Technology, the ever changing marvel we know today, slowly evolved over many thousands of years beginning with the most humblest of mankind’s attempts to make our lives less burdensome, more secure and somewhat meaningful.
The first small groups and tribes utilized primitive hunting and gathering techniques
Human life was very brief and unimaginably uncomfortable compared to any contemporary standards
They were almost totally dependent on the environmental forces that controlled and dictated everyday survival
Tech-nol-o-gy: 1. The application of science, esp. in industry or commerce. 2. The methods and materials thus used.
The American Heritage Dictionary
The Evolution of Information
Over hundreds of centuries, cycles of nature became more familiar and less mysterious. More advanced groups of people were able to use information more efficiently that was passed down from one generation to the next.
Agriculture slowly evolved out of the wandering lifestyles of our early ancestors
Language and writing skills were developed in the Agricultural Era
Information was finally recorded, at first in slower more cumbersomeways, and later through the Printing Press
The Industrial Age Awakens
But it was not until approximately the 16th century, and the introduction of industrial technology and machines, that mankind was able to effectively store, process, and utilize information through extensive libraries, education, and research facilities. More economies were demanding labor-saving devices which meant faster and cheaper ways of producing things. Math, science and machines were integrated to provide the requirements necessary for growing manufacturing industries and their greater rates of production.
Education accelerated the pace of information and the rise of universities, which became intellectual sanctuaries
By the 19th century powered printing presses quickly disseminated research and development
And by the 20th century education and information were the engines of societies dominated by machine technology
The Great Leap to Digital Access
The Industrial Age is now in transition to an even more advanced level of technology. The Digital Revolution has in a very short period of time changed our civilization forever. It is the era of access. Information is so accessible through the use of computers, that it has in essence increased the potential scope of democracy.
Electronic impulses translate information into units of energy which can then be collected and stored digitally and used by everyone.
The computer does not discriminate. It only follows commands, delivering information to the operator, rich or poor, male or female. Information has lost much of its privileged status, it is universal, and its limitations are mainly what the operator brings to the computer.
Information is the Product
Information has always been an integral part of mankind’s evolutionary progress through time
Every new step in our political, economic and social evolution has been based on compiling information
But now information has reached the point where it is not only the means to develop and manufacture products, but the ability to access and store information is the major product and service provided
Freedom or Failure
Some futurists are predicting the emerging electronic era to be the beginning of the final step in man’s technological evolution. The tools of the future will continue to be more complex computers, and when computers are universally adopted by all countries and individuals the world states will reach a state of relative parity. Information will be immediately available to everyone for problem solving, research and daily activities. Many futurists even predict that with universal access to information, everyone will be substantially equal, freed by technology from traditional economic, political, and social restrictions.
For many others though, it is not so clear how steadily increasing populations, still struggling to adapt to the cumulative changes of the past two thousand years, will be any more successful. Especially, when we are constantly bombarded by the unrelenting pace of future technology and unending information.
Certainly there are those who have and will continue to readily adapt to any digital scenario
But there will be many others who will struggle with new hi-tech lifestyles, dominated by impersonal and uncaring computers
There is an ever widening gap between the well paid, highly skilled, computer literate elite, and the technically unskilled, who are therefore relegated to lower paying jobs, restricted mobility and an uncertain future
Because the population is growing and new people are continually coming onto the job market, we need to produce roughly 1.5 million new jobs a year—about 125,000 a month—just to keep from sinking deeper.
It will take 10 million additional jobs to bring the U.S. back to a 5% Unemployment Rate
At 600,000 new jobs/month it will take us two years to return to 5% Unemployment
The Unemployment Rate is around 10% or approximately 12.5 million people
The Underemployment Rate is at least 17%, or approximately 22 million people
In a sense every time some one is laid off now, they need to start all over. They don’t even know what industry they’ll be in next.
Gary Burtless, Labor Economist, Brookings Institution
The Failures of a Growth Economy
Because of short term results rather than long term value creation, and “financial engineering” rather than funding business innovation: “natural” rate of unemployment will be between 6.5 and 7.5 percent even if the country reaches complete “recovery”.
Edmund Phelps, Nobel Prize Economist, Harvard Business Review
Trained throughout childhood to disconnect performance from reward, and told repeatedly that they are destined for great things, many are quick to place blame elsewhere when something goes wrong, and inclined to believe that bad situations will sort themselves out-or will be sorted out by parents or other helpers. Sense of entitlement and highly structured childhood results in a lack of independence and entrepreneurialism in many 20-somethings.
Twenge/Alsop Atlantic Monthly March 2010
Compounding all of the above is that skills diminish, behavior changes, and people age as unemployment lengthens. What is going to happen to all these people?
The Major Players in the Underground Economy
It is estimated that the Underground Economy could be as large as 8 to 15% of U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) or $14 trillion. That is a total of $970 billion to $1 trillion, and is most likely expanding at a rate of 5 to 6% per year!
Labor/Goods/Services: Paid in Cash
Illegal Drugs/Organized Crime: UN Report Retail Value $321.6 billion Worldwide
Prostitution
Weaponry: Smuggling, Theft from Arms Manufacturers
Alcohol/Tobacco: Tax Avoidance, Smuggling
Copyrighted Media: DVDs, Music CDs, Computer Software, Video Games
Currency: Counterfeiting, Exchange
The Major Factors Stimulating the Underground Economy
Unemployment
Underemployment
Illegal Immigration: 9 to 20 million people plus
Complex/Unfair/Unenforceable/Uncollectable Tax Codes and Revenues
Greed
Tax Gaps and Tax Avoidance
Illegal immigraton is estimated at $50 billion per year in lost tax revenues.
Private cash contracting is estimated at $400 billion per year in lost tax revenues.
Criminal activity is estimated somewhere around $1 trillion per year in lost tax revenues.
The U.S. government deficit is 10.6 % of GDP or $1.5 trillion.
The Bottom Line
America’s infrastructure including streets, roads, highways, bridges are all deteriorating at an alarming rate
Our Public Education System of primary, secondary, and higher learning is approaching a shambles
The Public Services sector including police, fire and emergency services are understaffed with rising crime rates and declining morale and are all quickly reaching crisis proportions
Escalating Medicaid and other social services expenditures mirror our rising underclass with poverty rates and illegal immigration a major drain on scarce resources
If individuals are unemployed, underemployed, or illegal immigrants where might they turn to support themselves and their families? The best guess is that the Underground Economy would look more and more attractive all the time. Some would simply avoid taxes by working for cash. Others of course would most likely turn to more illegal and much more lucrative forms of tax avoidance, which not only means billions in lost tax revenue, but is also costly to regulate and control by police and other agencies.
We the Taxpayers Take a Substantial Double Hit
We pay more for our share of infrastructure and schools
We pay more for police, security agencies, jails and prisons to regulate and control illegal activities and warehouse lawbreakers.
As populations increase so do all the problems above, in fact if history is any indicator they will undoubtedly accelerate faster than population growth in terms of percentages and therefore overall numbers.
Consequently, the arguments for decreasing populations rather than allowing them to increase look better and better all the time!
The intelligent solution would require the courage and the wisdom to put our knowledge to the test. It would be poignant and distressing in ways, but not fatal. It would henceforth limit every human female on Earth capable of bearing children to one.
I admire how it evolved into a film from a man’s quest to educate through a series of slide shows, traveling throughout the United States and other countries
I admire Al Gore’s messianic zeal to tell a story that has to be told
I admire his courage coming back from a questionable “political defeat” to center on a cause, which is critical for us and future generations
I admire all the people; researchers, editors, producers, artists that worked on both the book and the film – it was all very well done
But Al Gore Failed to Acknowledge The Defining Issue
What I don’t admire nor understand is how Al Gore could have rejected the telling point of his journey.
Global Warming is certainly a major issue. It is extremely important, but that alone does not make it The Defining Issue.
What is crucial to understand is that we are adding one million people to this planet every four days
What is crucial to understand is that we have now burdened the planet and ourselves with almost 6.5 billion people; and 300 million plus live in the United States
What is crucial to understand is that 300 million Americans are using and abusing 30% of the world’s resources, and the rest of the world is doing a good job of consuming what remains
With an ever-increasing sea of humanity, it would seem irrefutable that a few adjustments here and there to our environmental footprint is not going to be statistically significant in reducing Global Warming or the rate of depleting natural resources
Consequently, the billions of inhabitants on this planet are most assuredly the root cause and The Defining Issue
Why We All Fail to Acknowledge The Defining Issue
People shun efforts to reduce populations because we have already produced more than our fair share of children, so we ourselves are already part of the problem
Therefore, we find it uncomfortable and somewhat disingenuous to be lecturing about population reduction when we ourselves have failed to live up to our own pleas for restraint
Al Gore has four children, that is a significant increase from one or two
When rereading the Gore book I could find only 6 pages out of 325 that spoke in any real way about overpopulation
What We Can No Longer Avoid
Many Should Consider Having No Children, Most Should Consider Only One, a Very Few Only Two
Let’s at least be realistic, we can’t possibly make any significant changes in our current environmental catastrophe-in-the-making until we are willing to be forthright about the fundamental cause
Reducing populations is the only measure that can significantly impact and reduce Global Warming and stop the depletion of our natural resources
Anything else is comparable to building more freeways that will be obsolete before they are completed. To be frank, that is “Don Quixote” stuff
Yes, but some would say the United States is a relatively small part of that 6.5 billion number. True, but we are also the greatest consumer of resources and products, and the greatest polluter and contributor to greenhouse gasses.
Reducing populations means we must be at least as committed as others, if not more so. We are the most powerful country in the world. As we go, so goes the world. To ask others to do what we are not willing to do is a formula for failure and eventual disaster.
In conclusion, what would you rather have: a world population of 3 billion in 2075 and a comfortable, livable environment, sharing equitably and sustainably our natural resources; or a world of 9 billion people in constant conflict and anxiety, with much of that population living in a poverty, pollution, toxic nightmare and governments fighting constantly for whatever natural resources remain?
When anger is on the throne, reason takes to its heels. He who is influenced by anger is like one intoxicated with a strong liquor. He loses his memory, his understanding becomes clouded and his intellect gets perverted.
The United States suffers from rapidly diminishing natural resources and a deteriorating ecosystem and environment
We have a struggling beleaguered market economy unresponsive and meaningless to many
It is not surprising we find ourselves in a constant state of flux, instability, neurotic responses and confusion
Instead of confronting our problems, we deny our own culpability and angrily look to others as the cause of our problems
Conspiracy theories and fringe political groups dominate our decisions and life choices
Salvation Means Sacrifice
The result of all this angst is a populace anchored not by individual efforts to reform our lack of discipline and self control, but letting others exploit our fears and uncertainties for their own political and financial gain. This is a “feeding frenzy” of immense proportions.
Oftentimes we are naive enough to believe we have somehow risen above the natural world
Technology has become our “fools gold”, and like Moses will lead us to the promised land
In fact technology ensnares us, constantly driving us from the course of restraint and stability
Instead of salvation we find disillusionment, and disillusionment is the mother of anger; which once tapped is an emotion without limits for its power to bring even more uncertainty and random violence to a country and world needing less rather than more.
From the Outer to the Inner
The West’s belligerency increases as our numbers increase and we move steadily away from controlling and reigning in our desires and frustrations.
Our growing population escalates frantically from wishes and wants to demands and rights, shamelessly marketed as hopes and dreams.
But it is not the material world that will lead us out of danger, but only the spiritual which lies dormant within. That spiritual calm awaits when we are determined and dedicated enough to seek more rational and enlightened possibilities.
First, 50 States in 1960 and a Population of 160 Million
Do the calculation of 100 senators plus 435 house members for a total of 535 representatives
Then divide those total representatives into 160 million
That is an approximate average of one representative in Congress for every 299,000 people
That is quite a few people to be represented by one representative
It’s not exactly like our individual voices were going to be heard loud and clear, not to say equally
Second, 2010 and a Population of 306 Million, Plus 1% Per Year
Again, 50 states, 100 senators and 435 house members for a total of 535 representatives
And again divide these total representatives by 306 million
That is an average of approximately 572,000 people for every representative in Congress
So if each individual was not being heard very well or fairly in 1960, how well do you think we are being heard in 2010
That is a staggering 48% percent drop in average representation, and it is declining everyday
From Limited Representation to Bribery By Another Name
Do you think those numbers are any indication why it has become so common for individuals to form lobbying and other interest groups to band together with huge amounts of money to sway members of congress?
What about the “average Joe” that can’t afford to join a lobby group or has no interest in doing so? How much influence do you think he or she has on issues and policies?
So simple math, big problem. All of it our own making. Those eye-popping numbers are why so many voters have simply given up on the political process after being buried by the consequences.
The fact is, it’s money and power which makes a difference
We are beginning to get an idea how most Native Americans, African-Americans and women must have felt before the 1960’s
This is a system driven not by the individuals it is supposed to represent, but by interest groups that can afford to wield influence
It may go by the name of lobbying and freedom of speech, but in reality it is something more akin to bribery.
It offends any thinking person’s sense of fair play and ethics.
What the Future Holds
Even more disturbing though is the trend toward greater and greater population growth. It is predicted that if the rates of population growth in the United States continue, we could see 400 million people by 2050.
The result of that compelling number is a ratio of almost 750,000 people per representative.
Increasing populations will continue to dilute much of an individual’s power to elect and influence their senators and representatives
If you are feeling lost and abandoned now, just give it a few more years and all of us will be even more marginalized
If you need any examples of that scenario today, take a look at China, India and Pakistan
That should give everyone a reason to pause and consider!
What do overpopulation, global warming, and James Hansen have in common? Apparently nothing if we are to read James Hansen’s excerpts in Newsweek from his new book, Storms of My Grandchildren.
Credits and Appreciation for James Hansen
Everyone should have the greatest respect for anyone warning of the dangers of global warming, but here are some quotations from Mr. Hansen whose credentials include: one of the first to publicize the possible cataclysmic results of global warming, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, adjunct professor at Columbia University and Columbia’s Earth Institute, and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
I believe the biggest obstacle to solving global warming is the role of money in politics, the undue sway of special interests
But let me tell you: President Obama does not get it. He and his key advisers are subject to heavy pressures, and so far the approach has been “Let’s compromise”
So far, the effects of climate change have been limited because of climate-system inertia, but inertia is not a true friend. As amplifying feedbacks begin to drive the climate toward tipping points, that inertia makes it harder to reverse direction
Continued growth of greenhouse gases in the near term will make that result (global chaos) practically inevitable, out of our children’s and grandchildren’s control
The problem with governments is not scientific ability. . . Instead, the government’s problem is politics – politics as usual
You can recognize right away that our government is not taking a strategic approach to solve the climate problem
Our planet, with its remarkable array of life, is in imminent danger of crashing. Yet our politicians are not dashing forward. They hesitate; they hang back
This will be the most urgent fight of our lives
All of the Above Has Merit But
With all due respect, Mr. Hansen, the biggest obstacle to global warming is not money in politics, but influential scientists such as yourself refusing to acknowledge one of the seminal causes of global warming, which is overpopulation and the tremendous rate of increases we see in the world each day – 227,000 people.
That is the ultimate force to be reckoned with!
So blaming President Obama for not “getting it”, when in fact you fail to get it also, and in so doing compromise both logic and common sense, does not help the cause of global warming.
And while climate-system inertia certainly plays a pivotal role, no role is more critical than the inertia of overpopulation, driving this planet even faster towards climate change tipping points, which will only accelerate that which will soon be irreversible.
A More Inclusive Strategy
And please, do not criticize others for their lack of strategic approach, when you yourself lack the vision and foresight to include overpopulation as one of the main causes of climate change. Without that acknowledgement, you have substantially diminished the strategic approach you advocate.
Finally, climate change is most urgent and we are in imminent danger, and because of that threat we need all the tools at our disposal to free ourselves from the path of self-destruction.
When you, in your own words, fail to “dash forward” or ” hesitate and hang back” by not including the problem of overpopulation in any discussion of global warming, you do the cause, yourself, the United States and the rest of the world a great disservice.
What is so difficult to understand about solving problems with less variables than more
Do we really need to populate this country and the world to the point where it is so complex and inundated with greed, corruption and calamity that there will ultimately will be no real solutions available to us
Are we so blind or unfeeling to the misery and poverty that populates fifty percent of the world, including substantial populations in our own country, that we simply refuse to acknowledge it
Or do we justify it by refusing to take responsibility and relinquishing it to some uncaring deity
Are we so caught up in our own self-indulgent consumerism that we really believe that we have the right to plunder both resources and the environment, and leave the rest of the starving and war-torn world to pick through the scraps
Do we really believe that our privileged status is justifiably earned on the backs of others, while we go on procreating, adding even more while compounding the problems we refuse to take responsibility for
The Fine Line Between Catastrophe and Concessions
Have we really reached the tipping point where we know nothing of sacrifice and common sense?
That was f**king Iraqi Freedom. Rip through this bitch shooting anything that moves from your window. That’s what I call freedom.
All religious stuff aside . . . the fact is people who can’t kill will be subject to those who can.
The f**ked thing . . . is the men we’ve been fighting probably came here for the same reasons we did, to test themselves, to feel what war is like. In my view it doesn’t matter if you oppose or support war. The machine goes on.
It is unbridled momentum that fuels the great economies and pits great and lesser states in a parade of military actions
It ultimately always seeks to protect the more privileged and better armed
It has always been a never-ending need for more and more resources
Those resources are finite, and no matter how much technology expands it will not satiate the ongoing demand by larger and larger populations
Those larger populations will always be pushing their momentum along the path of war and destruction to gather and control what they feel is rightfully theirs
The Many Facets of Freedom
Freedom can only be determined and defined by the circumstances in which you find yourself.
The major powers are sure that their view of freedom will prevail, and they have the devastating military might to show more humble powers the errors of their viewpoints.
Most feel powerless to resist that which is unstoppable.
Confused and fearful, those able to kill do so recklessly and without restraint, while we all shun the inevitable truth that individually we have lost control of our own humanity.
What overpopulation has done - and might very well do!
James Hopkins, in his essay Human Population Crisis, gives a lucid and compelling argument explaining the principle of exponential growth combined with the difference between quantity and quality.
How much have we contributed toward humanely contolling our number and preserving the environment? Nature is a balance of existence. In order to coincide with nature, we must balance the saving and extending of lives with the number of lives which we produce. We mustn’t use resources any faster than they can be reproduced. We need to respect ourselves by learning to respect the environment which we rely upon for our own existence. If not, we will cease to exist.
James Hopkins
But not until the coda appears does the reader truly understand the depth of our dilemma.
In the end it all comes down to, You Reap What You Sow!
This site is dedicated to a collection of writings, visuals, and critiques that combine to contribute to inspiring and encouraging solutions to overpopulation, particularly in the United States.
The Industrial Age is now in transition to an even more advanced level of technology. The Digital Revolution has in a very short period of time changed our civilization forever. It is the era of access. Information is so accessible through the use of computers, that it has in essence increased the potential scope of democracy.
For many others though, it is not so clear how steadily increasing populations, still struggling to adapt to the cumulative changes of the past two thousand years, will be any more successful. Especially, when we are constantly bombarded by the unrelenting pace of future technology and unending information.
