h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not me personally, but the world in general.

It's been almost a year ago that I stopped reading newspapers and stopped watching the news on TV - they were much too depressing.

So I've limited myself to reading the SVT (Swedish equivalence of the BBC) text TV news - short, to the point, and no expert commentators, no gory pictures, no footage at all.

But this morning, even the text TV news depressed me...

The World Wildflie Fund (WWF) published their 'Living Planet Report 2006' and it's not a happy reading.

Today, humans consume 25% more than is produced, compared with 20% only two years ago.

The average American consumes twice as much as the average European, and seven times as much as the average African.

If measured in hectares, the United Arab Emirate (?) tops the list with 11.6 consumed hectares per person, on second place is the USA with 9.6. Sweden isn't much better - we end up on eighth place, consuming 6.1. The world *average* is 2.2.

If we continue much in the same way, in 50 years' time, we'll need two to feed the world. 50 years! With the average length of life we have in my corner of the world I might possibly even still be alive then!

UK article:
http://www.wwf.org.uk/news/n_0000003149.asp

Full 'Living Planet Report 2006':
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/publications/key_publications/living_planet_report/index.cfm

This explains something one of my colleagues told me - she had read about it in a scientifical magazine:

Scientists estimate that, in 40 years time, they'll have the knowledge and methods needed to send humans to Jupiter.

So hey - no worries. Why bother trying to save our when we can just dump it and move on to a new planet, and pollute it, and keep overconsuming - so much easier than trying to actually do something, isn't?

Long live rampageous consumerism!
Long live short-sighted, live-today, -tomorrow politics!
Who gives a about the Kyoto protocol anyway?

*grumpety-grump, -, sulk-sulk*

*wanders off to find a cave to hibernate in for the next - oh - 100 years or so*

I wish... that humans were less shortsighted. Me too... I don't live as frugally as I ought, but just sometimes do the right thing.

Some BBC graphs:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6080074.stm

Further proof that humans are indeed the world's most dangerous animal...

On behalf of overconsumers everywhere, I apologize and promise to do better.

Wouldn't it be nice if it was as easy as that?

Try to look at it this way - the situation is self-correcting. It won't be pretty, but it will happen.

Did you check your mail today K?

Thanks GB!

Self-correcting - well, I guess that's one way of seeing it Witty! Don't know whether to or over it...

Well, I agree that it is a sad situation. All we can really do is try to set a good example and hope it rubs off on others, particularly our children.

When we run out of oil, we will all have a rather abrupt change in consumption.