When I was a small child,
the population of Earth was about 3 billion.
We are now at 7.9 billion.
www.worldometers.info/…
Almost 8 billion?
We added five billion humans to this planet,
just in my lifetime?
I am only 66 years old.
Some folks have analyzed where this is all headed:
en.wikipedia.org/…
How ZPG can be achieved
A number of demographic experts have suggested a few ways to reach zero population growth.
Albert Bartlett, an emeritus professor of physics at University of Colorado at Boulder in his lifetime, suggested that a population has the following choices to achieve ZPG:[13]
- Voluntarily limit births and immigration to achieve zero population growth;
- Continue on the present path until the population is so large that draconian measures become necessary to stop the growth of population;
- Do nothing and let nature stop the growth through disease, starvation, war, and pestilence. If humans do not solve the problem, nature will.
Similarly, Jason Brent, another demographic expert, argues that there are three ways to achieve zero population growth. His argument is as follows:[14]
- By war, with or without weapons of mass destruction, starvation, disease, rape, murder, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps, and other horrors beyond the imagination, when humanity has exceeded the carrying capacity of the Earth.
- By the voluntary action of all of humanity prior to the human population exceeding the carrying capacity of the Earth. If any group or even if a single-family failed to control its population the entire program would fail.
- By coercive population control prior to the human population exceeding the carrying capacity of the Earth.
Mass starvation is mentioned, twice, in that quote.
So.
Someday, many of those who will survive mass starvation,
may be those who are, you might say, doomsday preppers.
theprepared.com/…
The basic steps to prepping:
- Build a solid personal finance and health foundation
- Get your home ready for two weeks of self-reliance
- Be able to leave your home with only a moment’s notice (“bug out bags”)
- Prepare for emergencies that happen away from home (“get home bags” and everyday carry)
- Learn core skills and practice with your gear
- Share and recruit while continuing to learn and going beyond the basics
That list looks at the bigger picture.
The most up close part of that, is step 2.
Home checklist summary:
- Water: store 15 gallons of potable water per person (roughly 1 gallon per day) and have ways to treat dirty water via either a portable water filter or countertop water filter
- Food: at least 23,000 calories per person (roughly 1,500 calories per day) of shelf-stable food that’s ready to eat or only needs boiling water to make; usually one or a mix of extra supermarket food you normally eat anyway or special prepper food that lasts forever
- Fire: lighters, matches, and backup fire starters
- Light: headlamps, flashlights, candles, lanterns
- Heating and cooling: indoor-safe heaters, extra blankets, USB-powered fan
- Shelter: a cheap tarp (anything you find at a local store) comes in handy for improvised shelter, plugging holes in the house, and clearing debris
- Medical: list of 145 prioritized home medical supplies
- Hygiene: wet wipes, hand sanitizer, camp soap
- Communication: either a one-way NOAA radio or a two-way ham radio (if you know how to use it)
- Power: spare batteries and rechargers (your bug out bag will have a solar charger, but you can also get a second one for home)
- Tools: axe, shovel, work gloves, wrench for your gas lines, zip ties, duct tape, etc.
- Self defense: depends on personal views, may include body armor, firearms, etc.
- Cash: as much as you can reasonably afford to stash
- Mental health: board games, favorite books, headphones, movies downloaded to a tablet, etc.
- Documents: copy of deeds/titles, insurance policies, birth certificates, maps, pictures of family members, etc. in both physical and USB thumb drive forms
- Local & emergency info: write down important contact numbers, know the location of the nearest hospitals, etc.
On that list, starting at the top,
Water: my wife and I have about 20 gallons of water on hand.
Food: we have a huge amount of food we got free, rice and beans, in bags, some in mason jars, some canned beans, mac and cheese dinners, etc. I have not yet done a good inventory, to see where we stand.
I now want to shift to what we do not have:
1. Children
2. Pets.
Because we have no children, and no pets, we are not using our limited resources, on any such children or pets.
And, remember, adding children to Earth, is the whole cause of this whole problem, this apparently unavoidable mass starvation.
So.
Every time anyone says,
climate change,
as well as,
every time anyone says,
prepping,
I say:
get your tubes tied.
No children, no pets.
I wish I knew how to get more folks to agree with me:
1. No children, no pets.
2. Get your tubes tied.
3. Do what you must, to become prepared, prepping.
The world seems so big.
It is hard to feel any of us can make a difference.
But, the prepping can make a difference, in your home.
Obviously, whoever is already in your home, is already in your home.
I am saying, do not add any more mouths to feed.
So many folks feel, deeply, that what I am writing here is crazy and wrong.
I do not see how it can be crazy and wrong.
Well, time for you, my readers, to write great comments.
So very often,
the comment threads, here at Daily Kos, are a bigger deal than the diary.
So, take it away.