The Cyberactivist

My mother-in-law forwarded a very
interesting and insightful article to
me today. It was entitled "Deflating
the Bubble Economy Before it Bursts"
by Lester R. Brown, President and
Founder of the Earth Policy Institute,
a Washington, D.C.-based independent
environmental research organization.

He makes some very good points in this
article and has written a book, PLAN B:
RESCUING A PLANET UNDER STRESS
AND A CIVILIZATION IN TROUBLE.
that is available FREE in .pdf fornat.

I highly recommend you read the entire
article, if not the book. He makes an
extremely good case. This is something
that concerns and directly affects everyone
on this planet. If we do not change our
policies and politics, it will be devastating
to all of us worldwide.

To give you a general idea what he is
talking about, I will give a short summary
of what he refers to as a "Bubble Economy."

It refers to the idea that, during the many
years of human history, we have always
lived off of the natural resources of our
planet This consumption used to be
sustainable, but as population rises and
we consume more than the Earth can
produce, we are setting ourselves up
for the ultimate failure of the human race.

As we continue to catch more fish from
the oceans than are reproduced, overgraze
lands and turn them into deserts, overpump
water from aquifers in finite supply,
release CO2 into the air faster than the planet
can absorb it, and cut down trees faster
than they can grow, we are setting ourselves
and future generations up for disaster.

Our economic hits, though painful, have been
pretty much only locally felt so far, like the 75%
decline in high-tech stocks here in 2000 and
the 60% drop in Japanese real estate and
stocks in 1989.

With the alarmingly larger number of people
(projected to comprise most of the rise in
population by 3 billion by 2050) from
countries that are already short on resources
being forced to compete with the rest of the
world for the declining resources, world food
prices will rise dramatically. It's the old
supply and demand thing. We have more
people demanding an ever-dwindling supply.

Education for all people, especially women,
in those countries where there are high
illiteracy rates and little in the way of family
planning is key to our success in survival
of society as we know it.

This is not about tree-hugging, bunny-
hugging, or any other hugging, no matter
how good hugging feels to those of us
who make sure to get and give a few every
day. Kinda puts a smile on your face, does
it not? What's wrong with a litlle more love?

But I digress, on with the cold, hard facts:

* Although the global consumption of meat
is expected to double by 2020, livestock are
resposible for 36% of the world's grain harvests
New Scientist, My 2002

* 1/6th of an acres of land is required to
feed a vegetarian for a year, 3 acres of land
is required for the grain needed to raise a
year's worth of meat
Charles Eisenstein of the Weston A. Price Foundation

* The meat industry accounts for half of
the U.S. water consumption

* 1 lb. of wheat requires 25 gallons of water,
1 lb. of beef requires 2500 gallons

Professional Ethics Factory Farm Woes

* 1 gallon of used motor oil can ruin
approximately 1,000,000 gallons of fresh water

* During your lifetime, you'll eat about 60,000 lbs.
of food

* Recycling 1 glass jar saves enough energy to
watch TV for 3 hours, therefore it virtually never
wears out and can be recycled an infinite # of times

* A car uses 1.6 oz. of gas idling for 1 minute.
1/2 oz. is used to start the average automobile

* A Boeing 747 airliner holds 57,285 gal. of fuel

* More than half the population of Kenya is
under the age of 15

* It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with
enough leather for a year's supply of footballs

* Approximately $25 million is spent each year
on lap dances in Las Vegas (I wonder how many
people that would feed???)

* Polar Bears can eat 50 lbs. of meat in one
sitting.

* The average American consumes 9 lbs. of
food additives per year (I'm sure that's good
for you)

* Dirty snow melts faster than clean

* It takes 100 lbs. of rain water to produce 1
lb. of food from the Earth

* The population of the Earth has more than
doubled since 1950

* Americans are responsible for generating
roughly 20% percent of the garbage in the world
(Kinda trashing our home, aren't we?)
Verified by www.hookedonfacts.com

It is time to do some real thinking and then
act on that knowledge. This planet belongs
not just to us, but to those who come after
us, also. Our children, our grandchildren,
and their grandchildren. What kind of a
heritage will we leave them? Historians will
let them know how we did, but they will
be forced to live it. What small choices that
we make on a daily basis become so globally
massive on the large scale when they are
combined? What mistakes will will make that
cannot be corrected?

How selfish or generous are we going to be?

It is a personal decision that we must all
live with in the end.