I frequently tune into "Talk of the Nation" on NPR and they had a great topic yesterday yesterday that really got me wondering where humanity seems to be headed. You can find the program that I listened to here. As many of you already know, the world hit a population of 7 billion earlier this year. To comprehend these numbers, here are some staggering facts:
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1) It takes 1 liter of water to create 1 food calorie.
2) The recommended daily allowance of calories a person is supposed to eat falls between 1500 and 2000 calories a day. So per person, that's 1500 to 2000 liters of water that goes into the food that sustains each person each day that the sun rises.
3) Multiply that by a little more than 7 billion, and that's how much water is consumed each day around the globe, and it's only getting worse.
And this doesn't even account for other things that need water (for example, animals need water as well).
There are already 12 major river systems in the world that do not reach the sea.
I'm not trying to be negative, but I think we're screwed. That seems unsustainable to me. I try to create as little of a carbon footprint as I can. But I guess when someone like me chooses to do so, there's another person on the other end of the spectrum (the Duggar lady of 20 Kids and Counting fame is just an example) that just keeps popping them out. Do you know how many resources a family with 20 kids consumes? I think it would be just mind-boggling.
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| A selfish, selfish, selfish family pictured here. |
And you know what, despite the fact that she had a miscarriage last week, I don't feel sorry for her. Not one bit. I think she's beyond the point of ridiculous, and that she has only herself to blame.
It really makes me question the ethics of this country that we give celebrity status to a woman that has tons of kids.
What about you guys? Concerned at the population on an overcrowded planet? Or could you care less? Do you think that it's all a "liberal agenda" and that people should have the right to have as big a family as they want? Let me know in your comments.
What about you guys? Concerned at the population on an overcrowded planet? Or could you care less? Do you think that it's all a "liberal agenda" and that people should have the right to have as big a family as they want? Let me know in your comments.
ANNOUNCEMENTS for the blogosphere:
1) If you get the opportunity, please go visit Stephanie Schmidt's website to see her wonderful "The Twelve Days of Bookmas" that she did. She even decorated a book tree and rewrote the lyrics to 12 Days of Christmas to match the pictures she chose. The originality and time she spent on this was epic. Please go check it out.
2) Please join the Bah Humbug Blahg Fest hosted by author Patrick Dilloway. The rules are simple because Patrick likes simple. On Thursday, December 15th post on your blog the answer to this brain-teasing question:
What are the 12 things I hate most about the holiday season?
By doing this and copying the badge featured on his website to your blog sidebar, you are entered in a drawing for $25.00. That's the easiest $25 I have ever seen.
Happy Tuesday.