Save the planet

There are an estimated 6.7 billion people in the world, and 9 billion are
projected for 2042. 1.2 Billion live in China, where those that can afford
to ride bicycles. Imagine 6 billion cars on the roads, and worse still
imagine the air quality, already poor in urban areas getting a whole lot
worse. There are about 600 million vehicles on the road, give or take a
million. That’s a whole lot of petrol consumption and a bit fat carbon
footprint.

This current handwringing fit has been brought on by watching The Eleventh
Hour. Not much fun, even with Leonardo de Caprio narrating the environmental
crisis. A slew of environmental experts and civic leaders paint a bleak
picture of a world on the brink of catastrophic environmental breakdown. The
role of vehicle emissions and industrial pollution is outlined, and more
alarmingly is the question of whether the planet can support so many people.
While numerous other species go extinct every year, people just keep
multiplying and of course all aspire to the lifestyle we define as
successful and western. Instead of worrying about where our next meal comes
from, and instead of cultivating or building we go shopping. Consumption
beyond our needs has become part of the dream of success that we are taught.
To have so much and to spend our money on meaningless things and watch
others go without basics like food and shelter.  We rationalise that if they
are not successful it must be their fault. Maybe they didn’t understand the
Secret properly.

It doesn’t make sense to set up a series of wants that can never be met.
Forget basic needs of peace, security, food, or meaningful work. The ratio
of food eaten by Western beef as opposed to that eaten by the third world,
or Africa is shocking. The tragedy is that through exporting their culture
we are all to some extent influenced by the American lifestyle and aspire to
a Rodeo drive shopping experience. Even worse is the possibility that we are
getting there. The countries that have worked so hard to attain a modicum of
western living don’t want to hear that it is the path to hell, as for so
long they have been deprived. Just like the high protein and fat of a
western diet leads to disease in our bodies, the high consumption and
turnover of natural resources leads to environmental disease.

Since solutions don’t exactly grow on trees, it is up to the generations who
have benefitted most from development to make the change.  With the highest
education levels and better health care than ever before and freedoms hard
won, if we know better shouldn’t we be doing better?

I was shocked when a friend asked me if I walked the short distance from
home to the coffee shop. It hadn’t even occurred to me to do so, and this is
only about a kilometre away. So it means a mind shift and the chance to get
some exercise and save some fuel. Who knows, it could be just the thing to
get fit, lose weight and have the body you’ve always dreamed of.