Part 31: The 7th billion human on Earth—End of one era, start of another

By Frosty Wooldridge

Part 31: End of one era, start of another

In October of 2011, the 7th billion human being will land on this planet.  From that threshold, humans will continue multiplying by 1.0 billion every 13 years to reach more than 10 billion within 39 years at the mid century.  The ramifications stagger the mind of any thinking American.  This series will give you an idea of what our civilization faces. 

This continuing series brings you, a concerned American, more information on what this civilization faces and what we can do to change course toward a viable and positive future for our children and all living creatures.

Peak Everything: Waking Up to a Century of Declines By Richard Heinberg, New Society Publishers,   ISBN-10: 086571598X ,   ISBN-13: 978-0865715981, www.postcarbon.org; www.richardheinberg.com

Richard Heinberg said, ““…the discussions in Denmark took place in a conceptual fantasy world in which climate change is the only global crisis that matters much; in which rapid economic growth is still an option; in which fossil fuels are practically limitless; in which a western middle class staring at the prospect of penury can be persuaded voluntarily to transfer a significant portion of its rapidly evaporating wealth to other nations; in which subsistence farmers in poor nations should all aspire to become middle-class urbanites; and in which the subject of human overpopulation can barely be mentioned . It’s no wonder more wasn’t achieved in Copenhagen.”   http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=311db31977054c5ef58219392&id=1853646c28&e=411677039a 

“The historic, global shift from a regime of cheap fossil fuel energy sources to one of declining and expensive fossil fuels and scarce replacements will impact every living person, every community, and every nation,” said Heinberg.  “Global Climate Change will similarly affect every human being—and every ecosystem as well.  Much of the human impact will be measurable in economic terms; however individual and collective psychological effects will perhaps be of equal and often greater significance.  Generations that have been trained to want or expect easy, quick, automated abundance will find themselves having to adapt instead to a regime in which everything takes longer and requires more effort; in which there will often not be enough fuel or food to go around. How will people respond?  How can community leaders prepare to deal with adverse or even desperate psychological reactions?”

Heinberg raises a hell of a question!

Professor of Geology at the University of Oregon Walter Youngquist answered, “As we go from this happy hydrocarbon bubble we have reached now to a renewable energy resource economy, which we do this century, will the “civil” part of civilization survive?  As we both know there is no way that alternative energy sources can supply the amount of per capita energy we enjoy now, much less for the 9 billion expected by 2050. And energy is what keeps this game going. We are involved in a Faustian bargain—selling our economic souls for the luxurious life of the moment, but sooner or later the price has to be paid.” 

How will we react?  Once people start starving or lack water, they revert to their ‘animal’ roots, their animal proclivities and their animal natures. What might that be you ask?  Simple: tribes, bandits, violence, fight, and flight! Anyone reading this series will nod their heads in agreement.

Heinberg said, “The late psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of the path breaking book, On Death and Dying, is famous for distinguishing five psychological stages of grief typically traversed by people who have recently been informed that they have a fatal illness—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.”

As to Peak Oil, this entire country, leaders and citizens, stands nostril-deep in ‘denial’!  You cannot see one single piece of legislation or personal behavior change as to oil usage, conservation of electricity or resources. For example, only 30 percent of this country recycles!  The other 70 percent of us toss everything, everywhere!  Result: 3 million tons of plastic debris known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” floating in the Pacific, as well as the Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, Southern and other oceans and seas!

While some push for food co-ops, others work for www.transitionUS.org and other organizations attempting to prepare this civilization and many other countries around the world for the definite loss of oil as the ‘driver’ for modern civilization.

For this writer and world traveler, I find it almost humorous, if not hysterical, because, as much as folks plant urban gardens and join clubs with ‘transition’ in mind, most of them do not possess any idea the incredible ‘wave’ of conflicts facing humanity with its compacted and enormous population centers.  Why? Because most people don’t give a damn!  They wander through their daily lives without any preparation whatsoever—thus, they will be the ones marauding the cities for food and water.  They will, in fact, outnumber all the ones that prepared.

“The next few decades will be traumatic,” said Heinberg. “The slow squeeze of economic contraction will probably be punctuated by dramatic weather-related catastrophes, resource wars, and regional instances of societal collapse. As a result, we are likely to see widespread symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder—a condition first widely recognized among combat soldiers return from the Vietnam War.”

“Civilization… wrecks the planet from seafloor to stratosphere,” said Richard Bach, author, Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Again, we full throttle, steam toward adding 100 million to the USA within 25 years, but nobody lifts a finger or even blinks an eye.  One of the editors of a liberal online news site told readers that my series did not apply to the United States as if God will take care of us personally.   It’s not God I’m worried about; it’s Mother Nature that worries me.

“Imagine a country which employs the principles of personal responsibility,  freedom and accountability for future generations. Everything you do-counts!  If you do nothing, that counts likewise. When you read sobering information, do you want to give up or fall apart? Or, do you want to engage like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams,  Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King, Oprah, Barbara Jordan, John Muir and other Americans. You represent the Jefferson’s, Oprah’s and Dr. King’s of the 21^st century.  Consider it your honor and privilege to become a part of the solutions.  Engage the present to change the future! Become an agent of the change you wish to see.”  FW

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