Even a casual glance at the headlines reveals a staggering number of places where humans and the Earth are being challenged by overpopulation and/or climate change. People, animals, insects and even plants are migrating because of a warming planet. Competition for limited land, food, water, energy and minerals is causing conflicts across the globe.
We know that human population will be controlled at some point by a combination of war, famine, disease or the difficult political and individual choices that we make. The more we choose to limit our population, and the sooner we mitigate our production of greenhouse gases, the less mass migration, war, famine and disease will play into the equation.
Human overpopulation and global warming are hurting us by destroying ecosystems that support not only us, but also other life on Earth. By subverting a growing amount of the world’s resources to our needs and changing our climate, we are slowly destroying the interconnected web of life in which we are a part. We are supposed to be the smart, responsible ones! As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us!”
David Hart, Torrey