Sunday Times 2
Save Planet Earth from tribalism or globalism?
Last week we saw people ranging from teenyboppers, scientists, politicians, Nobel Laureates and others around the world making strident calls for action to save life on planet Earth from extinction. They demanded drastic cuts in the release of carbon dioxide and other pollutants to the atmosphere, prevention of pollution of waterways, halting deforestation, protecting wildlife and many other well- known demands which are backed scientifically by hard facts. These demands are certainly justified to halt impending disasters close at hand.
This columnist is not a qualified environmentalist or a professional in any of the fields relating to the threats posed to the global environment. But having read all what was said and demanded in the print media and on TV, our humble opinion — though it may appear academically heretical — is that these well- intentioned saviours are barking at the moon. They are not focusing on the prime cause that is threatening Planet Earth: unsustainable burgeoning of the human population that is continuing in the past 100 years or so of which they are well aware of but looking away.
Australian student activists hold a demonstration calling for action to save Planet Earth. Reuters
The ordinary people, environmental activists, scientists, professionals and even the school going children know the causes for environmental disasters. Wild elephants, breaking into village hamlets and destroying homes, paddy fields and other cultivations are the consequences of traditional forests — the homelands of these animals lived since their species began, having been destroyed by humans displaced from their villages and no place to settle down, felling the forests to find living space.
A thin electrified wire to keep out these noble intelligent and marauding beasts has been a puny and futile effort — like applying sticking plaster over a cancerous wound in the hope of curing it. Control of unsustainable human populations is the final solution which those at the helm of states are fighting shy even to mention it, particularly in the first quarter of the 21st Century. Children that took to the streets in protest are asking why these disasters caused by known acts of humans cannot to halted.
Well known environment activist David Attenborough has spelt it out clearly: All environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people and harder — and ultimately impossible to solve — with more people.
Human beings, homo sapiens, (Latin meaning–Wise Man) has not always been wise when establishing their superiority over fellow humans of other groups or tribes now banded into nations and religions.
Today’s motive forces driving powerful nations big and small are mainly nationalism and religion. These forces are given precedence over established scientific facts that point out to dangers posed to this planet by growth of populations that are outstripping available human resources. The number of citizens that share a common belief matters to most nations. People’s Power means ‘the more, people we have, the greater we are’. Donald Trump wants to Make America Great Again and Narendra Modi dreams of doing the same to India. China, of course, has been the Great Celestial Empire and after slight dip in recent history is once again roaring to be ahead of them all. Most nations want to be great. Don’t we Sri Lankans dream of our Glorious Past and yearn for those days — ‘Granary of the East’ and all that?
Environmental considerations are not a priority over nationalist objectives on which rulers survive. China, India and even small countries like ours have to burn coal to generate cheap power. It doesn’t matter if coal burning is responsible for more than 30 percent of the global pollution. We need cheap power. Western powers had an unfair handicap— by centuries — in industrialising before us and can afford to go in for cleaner technologies now.
Western Europe declares that it will be free of all forms of noxious air pollution by 2030. But most of the basic industries supplying their fertiliser, cement and other requirements in heavy industry and agriculture are now located in China which though far from Europe contributes to global atmospheric pollution. Donald Trump does not believe in global warming and has pulled out of the World Environmental agreement.
Trump’s supposedly religious piety for some reason or the other brought back the Global Gag Rule rescinded by President Obama. This Global Gag in effect cuts off foreign assistance to institutions dealing with safe abortions and penalises institutions disseminating information relating to birth control or even spread of HIV. It crippled institutions such as Marie Stopes Institute which was in Sri Lanka. Trumps intention may be to save life but researchers have found that the Global Gag Rule had increased the numbers of illegal abortions in a number of African countries thus endangering the lives of pregnant mothers. It also cut of funding for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) resulting on adverse effects on its organisations such as Sri Lanka. Trump in his piety may be killing more people than saving life by banning abortions.
Studies on human evolution have revealed that while it took 200,000 years for the human population to reach the one billion mark it took only 200 years to reach the present number of humans on earth 7.7 billion. It has been projected that humans are increasing by 80 million each year and heading towards 10 billion by 2050. The maximum carrying capacity of humans on this planet has been estimated at 10 billion based on available food resources.
In Sri Lanka despite yearly growth rate of its population dropping from 2.36 per cent in 1970 to 0.45 per cent by 2019 the population increase within this period has been from 12.4 million (1970) to today’s 21.3 million. How many more babies can this little island accommodate? Opinion will vary among individuals depending on the logic they use or political emotions. Those Sri Lankan politicians and monks who became experts overnight on fallopian tubes and wombs and the female reproductive system a few full moons ago will say that sky is the limit. Others who think logically will demur.
Human actions have been unpredictable when faced with existential challenges. Albert Einstein warning of the dangers of the fallout of a nuclear war said that if there is war after that, it will be fought with sticks and stones. A war in an overpopulated world without food and water may be fought the same way, unless humanity begins to shift its thinking from tribalism to globalism.