What's the problem?

I guess you have a room of your own at home. You probably don't keep it very tidy or clean but you don't wreck it, do you? It wouldn't make any sense to smash it and all your stuff up and make it horrible because that's your own space where you do your own thing. But you probably don't bother with the rest of your house (unless your parents nag you), or the backyard, or your street, or your town.

Or your planet?

That's someone else's problem, isn't it?

All humans - yes, adults too - are a little like that. They think they're very clever - and they are in many ways. But they're not quite clever enough. A really clever animal would not trash its only home while pretending that everything was just fine.

Here's a quick look at what's wrong.

	People are taking too much from the planet: oil, gas, coal, trees, metals and minerals, soils Little left for people to use in the future. Today's humans are eating the future Humans throw away 'rubbish' in vast amounts as pollution and trash Cars, trucks, planes and ships 'throw away' waste gases from burning fuel into the air. Factories and power stations 'throw away' not just waste gas but also liquids and solids, many of which are highly poisonous to life. Trash mountains (garbage) grow ever bigger outside cities. Some say there are too many people: now over 6 billion (6,000,000,000!) of you Poor countries have lots of people but they (because they are poor) use very little stuff. They can't - they're too poor to buy anything. So they are not eating the future. Mostly they have no future. The people in rich countries are the real future-eaters because they can buy (and waste) loads of stuff. People are taking up too much space on the planet Less and less space for other animals and plants. Farming now takes up most usable land. Over-fishing the seas has destroyed once-rich fishing grounds. When people want yet more space (roads, homes, farms , industry), forests get burned or cut down and millions of other animals and plants lose their homes. Many die or go extinct. People are always fighting wars which destroy not just other people (often kids who may be forced to fight too) but also cause terrible pollution Humans are the only animals that kill each other (as well as other animals) in millions. We penguins may fight occasionally but we don't kill each other. Unfortunately for humans, making war machines is now a giant industry . The more 'efficient' these killing machines are, the more expensive they become. humans have short memories If human lifespans were 700 years instead of around 70, people would be able to remember the way the world was before modern industry, technology and 'progress' (towards what?). Then they'd see the damage clearly. Today, most people are born into the noise and pollution of cities which for them seems 'natural' - as if it had always been like that. it's okay. Clever humans can fix any problems by using technology Some believe that science and technology will provide the means to 'fix' the planet's problems when they get so big that disasters begin to happen. Well maybe. But more likely is that disasters will happen more and more to poor people in poor countries where there is no money to pay for 'techno-fixes'. Rich countries might be able to afford to fix their own backyards - for a while. world full up or fouled up? No problem. Mars - here we come! A few people seriously believe that space travel will soon allow humans to set up new colonies on the Moon - or the planet Mars. Although this may be possible, it's a dangerous idea because it suggests it's okay to carry on 'eating the future' because there's an 'escape hatch' (but only for a few) when humans mess up planet Earth too much. Hey! What about the rest of you humans and all other life? And no thanks, I don't want to go to Mars - no water and no fish!

I'm happy that many people - especially young people like you - are waking up. You've got the message. You can see the problems and how bad the future could be. Sadly many people think they can't do anything about it because they have no power to change anything. That's where they're wrong! You 'awake' humans can change things. It's not too late. I've got loads of ideas for you at the end of my guide. But first, let's look at how you get 'locked in' to the planet-trashing machine...

home		back to Greed: how much is enough? - From owning things to wars.		forward to Locked into the work treadmill - What you need and what you want.