How does one stop the unstoppable? Worse than a leaky ceiling, how Do you stop something that has the mind to thwart you?

I have contemplated this before: The unstoppable juggernaut that is the human population bomb. It carries so many ills for humankind. The fact that our doom may occur due to it makes us seem so much like bacteria undergoing unchecked growth, or a virus, multiplying and destroying its host.

Unfortunately, it is not just our own existence that is imperiled. There are numerous species that we have destroyed and are destroying. Extinctions are occurring most rapid. Everyone cries out that something must be done. They see the end result approaching. But cries do nothing to abate the rapidity of human population growth. Everyone proceeds with business as usual, not realizing that business as usual is the problem.

The best scenario would be for humankind to refrain and produce only replacements. Religious folk will have nothing to do with that insisting instead that their god has commanded them to go forth and multiply. Shunning contraceptives and other means to limit families, these ignorant folk make large families… many of which the public at large must provide support. Support by subsidies direct or tax abatements indirect, these families cannot subsist without it.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned species decline in numbers, some beyond retrieval. In the end the best hope for many remain the Zoological gardens present in many large cities. These same zoos, as they are called, scorned by many naturalists, are like sanctuaries. The naturalists think all these wild animals should remain wild, in the wild, not realizing that consigns many to extinction. Year after year we hear of Gorillas being poached, their hands removed. Elephants treacherously downed, their ivory tusks cruelly hacked away. Large cats taken, for trophy, for wasteful sport, some for their genitalia thought aphrodisiac in quality. Sorry folks, we aren’t growing any more wild out there. Encroachment seems inevitable everywhere. By everywhere, we have to admit, that means our planet’s oceans too. Species there suffer as fishing goes unabated. Large trawlers with enormous nets engulfing entire schools of fish. Their absence not only affects those of its kind but many others that depend upon their presence. Even here, the need for preserving at least some representatives in aquariums is seen necessary and unavoidable.

Although the entertainment available in Zoological Gardens is a plus, to bring the experience of what was, to an ignorant public… that is not the reason I support the zoo. I support the zoo because it may be the last refuge for many species. Without a doubt, this is not a solution. At most it will help many species linger just a short while longer. In the wild I see no hope for them. This is because of human nature. No one is of one mind. One human wants a new home there, in the woods. another wants the woods preserved. At this point I only see the first human winning out. New building in wild areas must be banned. If you want to have a forest that is how it must be. We can’t keep hacking away even a little year after year without at some point destroying it all. The population growth must be stopped, indeed, a little less population is what is needed.

Is anyone ever going to listen?