The green revolution arrived as a result of the efforts of Norman Borlaug, who, while accepting the Nobel peace prize in 1970, said: “The green revolution has won a temporary success in man’s war against hunger and deprivation; it has given humanity a breathing space. If fully implemented, the revolution can provide sufficient food for sustenance during the next three decades. But the frightening power of human reproduction must also be curbed; otherwise the success of the green revolution will be ephemeral only.”
Ironically, Borlaug, not only foresaw mass human starvation, he unwittingly contributed to it. While his great experimenting with crops yielded greater gains per acre, he facilitated massive population growth that exploded the world from 2.5 billion at the beginning of the last century to our enormously hungry and thirsty 7.1 billion humans in the 21st century. He unwittingly created even greater human starvation levels into the billions when the ax finally falls as to water, arable land and energy availability. This fact remains: the ax will fall upon humanity in this century.
Dreadful, miserable and deadly! Today, we humans seem to think we can outsmart Mother Nature. We can vanquish her! As you see in this graphic series, at this point, we seem to be winning. Not for much longer!
For millions of years, Mother Nature culled any species that overwhelmed its carrying capacity of water, food and resources. When we humans came onto the scene, our cleverness allowed us a small niche which became a larger niche and today, homo erectus meaning “clever ape”, rages across the planet with a self-evident arrogance that we can brutalize nature in any way we choose. We think we can poison the air, water and land without harm to ourselves. We think we can encroach on the rest of the natural world and kill off endless species—yet remain unharmed and untouched by our folly.
Think again!
Today in America, one out of six citizens suffers hunger. Source: www.FeedingAmerica.org
Poverty in America:
* In 2011, 46.2 million people (15.0 percent) were in poverty.
* In 2011, 9.5 million (11.8 percent) families were in poverty.
* In 2011, 26.5 million (13.7 percent) of people ages 18-64 were in poverty.
* In 2011, 16.1 million (22.0 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
* In 2011, 3.6 million (9.0 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.
Food Insecurity and Very Low Food Security
* In 2011, 50.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 33.5 million adults and 16.7 million children.
These figures sober any American, but they do not begin to tell the story of 21st century world starvation dynamics. With our paltry 316 million human population, we also suffer the highest obesity rates in the world with over half of our citizens fat, overweight and suffering from heart disease, diabetes and other overweight medical health issues. But we also feature 40 + million Americans subsisting in food kitchens and food banks. An astounding 47 million of them live off food stamps.
Ironically, 10 million children starve to death around the world annually according to the World Health Organization www.WHO.org . Another eight million adult humans starve to death annually around the world from their sheer poverty. (Source: Time Magazine)
“Children are the most visible victims of under-nutrition. Children who are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of illness each year. Poor nutrition plays a role in at least half of the 10.9 million child deaths each year–five million deaths.” (www.worldhunger.org)
With all those realities, we humans continue our Kentucky Derby gallop toward the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. An average of 57 million humans die every year from all causes. We replace them with 57 million new babies and an extra 80 million more to equal 137 million babies annually. We cannot water them, feed them or begin to educate them, but we continue birthing them around the globe. As a clever species, we prove dumber than an emu.
In America, we gallop toward an added 138 million people by 2050—a scant 37 years from now. Beyond reason and without thinking, we appear to believe we can outsmart Mother Nature. We face a rude and vicious awakening long before 2050 as Peak Oil rips gasoline out of our tractors and slams us for $10 up to $20 per gallon.
How will our civilization survive the raging Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? At the moment, we charge right into their cross hairs. First, we need a national discussion-debate. We need to throw “population overload” onto the table. We need to come up with an “American Population Policy” of two children or less per female. We need to stop mass immigration. We need to encourage one-child families to overcome “population momentum” now eating up India and China. We need to be realistic and rational instead of emotional and religious. We cannot hope for good to ensue, we must act in order to create a viable civilization. This series applies to Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and most other countries of the world.
Without our immediate actions, we most certainly will become victims of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As Borlaug said, “But the frightening power of human reproduction must also be curbed; otherwise the success of the green revolution will be ephemeral only.”
Frosty Wooldridge is a Population-Immigration-Environmental specialist: speaker at colleges, civic clubs, high schools and conferences. Facebook: Frosty Wooldridge. Facebook Adventure Page: How to Live a Life of Adventure: The Art of Exploring the World. Www.HowToLiveALifeOfAdventure.com. www.frostywooldridge.com.
