Human Explosion

Vacationing on the Oregon coast.

Everywhere we go there are vacation homes going up, hillsides being razed of trees, lumber erected. This is a fairly remote portion of the coast, on Netarts Bay. Everywhere there are signs that there are just too many damn people. I look at my family and imagine us as the ants that happen to inhabit both this vacation home and our home in Baltimore. Ants crawling in our kitchen, to be killed for their very existence. Not because one hates ants per se, but because these ants are in the wrong place at the wrong time, on our lunch plates or in the bathroom.

Thus it is with humans, we are not bad per se, in fact we have many admirable traits, but the current structure of our society demands that we consume ever more and more, and need larger and larger accommodations, to the detriment of all other species. The average American family of four, post WW II, was satisfied with a 2 bedroom house, children sharing a room. The four-child families of the baby boom generation only needed 3 BR houses. Mothers cooked for years in galley kitchens and produced memorable meals. Now those same boomers, and subsequent generations, need mini-mansions, vacation homes, SUVs, 4 car garages...

As I take in the natural beauty of a sunset over Netarts bay & listen to the tide, I think about how the natural world will continue after the humans have gone. The puny party lights of our species will flicker out, but the pink and orange sunsets will continue for the fish and gulls to see. Our beautiful earth will continue to spin long after we have spoiled the atmosphere that sustains us. The sand, the salt air, the single cloud scudding across the sky will all still be here.

Last week at a Delaware beach, 3700 miles away, I commented to an uncle that the area would be under water in 50 years. His reply was “I won’t be here”, and he didn't seem to have a problem with the fact that his son probably would. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment- people think that since they won't personally feel the effects of global warming or environmental deterioration, it's OK .

No wonder the Chinese are kicking our butts with products that at best don’t work and at the worst poison us. They create and fulfill 50, 100, 200 year plans. We live paycheck to paycheck.

When did we stop caring about the future for our children and grandchildren?