Have you ever thought of killing someone?
For the sake of all that is dear to you, I hope, you haven’t.
But I am sure you have fantasized about the apocalypse or
the end of the world. Many scientists and global surveys claim that most people
on earth have some time or other visualized of their survival on the Judgement day.
It is peculiarly curious that our senses will endure thoughts of a holocaust
while struggling at a notion of jeopardizing our own survival. Some may call it
as ‘hope’ while others may call it as ‘survival instincts’. No matter what it
is called, but for certain this natural feeling is the most crucial contributor
to the continuous growth of human civilization.
This is 2013 and last year we survived yet another
prediction of the ‘day of reckoning’. According to the ‘Mayan calendar’, 21st
December 2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. Hollywood even presented
a movie depicting the same fate for our beloved earth. The story projected the
final destruction through changes in earth’s magnetic field and solar flares.
The whole world submerges in water while a few chosen ones end up on gigantic
ships to escape and survive. It was a beautiful movie with spectacular visual
effects. The same story however, we have read or heard since childhoods with a
little twist where Lord Vishnu takes ‘Matsya Avatar’ (Incarnation as Fish) and
helps mankind survive a worldwide flood. Even in the western civilization, you
have stories of Noah’s Ark and many more similar legends can be found in all
the cultures. It seems we have been obsessed with this catastrophe for
generations. All the latest surveys conducted in USA and other developed
nations have discovered that more than 62% people believe the end of the world
will happen within next 20-25 years.
Read along only if you believe that above prediction can
come true.
Welcome, Dear doomsday theorist. Since you are reading this,
I am sure you are scared as well as intrigued by the concept of worldwide
calamity. Now, since you believe world is going to end in next two to three
decades; let’s play a guessing game. If you have to predict the source of our
destruction, then what will you choose as the likely cause? Will it be a
man-made cause like nuclear or bio-chemical war? Or will it be earthquake,
flood, meteorite that is something handled by God? Come on, take a pick.
Over 71% of population thinks that the destruction will come
as an act of God. In essence, we believe that something supernatural like shown
in the movies will occur to our planet. Don’t you think there is hope hidden
there somewhere in this belief? How, you ask? Well, watch any apocalyptic movie
and you will find I am right. We keep showing major catastrophe in the movies
where earth suffers major damage. But, in the end, humans always survive. Be it
a rag-tag band or super intelligent and super rich celebrities. At the end, we
come out with a hope that the Armageddon will precede the disaster. Isn't that
the most romantic thing ever? Fighting to survive, struggling and in the end
standing tall. I have also heard that many make preservations for such an eventuality
like stocking food and supplies or making bunkers etc.
Now, what if the end came not from any of such known
theories? What if the Judgement day came disguised as growth and increment? What
if the cause of our destruction was not our ability to kill, but our ability to
save lives? Wouldn't that be the ultimate tragedy and satire?
During second century CE, the population of earth was about
190 million. Considering today’s populace of over 7 billion, the human population
was merely 4% then. Well, back then in the city of Carthage lived an author
named Tertullian. He said: “What most frequently meets our view (and deserves concerns)
is our teeming population. Our numbers are burdensome to the world, which can
hardly support us. In very deed, pestilence, and famine, and wars, and
earthquakes have to be regarded as a remedy for nations, as the means of
pruning the luxuriance of the human race.” What this difficult English means is
that this man, and many other like him, was concerned about our growing numbers
on this planet. He even dared to suggest that the famine, plague, earthquakes
and wars are nothing but ways to reduce human populace and restore balance. Isn't that an odd hypothesis?
You will be surprised to know that we reached one billion populations
in 1804 from the start of human civilization. In next 120 years we doubled that
and if calculations are right, we will cross 8 billion by 2025. We have
practically achieved an increase of eight times in last 200 years. A remarkable
achievement considering we saw many revolutions, two world wars, a holocaust
(during Second World War where 60 million Jews were murdered by Nazis) and
still endure so many terrorist threats. Logically, our populations should have reduced
due to all that, but the reality is startlingly different.
Don’t believe me? Let’s take the help of Wikipedia and WHO
graphs. You will discover the truth of my statements.
Now, why I am talking about this? Don’t worry; I am not
starting any contraceptive marketing project. What I am interested in is the
statement made over two millennia ago by aforementioned Mr. Tertullian.
How can anyone make such a horrific suggestion that holocaust
serves a benevolent cause as well? He must have been crazy, don’t you think? Many
intelligent scientists don’t think so. They believe he saw future far more
clearly than we see our present. Yes, scientists and other smart people world-over
believe that we are at the brink of destruction due to overpopulation. Have a
look at yet another data table!!!
Year Population
in Billion
1804 1
1927 2
1959 3
1974 4
1987 5
1999 6
2011 7
2020 7.7
(estimate)
Yeah, I know. It doesn't look so good.
Well, let’s go back to our discussion again. As said
earlier, many scientists believe and they believe very firmly that the cause of
human extinction will be overpopulation. Of course, the apparent reasons might
be called a plague or shortage of natural resources or war or even global
warming. But, all these are simply symptoms while the disease is
overpopulation. The world is fast becoming overcrowded and supplies are
depleting. With each passing day, our ecosystem is getting irreparably damaged.
We have started suffering a lack of fresh water and food, and
fossil fuel. The effects of the increase of oxygen consumption and subsequent
global warming are quite apparent. Soon, the gap between supply and demand will
reach caustic level and then the end of civilization as we know it will begin. The
resources that we consume will not be regenerated or at best they will be regenerated
in a few millenniums. There will be no hope of survival left for us. It is
theorized that children and grandchildren of current generation might witness
the end of the world and it won’t be as romantic a scene as Hollywood presents.
What can we do now? For sure, the natural resources cannot
be generated or replaced so easily. Even if we stop the usage completely, it
will not reverse the damage already done. In any case, we cannot stop breathing
or releasing body waste.
Is there any hope for us? Can we pray for another Hitler to
emerge and slaughter a few millions (billions, preferably)? Should USA, Russia,
China and other countries engage in nuclear war? However, I am sure that the
last option will only fasten the process by making this planet uninhabitable.
Is there any way out?
Don’t be scared. Let us ponder on this.
The next time we meet, we will discuss a possibility or a
theory that is being worked out by a brilliant genetic biologist. It might just
be our last ray of hope.
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