"Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder." British historian Arnold J. Toynbee
"Carrying capacity" is the amount of land it takes to sustain a given species.
In 1997, the world exceeded its ecological carrying capacity by 39 percent which equals 2.3 billion people. That explains why 2.3 billion humans live in misery, suffering and human degradation.
Population-energy expert Dell Erickson brings a more sobering aspect of carrying capacity and 'ecological footprint'. He said, "If the world’s average ecological footprint in 1997 were the goal, the result would be that the world could support 3.5 billion inhabitants. The UN currently projects the world's population at 2050 to be nine to ten billion. In order for that population to maintain long term sustainability, the highest average possible living standard would be an ‘ecological footprint’ approximately .8 percent—about the living standard and footprint of today’s profoundly unfortunate Ethiopia."
In 1997, the world exceeded its ecological carrying capacity by 39 percent which equals 2.3 billion people. That explains why 2.3 billion humans live in misery, suffering and human degradation.
Population-energy expert Dell Erickson brings a more sobering aspect of carrying capacity and 'ecological footprint'. He said, "If the world’s average ecological footprint in 1997 were the goal, the result would be that the world could support 3.5 billion inhabitants. The UN currently projects the world's population at 2050 to be nine to ten billion. In order for that population to maintain long term sustainability, the highest average possible living standard would be an ‘ecological footprint’ approximately .8 percent—about the living standard and footprint of today’s profoundly unfortunate Ethiopia."
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THE NEXT ADDED 100 MILLION AMERICANS: PART 20
By Frosty Wooldridge, www.newswithviews.com
February 1, 2007
By Frosty Wooldridge, www.newswithviews.com
February 1, 2007
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Taking it to the limit
How far down a broken glass-filled path would you travel if you were barefoot? How long could you eat contaminated meals before you suffered food poisoning? How far could you travel in the desert without water? How long would you last driving your car 100 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone in a city? How far are you willing to take anything to the limit?
As we add 100 million people to America by 2040, how far will this nation continue growing past its limits? Consider today we already suffer the following consequences before we add the next 100 million people.
• 40 percent of America’s rivers and 46 percent of its lakes are too polluted for fishing and swimming in 2007.
• 7,700 species in our country stand at risk for extinction from habitat loss.
• Half of the continental United States no longer supports native vegetation since people have altered the terrain significantly with crops, farms, roads, malls, housing, airports and endless development.
• More than half the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the coast.
• The United States continues as the third fastest growing country in the world.
• The U.S. absorbs more environmental refugees than all other nations combined. How many annually? One million legally and two to three million illegally add themselves to America each year.
• At 300 million, U.S. citizens burn 20 million barrels of oil daily. At 450 million, they will burn close to 30 million barrels per day for energy.
• The average American uses 100 gallons of water daily. It takes over 1,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef.
• 105,000 cows are killed daily to feed U.S. population. Average of 20 million chickens killed for American consumption daily.
• 50 percent of all wetlands in the United States have been destroyed.
Taking it to the limit
How far down a broken glass-filled path would you travel if you were barefoot? How long could you eat contaminated meals before you suffered food poisoning? How far could you travel in the desert without water? How long would you last driving your car 100 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone in a city? How far are you willing to take anything to the limit?
As we add 100 million people to America by 2040, how far will this nation continue growing past its limits? Consider today we already suffer the following consequences before we add the next 100 million people.
• 40 percent of America’s rivers and 46 percent of its lakes are too polluted for fishing and swimming in 2007.
• 7,700 species in our country stand at risk for extinction from habitat loss.
• Half of the continental United States no longer supports native vegetation since people have altered the terrain significantly with crops, farms, roads, malls, housing, airports and endless development.
• More than half the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the coast.
• The United States continues as the third fastest growing country in the world.
• The U.S. absorbs more environmental refugees than all other nations combined. How many annually? One million legally and two to three million illegally add themselves to America each year.
• At 300 million, U.S. citizens burn 20 million barrels of oil daily. At 450 million, they will burn close to 30 million barrels per day for energy.
• The average American uses 100 gallons of water daily. It takes over 1,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef.
• 105,000 cows are killed daily to feed U.S. population. Average of 20 million chickens killed for American consumption daily.
• 50 percent of all wetlands in the United States have been destroyed.
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READ IT ALL:
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posted by jillosophy at 2/15/2007 02:55:00 PM
1 Comments:
It's an interesting article.
As everybody knows we must change our ways of living. It will be costly but doing nothing will cost much more.
Modern technology allows us to live comfortably without damaging our environment but there is still no political will.
We decided to support 40 of you who are concern about our environment by giving you $19,000 to improve your ecological living.
On www.ourecohouse.info in the eco forum are more information about this competition.
Good luck and cleaner planet to all of you
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