Our Life Blood - Water

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

I am laughing with you.

I live in an area that was once thought of as subtropical. Water was never a problem, until they started paving, and placing concrete everywhere.

The natural cycle of rain, evaporation into the clouds, bringing more rain, got stopped with terra forming without thought or foresight. Now we have drought like weather in areas that never should have drought and it is causing a severe increase in land erosion.

So what you suggest is maybe not a bad idea. If we don't correct our mistakes the Earth will correct them for us. Earth can live without us, and it will restore itself quite nicely.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
a reply to: Vroomfondel

And make no mistake that we are living in a water economy. Not oil, gold, energy, technology, or anything else. Its water.

With all the tales flying around the internet regarding depopulation and population control, this little nugget of truth, makes one look at these beliefs a little bit closer.

If we continue down the same path, and do nothing, there will not be enough water for all the world's population, animal, human, or vegetation. Unless we do so very quick evolving, joking aside, if we don't protect our water supplies, reduce our water waste, and stop polluting our water, I think we could be looking at extinction level problems that maybe should get a little table time, at least.

It is horrific to think of massive depopulation for any reason. But there is some logic to it, unfortunately.

Since the beginning of recorded history there were typically between 1 and 2 billion people on Earth. That remained constant until the beginning of the industrial revolution, except for a small dip during the plague. The population was linked directly to the amount of resources available, primarily food at that time since water was not an issue then. The beginning of the industrial revolution saw a massive increase in the amount of land that could be farmed and the population grew accordingly.

Then, with the use of fossil fuels, the population grew from 2 billion to 7 billion in under 200 years. The problem is fossil fuels are what makes sustaining that population possible, except for the fact that fossil fuels are finite. You can not sustain infinite growth with finite resources. When fossil fuels are gone if there is no equivalent replacement there will be 5 billion people on the planet that can not be provided for. It is only fossil fuels that allow for their existence now. From a purely mathematical standpoint it is clear that something has to change.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

You are correct. What makes it worse, is that all of our resources are finite.

What we have on this planet is it.

We have seen what happens when any species, out populates its resources. We think it can't happen to us, because we are smart enough to overcome the challenges. Yet we are not smart enough to realize that a fifty pound bag of rice can feed one person for over a year, but would leave 500 people hungry and in trouble, in no time.

As the population increases, it comes with a multitude of challenges. Space is not the biggest issue. I believe waste is the biggest issue. Finding enough food and water seems a priority, but both are eliminated from our bodies, and are contaminates, that is not properly managed, will cause sickness, and death. Maybe nature's way of keeping us self limiting.

We are good at thinking we can control our lives, but we are at the mercy of the elements of our planet.

We think in selfish ways, with survival of self being the primary goal. Just as some people would sacrifice the life of another to save their own. I truly believe the planet would sacrifice, all human life to save the planet.

We really aren't as smart as we think we are, because we can't see beyond self.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

I like your perspective. You can not support infinite growth with finite resources. Its really simple if you think about it, but most people don't. I think for many people it falls into the, "I cant fix it so why worry about it" category. In the absence of a truly global effort it wont get fixed at all. Its like greenhouse gases. Even if the US meets its most stringent emission standards what good will it do if China creates ten times the pollution we do? That is like celebrating the fact that you saved the mailbox but the house burned to the ground. Ultimately, the effort was pointless and that effort and energy could have been more useful somewhere else.