On Overpopulation and Dysfunction To Sustainability and Health
Overpopulation wouldn’t be a thing if the world were created for humans. It wouldn’t matter what we did to the planet or other creatures, for everything is here for us to do what we want with it. If it were made for humans, then we wouldn’t be impacting the earth because it was made for humans. Climate change wouldn’t be a thing for everything we are doing is what we were meant to be doing.
Of course, this is silly.
The earth isn’t made for humans.
All creatures have evolved to be here right now.
All species have a right to exist just as we do.
There is not one species above any other species. All species are interwoven in the tree of life.
Overpopulation is extraordinarily destructive.
Overpopulation strips the land of bio-diversity. Overpopulation creates mass extinction.
Overpopulation needs more and more land to be deforested for more agriculture to provide more food, which will then add more and more people.
Overpopulation destroys the very home in which humans need to thrive and survive.
As we are all interdependent, we are all impacted by biodiversity loss. Every species needs other species for survival. Without healthy soils, plants, trees, and fungi can’t flourish. Without healthy plants and trees, insects and animals can’t flourish.
All species need water. Without healthy water and ample water, species diminish.
The atmosphere needs the biosphere, and the biosphere needs the atmosphere. Trees and algae produce oxygen. Oxygen is needed by many species to live. Trees and algae need carbon dioxide. There is a balance. By cutting down trees and forests, we are diminishing the oxygen in the atmosphere.
By putting millions of tons of carbon and methane into the atmosphere each day, we not only take away more oxygen from the atmosphere but also put out more greenhouse gasses — hence why we are in a climate catastrophe. Our actions change the atmosphere, which has catastrophic impacts on the biosphere. The more the biosphere is impacted, the more it will impact the atmosphere. It is an ongoing loop as they are interconnected.
If we care about money and profit, then capitalism makes sense.
Capitalism makes no sense if we care about human beings and the earth.
Schools are not about children but about conditioning them into a role to play out within a capitalistic system. Schools would not be based on grades or grading if we cared about children. They would be community centers where we listened to their wonders and curiosities and guided them in their learning. We would see that all knowledge is hitched together. Children would learn in their own time, both individually and collectively. They would mature quicker as they would be trusted and have a foundation of confidence and relatedness. Immaturity derives from fear.
Children would be given the space to play, for that is how they learn.
Learning history, especially the dark side of our civilized history, is not bad, but dialogue would provide great insight and understanding. It would not cause disillusionment or shame but rather create compassion and conversation around avoiding repeating the past.
If we cared about humans, we would have a holistic healthcare system prioritizing health. We would take time to be with each person and understand their story, what is happening, and why they are struggling.
If we cared about humans, we wouldn’t create a hierarchy where some people have much more than others. Instead of a class system or a system based on having materialistic toys, we would build community together and bring everyone up to their potential. Instead of making products that are harmful to humans, we would create uses for things based on need and health.
If we cared about humans, we wouldn’t be afraid of diversity; we would welcome it. We would see that racism, homophobia, and sexism are fear-based and destructive. We would be inclusive rather than exclusive.
If we cared about the earth, we wouldn’t see it as a place to control, fear, manipulate, and use for selfish purposes. We would find a way to live sustainably with respect, wonder, and awe. We would see that without the earth, we couldn’t be. Without all other life, we couldn’t be.
By growing more food, our population will continue to grow. Just as in any animal species, this law is clear. More food for one species means a growing population for that species.
Added to this, we have created a totalitarian way of doing agriculture. Usually, we only plant one type of crop, which is monoculture. We then put pesticides and herbicides onto the monoculture crop to protect the food from anything else — yet, at the same time, not making the connection of how we are at war with nature and creating toxins in the food we eat and in the water we drink. Simple.
By growing the same amount of food this year, we would slow down population growth. We would diminish our food growth in a few more years. This doesn’t mean famine will happen. Famines already happen regardless. It means we would start to have fewer babies and start to move towards a sustainable population.
The system in which we have been taught is violent and oppressive. It creates so much suffering. It formulates a dysfunctional personalized ego, for it is dysfunctional. Most adults are caught in this dysfunctional trap and think this is the only way to live.
If we begin to see that our conditioned enculturated thoughts are not who we are, and by just noticing thoughts without doing anything, we may see that our thoughts are not who we are and not react to them. When thoughts quiet on their own, a quiet may emerge that is timeless and whole and recognize that is who one truly is.
If we see that our system is dysfunctional, we may begin talking with one another and, within our town and communities, decide together to live differently. We may need each other rather than being at war. That politics divide, and nationalism divides. That we are all here together in this beautiful dance called life. Imagine what we could do together if we lived in love rather than fear. It all begins with oneself — why? Because if reality is not separate but rather whole, then I am in you, and you are in me. By beginning the inner journey, I am beginning to act and communicate differently.
If we are all doing this together, we can let go of the system and create something human, diverse, and nature-focused instead of driven by profit and greed that only benefits a few to the detriment of most humans and the earth.
