I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money."
~ Cree Indian Proverb

Experts from the U.N. project that the global human population is going to break 7 billion by the end of the year. 7,000,000,000 (yeah, 9 zeros). Think about that number. It took only 12 years since humans broke the 6-billion mark (in 1999) for another billion to be added. They predict we will break 10 billion (OR MORE) by the end of the century.

Does no-one else see the crisis in this? When they talk about it on the news, they either announce it as a piece of mildly-interesting trivia, or something to be excited about (as if this were some great achievement). This is shockingly revealing of how clueless the world is, as a whole, of the consequences of human action, the sheer mind-boggling scale of our destruction. This is not a case of a bored dog chewing up your favourite couch. I'm talking every disaster movie combined, times a thousand.

NEWS FLASH:

• There's a global food crisis going on (though you'd never guess when walking through your local grocery store).
• There's a global water crisis too. They come together as a set.
• The cost of oil is going steadily up (around here gasoline prices have increased by over 30% since this time last year), and like it or not, will sooner or later run out entirely.
• Current energy systems are barely able to meet the worldwide demand for electricity.
• We've caused almost irreparable damage to the environment (climate change being only a symptom) through our consumption of resources and output of pollution.
• Whole ecosystems have been destroyed, and tens of thousands of species of plant and animal have gone extinct (read this for a sobering look at the next 40 years). Extinct means forever. Do you want to be the one to tell your children or grandchildren that they will never see a live tiger or mountain gorilla, because of human recklessness and carelessness?
  

We are completely exhausting the planet's ability to sustain the current number of 6,916,153,099 ...And no shortage of babies on the way. And this is something we are supposed to smile at, and say, "WOW! We are REALLY good at procreating! We should all get trophies for being the most virus-like species!"

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I'm personally horrified that there isn't more being done to halt and REVERSE (you heard me) this trend [...disclaimer: I'm not talking about cutting down the living population-- I'm not a monster! I'm talking about LESS BABIES so that the population can drop over the natural course of time...]. I lay awake at night in fear of what the future holds. Economic growth should NOT be the primary driving force in making more people. You won't worry about your bank stocks if your children are starving to death. Money in the bank but an empty fridge? No more trees? No more animals? No more fertile soil or drinkable water?

Where in hell have people's priorities gone? Or is everyone just moseying along with their hands clapped over their ears, humming "It's a Small World"? (It's smaller than you think.) You may walk by homeless people without noticing, or throw a coffee cup out the car window, or leave the TV on when you leave the room. These things have imperceptible consequences as they relate directly to you. But please, I beg of you, look at the big picture. See beyond your own home and your own existence.

We ALL need to take responsibility for all that has been lost.
We ALL must strive to preserve what remains.
We ALL should support and exhaust efforts to restore what can be restored.
We need a global awakening to this sleepwalking disaster. WAKE UP!!!

And for EARTH'S SAKE, STOP making so many BABIES!!!!