T00 Much

My wife and I are fortunate. We have had a good life, done interesting things, been reasonably prosperous, and had three children. We have lived in the middle class of a democratic country (USA) for many years and have had access to the advantages and comforts of a civilization that has provided people, even the poorest of us with the opportunities to gain the basic elements of life, and the freedom for those of us with ambition and talent to gain a comfortable existence and even the rare possibility of an opportunity to become wealthy. Of course, being human and carrying within us the physical and mental characteristics of the elements of our evolutionary history, we are imperfect animals directed and consumed by the mental and physical traits that evolution has embedded in our character. If there is a doubt about this, one has only to express and understand the meaning of a few words. These would be, among many others, War, Murder, Steal, Rape, Reproduction, Hunger, Slavery, Filth, and Dominance. There are also other words that are also embedded in our civilizations, such as Love, Help, Comfort, Achievement, Consideration, Respect, Conservation, Sanitation, and Devotion. We are all products of both the good and the bad in our long history on Earth (actually, compared to fish, a very short history). But we are not perfect and the history of our time on Earth is a record of that. Many words define us and our faults, and we think that our presence on Earth is not a serious problem… until it is.

Raising children to adulthood is not an easy task. However, it is a wonderful experience, containing perhaps the best experiences that humans can have. Even great wealth and power can not come close to the conception, birth, and upbringing of the humans that are a product of our existence and will carry our essence into the future of humanity; and this drive to reproduce is embedded in the structure of our being. Young children, ages in the range of about 1 to 5 years are in the process of developing skills and intellect, the understanding that they exist, and who they are, and learning how to create and use mental concepts. This is a very critical time in human development, and they gain an understanding of who they are and how humanity functions. Much of the rest of their life depends on how their intellect and personality develops during this period in their life, and nothing is more important during that time then parental interaction.

It is important that a parent understands the importance of these early years and gives the developing intellect as good an introduction to how to be a human being as possible.

An example of how children create concepts occurred in front of our refrigerator. Providing a young child with a cookie or two was always fun for both the child and us. Of course, one cookie was never enough, and there was never a limit as to how many cookies were required to satisfy the needs and wants of a child. So, when that magic number was reached somewhere greater than two and less than four, we would exclaim in a firm tone, “TOO MUCH” and then provide that number anyway with the indication that it exceeded the maximum number that should be provided. And it would be clear to the fledgling brain that there was a variable number of cookies that made up the maximum number of cookies that could be given and that maximum number was “TOO MUCH”. So, the standard request for cookies became “TOO MUCH”.

In the developing brain of the young child, the number of cookies or any other treat desired at any time was always “TOO MUCH” rather than a variable number. Amusing to us at the time, and as the development of the childhood brain expanded intellect, the concept of “TOO MUCH” to the child became the maximum amount of cookies that could be acquired, and the meaning of “too much” became associated with a number, a quantitative concept in the place of two words. Over time that changed, and the cognitive understanding developed that a variable number replaced “TOO MUCH” as a maximum amount, and “TOO MUCH” shifted to describe a variable excessive amount, as language intended. This is an example of how the mind expands as cognition develops and the meaning of words changes as the brain develops and language and knowledge expand and interact during the formative years of childhood.

Right now, the answer to questions on how many humans there are on Earth to keep the environment of this planet hospitable to life including humans is “TOO MUCH”. It indicates that we have no idea as to what the maximum number of humans on this little blue planet should be. All we can say is that there is “TOO MANY” now, and as the population continues to increase, that number will soon become “MUCH TOO MUCH”.

There is also “MUCH TOO MUCH” pollution in the atmosphere, the oceans, and lakes, and rivers. The dry Earth also has great accumulations of concrete buildings and roads, waste landfills, livestock farms, fire-stripped jungles, oil wells and mines, and, well… “MUCH TOO MUCH” human footprints on the Earth.

If you want to see it, the message is clear. The civilizations that humanity has developed have a history and base of superstition with arms of consumption, wealth, war, entertainment, and environmental decline that obscure reality and depend on fictional and supernatural concepts and histories. Of course, the absence of real truth in many of these convictions is not recognized by very many humans. Most of us will dance on the deck of the ship of civilization, ignore the water lapping over the stern, and laugh at those working with mops and brooms to keep the water off the deck, until… Hopefully, it's not too late to replace “MUCH TOO MUCH” with “JUST ENOUGH”.

Overpopulation of Earth with humans, Homo sapiens, is possible, even probable, in fact, we may already be there. A current world population is estimated at 8.1 billion people. Of course, there are those who think we could never have an overpopulation problem. For example, the current estimate (2023) of the population of Florida is 22,144,382 million people (US Census). I don’t think that included visitors, a considerable addition. That sounds like a huge number of people, probably “TOO MUCH”, but it depends on how you consider it. The area of the State of Florida is 65,757 square miles. Now, one person really needs only about one square yard, that’s big enough to stand, and even sit if you aren’t too big. So, if you do the math, the population of Florida requires only about 22.5 million square yards, which is about 7.5 square miles. Thus, the entire population of Florida can fit into a space about the size of a good-sized housing development. How could there possibly be any overpopulation problem?

OK, that is a silly misrepresentation and demeaning of the essence of the concept of overpopulation. The only reason I include it here is because it is a real example that was given quite a few years ago of why overpopulation could not and would not ever be a problem. It represents the intensity of the stupidity that is sometimes used to ridicule and dismiss science-based evaluation with false and misleading analysis. Unfortunately, similar evaluations are not uncommon. ???

Florida is a State with many advantages for settling. About 1,218 people move to Florida every day. Population growth is rapid and extensive. Overpopulation is not a concept that is expressed in circles where the growth of population and the accompanying industries is very welcome to the growth of the economy. The natural resources and the ecology and environment of Florida, and all of North America for that matter, have a bleak future if overpopulation and its accompanying pollution and environmental destruction continue very far into the future. We stand before the open door of the refrigerator of our environment and clamor for “TOO MUCH”.

A few years ago when we lived in the Florida Keys, I wrote a word poem that expressed my concern for our future, not tomorrow's, but the years that are rapidly piling up. I’ll close with Forever. ?

Forever

It was the year 1511. The old Calusa Indian sat on the white sand beach of Lower Matecumbe Key, and watched his grandchildren play in the clear sparkling waters and soft sand at the edge of the island. Knowing that his remaining years were not many, he contemplated his world, the Florida Keys. His life had been one with the tropical sea and the subtle seasons of these islands; he had never wanted for sustenance or beauty. As the world had been for his ancestors, it was for him, and for those who would follow him. He knew that the spirits of the earth and sea would forever provide for the needs of his people.

He thought of what he knew about his world.

?The innumerable queen conch of the nearby grass beds, they were Forever.

The huge turtles that crawled on the beaches and lay their eggs, Forever would they do so.

The giant groupers hiding in the rocks and reefs, Forever.

The spiny lobsters found everywhere from bay to reef, Forever.

The sea urchins that lived in the rocks and reefs and buried themselves in the grass beds, Forever.

The Caribbean monk seal, found on sandy beaches and rocky shores, they ranged to every corner of his world, Forever.

The great living rocks, the foundation of his world, the corals that protected the islands during storms and made homes for fish and other creatures of amazing form and color, They were Forever.

He thought that this was how it was, this is how it is, and this is how it would be, Forever. He knew that when his days were done he would still be a part of his world and his world was, Forever. And he was content.

Five hundred years later I sit where perhaps he sat so long ago just before the arrival of the white man. My grandchildren play in the waters that sparkle just as brightly, but these waters are filled with the effluent of a civilization unimaginable not so very long ago. My thoughts also wander as my days wind down, as did his. I also love these islands, but I am not content. I know that Forever, is not forever.

Martin Moe