Humans ≠ bacteria

(cont'd)

Bacteria in a petri dish can multiply beyond the capacity of the petri dish to sustain them.  But people are not in that predicament with regard to the earth's capacity to sustain them.  People have been throughout history in the process of coaxing more and more capacity out of the same planet.

In fact, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that the predicted population of nine billion on earth by 2050 should be no problem to sustain - provided that social systems involving trade and security keep up.

Erle Ellis,  professor at U of Maryland and at Harvard University, says that humans have never in their history been only at the mercy of the natural environment.

"The idea that humans must live within the natural environmental limits of our planet denies the realities of our entire history, and most likely the future. Humans are niche creators.  [See yesterday's post.]  We transform ecosystems to sustain ourselves. This is what we do and have always done. 

"Our planet’s human-carrying capacity emerges from the capabilities of our social systems and our technologies more than from any environmental limits."

"The only limits to creating a planet that future generations will be proud of are our imaginations and our social systems."  (cont'd tomorrow)