Excerpt #97 from my book, Religion, An Obstacle to Human Progress
It took from the very beginning of the evolution of our species to theyear 1900 for us to reach a population of 1.6 billion. Then something extraordinary happened.
Something that will likely never again occur on this planet.
From the year 1900 to 1960, our population jumped from 1.6 billion people to 3 billion.
In sixty years, we nearly doubled the population that it took all of evolution to produce.
Then, in the next thirty-nine years, we added another 3 billion to reach a population of 6 billion in 1999.
In other words, in 39 years, we added as many people (3 billion) as it took for our previous entire existence (300,000 years) to accumulate.
In a hundred years, from 1900 to 2000, we quadrupled our population.
It is estimated that in 2050 our population will be about 9.7 billion.
We are presently adding approximately 80 million people a year to our global population, approximately 1,538,000 people every week.
FANTASY IS NO MATCH FOR REALITY.
Everything Changed
The sheer number of us changed everything.
We can no longer continue to exploit each other and our ecosystems like we have in the past without reaping total chaos.
Our planet is small.
Our weapons are too deadly, our environment is too fragile, and there are too many of us.
We are not isolated from or unaffected by our neighbors as we were in our past.
We are now required to satisfy ourselves as individuals and as members of larger communities.
A limitless world is the stuff of daydreams that soon turn into nightmares.
REPLENISH THE WELL BEFORE THE BUCKET COMES UP EMPTY.
The world’s failure to reduce poverty levels is now contributing to global instability in the form of terrorism, war and contagious disease. An unstable world not only perpetuates poverty, but will ultimately threaten the prosperity that the rich minority has come to enjoy. — Worldwatch Institute’s Vital Signs Project Director Michael Renner.
It is almost impossible to ensure lasting peace and stability when massive inequalities exist and the natural systems that support us remain under threat. Little will ever be achieved in terms of conservation of the environment and natural resources if billions of people have no hope, no chance to care. – UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer