7.3 Billion And Counting

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet."

Remember this famous Agent Smith line from the awesome movie Matrix. Kind of derogatory but somewhat true and thought provoking. It is a fact that human beings have impacted Earth and environment in ways that no other species ever did. We are clearing out forests to create land for agriculture, industries and housing. In the process making other species extinct and disturbing the balance in the ecosystem. We are polluting air, water and land from industrial and household waste, drilling hole in ozone layer and actively contributing to global warming. And one of the other big reasons for disturbance in natural equilibrium of human species with the environment is Medical advancement. Infant mortality rates have decreased exponentially in last century. At the same time, the average lifespan of human beings has gone up significantly due to availability of medical treatments and current lifestyles. And these number will continue to go higher with new advancements in medical field especially in the area of cancer treatments. 

One can argue that human population numbers don't mean anything if humanity faces a nuclear war or an asteroid hits planet earth and wipes out half of the human population. There are probably multiple other threats to human civilization beyond our control. But remember, an unchecked human population growth is an equally serious threat too.

One can also argue that we will eventually find life elsewhere in universe, make space travel piece of cake and relocate to those parts of universe. But, doesn't that prove Agent Smith's point in Matrix? Doesn't that feel like a rape and subsequent abandonment of motherland Earth?

Planet Earth is alive. Lets be conservative and sensible and keep it alive and thriving. This is the only living planet we have and know of. All of us need to take a step back and re-evaluate our life styles and how it impacts the planet Earth. We need to make sure to not get swayed by corporations' marketing gimmicks where all happiness seems to come from having a big house full of plastic junk. 

There is more to life than owning stuff. Lets make a serious effort to reduce our footprint on this beautiful planet. Lets make every day an Earth day!