increase market share.) Our economists teach us that (GDP, young workers needed to support the aging baby boomers.) We want more for our kids, more for ourselves, more for our employers, more, more, more.

So, we continue to increase our population (and humanity's collective ecological footprint) and can continue to do so, until our cultural beliefs collide with ecological limits.

Let us redouble our efforts to convince enough people to stop the madness and find a new story to live, one that embraces the concept of "enough." If we don't, then Nature will impose new stories on us that may not be so pleasant.

This is so eloquently said that there is nothing more I can add tonight. The main thing is that there are dozens of environmental issues to work on, at all levels, and it's easy to get distracted. I have to keep my focus on the "mother" of all issues, even though at times it seems remote and unobtainable.Oh, and here is a great signature line from a population campaign:

"The Fate of the World is in Your Hands...And Your Pants!"

Classic!