Last night I watched a chilling episode of Nova's
World In the Balance program.
The focus was on population flux. Once when I thought about population concerns my mind would travel to India or China. Yet, Nova outlines the real hot spot in illuminating the plight of Africa. Africa is an example of the most macabre imbalance, where population continues to explode as the AIDS epidemic rages on.
One very striking aspect of the story for me, was a young woman raising 4 siblings and a nephew. She sells herself to feed her family, but contracts AIDS. African men offer higher pay when the woman agrees to have intercourse without a condom. Some may say she is shortsighted, but I feel she never should have come to that choice.
Nothing has sickened me so much about this Administration as their righteous denial of funds for organizations who so much as brush shoulders with the topics of birth control and abortion. Our leaders continue to do the people of Africa a great injustice, but there is worse to come.
In watching the program I quickly learned that it isn't about the women, who are the most rapidly growing faces of AIDS. It isn't even about the children, who are the very definition of innocent victims. It is about every single one of us. Here is a quote from the transcript:
NARRATOR: It took until 1800 for global population to reach its first billion. In two centuries, the numbers increased six-fold. Our world is now headed towards a day of reckoning. If fertility drops just below two children, by mid-century, global population could stabilize at around nine billion people.
Let me break that down... roughly 2,000 years to reach 6 billion. Then, increase that by 50% in 50 years. Not even Americans will be able to escape the impact upon this planet.
What will that impact look like? What are the results of explosive population in the nations that are least equipped to handle it? Terrorism? Disease? Pollution? War? Take your pick.
I highly suggest taking a visit to Nova's site, and even reading the transcript if you have any interest in what may be the deciding issue for our entire species going forward. We cannot afford inaction from our elected officials. We've lost too much time already.
Over 2,000 babies were born while I was editing this message.