Reply #30: I've maintained for some time that humans are essentially [View All]

[LdyGuique]

short-sighted, self-centered, and selfish in nature and violent to boot. Nothing that I've seen posted in DU threads on peak oil and global warming has caused me to change my mind. DUers pride themselves on caring about human conditions on a worldwide basis, but anytime these topics come up, it rapidly becomes a form of "everyman for himself" type of survival reaction. Perhaps, it's within the nature of all life forms -- survive at all costs long enough to reproduce one's replacements.

The recently-released Millenium Ecosystem Assessment reports are the result of scientists from around the world's intensive research on the widely varying "state of the world" issues that all humankind is and will be facing. It's a grim picture of overpopulation taxing environmental resources beyond the ability of earth to recover -- it took us about 150 years to get here and will take us equally long to undo much of the damage. It particularly noted that the type of metro areas which have suburbs and urban centers would be hard hit.

I've posted several times a particularly draconian couple of solutions to at least stave off the immediacy of peak oil and high oil price conditions and have never received a single "reply" either for or against:

1) In all metro areas that have multi-lane freeways, make all but one lane into "diamond" lanes, i.e., requiring two or more occupants to the vehicle from 6am to 8pm. This would accomplish the following:

a) at a minimum, halve the traffic, thereby reducing gridlock;
b) at a minimum, substantially reduce the amount of gasoline being consumed on a daily basis for commuting from suburbs to urban centers;
c) reduce these same drivers' gasoline budgets substantially as a shared resource would drop below current gasoline prices;
d) reduce air pollution.

With the era of websites and computer use, it would be relatively easy to match up with fellow commuters in most cases.

2) Within the metro areas themselves, remake the city grid of streets for different types of traffic. For other than local traffic, or delivery of goods, make some streets 20-25mph absolute max that would cater to bicycles, mopeds, scooters, segways, etc.; make some streets bus and vanpool streets only. These changes, in combination with lowered commuter traffic vehicles would allow for substantially less traffic overall.

These suggestions could be enacted within a fairly short period of time to deal with immediate issues. Then, look at the longer term issues of increased mass transit.

Yesterday, Mikhail Gorbachev started a clean water campaign. Over 5 million people die annually for waterborne diseases. If cruise ships can have desaliniazation plants contained right on ship to deal fresh water needs and have treatment facilies for gray and wastewater, there is no reason that either shouldn't be part of a larger picture.

Even with global warming the the gradual loss of lockedup fresh water from the two polar zones, there are technological solutions that can be employed for converting seawater to fresh water.

Humankind is facing some grim times ahead. Our population tripled in the last 50 years from 2 billion to over 6 billion. Natural and human-caused disasters will continue to cut bigger swathes through the living. "Biggest" and "Greatest" will continue to haunt the headlines as deathtolls will rise. While some would argue that HIV/AIDs isn't a true pandemic, its statistics give little comfort to a definition. During the past 20 years, more than 20 million people have died from AIDs and over 40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDs right now.

If there is a flu-type pandemic, or several, it can be expected that similar numbers will succumb. And, those who will be hit hardest will be those already under a burden of malnutrition and/or starvation.

According to estimates from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are currently 852 million people on the planet living in hunger. Chronic hunger affects some 300 million children, and every year, 30 million babies are born weighing less than 2.5 kilograms, primarily as a result of maternal malnutrition, said SCN chair Catherine Bertini.

Back in 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote extensively on the topic of population. His ideas received a resurrection during the mid-20th Century. There are various adherants to "Malthusian" doctrine -- and it's worth reading. The "International Society of Malthus," has its own website and it's worth a read.

There are no simple solutions for that which faces humankind over the next several decades. Some of it is beyond our abilities to mend, but much of it can be fixed with substantial changes to outlook and social order. If we continue to hang onto beliefs formed in a much simpler time, we are doomed.