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发表于 2011-10-27 09:28:52
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VOX POPULI: Humankind must refrain from exhausting planet's limited resources
The ocean is neither extensive nor large, writer Makoto Shiina stated in an essay he contributed to the vernacular Asahi Shimbun in July. While introducing the picture book titled “Moshi Chikyu ga 100 cm no Kyu Dattara” (If the Earth were a 100-centimeter sphere), Shiina discusses the limits of this planet. If the Earth’s diameter is scaled down to 1 meter, the layer of atmosphere that covers it is only 1-millimeter thick, according to the book.
At such a scale, all the water on the planet would fit into a large beer bottle. When seawater is excluded, freshwater makes up only a teaspoon. I suddenly remembered these eye-opening examples. According to the United Nations, the global population is expected to reach 7 billion on Oct. 31. The Earth is getting relatively smaller and smaller.
During the 19th century, it took 100 years for the population to grow by 1 billion. The growth in population started to rise steeply in the 20th century and now, worldwide, the population is growing at a rate of about 140 people every minute, according to experts. When I hear it is expected to grow to 9.3 billion by 2050, I find myself worrying about planet Earth.
Like the ocean, land is not infinite, either. Historically, declining civilizations are said to have rolled down “a spiral of decay” in the form of depletion of fertile topsoil caused by population increase, exploitative farming and fighting caused by a food shortages, among other reasons. Wisdom and measures are needed so that humankind will not repeat these mistakes.
Writer Noriko Ibaragi (1926-2006) composed a poem that addresses vague anxiety. It goes: “Is humankind made up of decrepit geezers or is it still brimming with youth? This is a question that no one seems able to answer.”
If we continue to exploit the resources of our oceans and land, then our future looks bleak. Our mother Earth is a gift from the past and something we are holding for the future. We must refrain from exhausting limited resources and destroying the Earth so that both “mother and child” may stay young.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 26
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