Overpopulation and Nature

 

Yesterday I went to Bake Oven Knob with my brother and my friend. It was a beautiful October day, no clouds in the sky, brisk fall air, and the hope for an adventure along the way. While we were hiking up the path, we passed 4 hikers with backpacks who were hiking the Application Trail. When we got to the top, there were other kids up there. Even up on a mountain range, miles away from the city we came from, there were other people where we were. During the readings about overpopulation, the images of the extreme, filled earth could not escape my mind. I realize that this is a known spot, with a trail and specified view, but one would hope to be alone within nature. We tried to sit as far away from the other people, trying to capture a moment purely the nature and us. The fall is a beautiful time, and I can’t imagine a world without trees and other nature alerting us to the changing the seasons. Ehrlich’s writing on the overpopulation created a horrible view in my mind, where people are stacked above each other like an “ant heap” creating a new heat limit. After reading this I thought “Wow” and am glad the world is not at that stage, yet. After imaging such a world, I appreciate the space I have, even within a suburb.  Ehrlich wrote about the future, if we were to continue to reproduce at this rate. It may seem extremely exaggerated, but the truth is that one-day the world will be that much of a mess. With the more people produced, the less room there is for the nature.  During winter, I always get seasonal depression. Being stuck inside, breathing the same circulated air, and everything outside is bare and dead. When the nature dies, a part of human beings die too. This dependence on the nature is something that cannot be overlooked. Humans should take into account the reality of such an overpopulated earth, and maybe begin a serious discussion on how to plateau the numbers.