“What the Hell is Wrong with You People?”

First, let me assure you that I am NOT talking about any particular person or family. That out of the way let me rant on. What I want to know is “What the Hell is Wrong with You People?” Every day I see postings on Facebook and Twitter, and get emails from people about it, and hear about it directly from people.

What is it you ask? Some variant of this: “Yea. I am going to be a grandmother (or grandfather) again!! Isn’t that GREAT?”   Well no, it actually isn’t great. And here is why: The world already has too many people to sustain in the long run, defined as the next 50 – 100 years. Resources are being consumed at a much higher rate than is sustainable: Water, fossil fuels, farm land etc.  Pollution is growing at alarming rates of increase. Wars, famines and plagues abound. Climate is changing so fast that the world as we know it will be lucky to survive the next 50 years.

In other words, the best case scenarios show a bleak picture for the next 5 to 10 decades. Some predict utter ruin. Now, given this likely world, why would anyone want to bring another child into what will certainly be a miserable, dangerous and depleted world? Do you have any idea of the suffering the human population will experience in the next 10 decades? And grandbabies will suffer the most because they will live in it. They will be screwed in so many ways it is almost impossible and unbearable to contemplate. Why would anyone want to have their kin suffer like the next generations are going to suffer?

I know your answer: “Never going to happen". Either 1. God will save us or 2. Science is full of crap and none of this will happen or 3. Maybe in the rest of the world but not here or 4. Some other totally absurd excuse for looking the other way.

Well folks, it will happen, and if God (if there is a god) gave a crap we wouldn’t be in this cesspool, and as for the other excuses, they are all misguided. Science is right about this; it is already happening here and there is no way out.

I therefore repeat: “What the Hell is Wrong with You People?”

Image: http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/parenting/2007/07/26/SayNo-Babies.png