DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22465#0276
B fem*Uv»» J"ne 23- 1967
' ■---
TOO MANY PEOPLE
BY DR. GERALD WENDT
Id a single year the
population of China
inoreasos by twelve m llion.
This it more than the
total of all the people
who live in Denmark and
Sweden. In seven years
the Chinese increase alone
will equal the entire pre-
sent population of Japan
and will be more than
twice the preHent popula-
tion of England or of
France.
In the narrow strip
of the fertile Nile Valley
in Egypt there are already
1,670 persuus per square
mile and each year adds
50 more for every square
mile.
The population of the
earth is about 2,600 mil-
lion people today. By
1980 it will be' 3,400 mil-
lion according to the ex-
perts of the United Na-
tions, and by the end of
the oentury it will be
more than 4,000 million.
The annual ■ - increase is
oloss to thirty million
which is equal to the po-
pulation of Spain. Every
month there are two and
a half million more peo-
ple on earth, every day
there are 80,000 more.
Even the rate of in-
crease is growing year by
year. In 19.M) it was
about 0.4% a year, in
lb00,0.7 ptr cent. Today
it is near 1.0 per cent.
Experts in agritulture and
nutrition, in health and in
eoonomics, are pondering
what to do about too
many people for the limi-
ted resources of the earth.
There is already a short-
age of food; soon there
will be a lack of fuels,
of metals, of power and
even of land.
How many people are
too many? How many
are enough? Who can ans-
wer questions like that?
Nature 'can answer,
of course, but Nature is
extravagant with life,
ruthless with death. She
never has enouch because
she kills them, young and
ojd, without mercy. Count-
less millions of seeds never
sprout, millions of inseots
and fish and rabbits exist,
only to provide food for
other beasts More millions
die of starvation. It is
Nature's way. The indi-
vidual matters little if the
race survives.
But the human -raoe
has a higher standard It
holds each individual as
precious, or even sacred.
Hen protect themselves
from Nature, as from an
enemy by means of clo-
thing, houses and cultiva-
ted foods. '1 hey have lear-
ned to prevent and cure
disease and thus to post-
pone for many years the
early death that was once
called natural. Yet one
of man's instincts more
animal than human, could
make him Nature's victim
after all. He reproduces
his kind with Nature's
extravagance, not thinking
of Nature s merciless pu-
nishment by poverty, suf
fering, disease and famine,
inflicted on the children.
In this one respect man
yields to Naturr instead
of outwitting In i'. His
pervasive weakness is re-
production. His perma-
nent danger is too many
people.
This is a new concept,
forcfd on us by modern
conditions. In ancient
days, when human customs
and culture* began, there
was no throught of it.
All populations were small
and, resource were im-
mense. In North America
there were half a million
American Indians when
Columbus arrived; today
there are 200 million Mexi-
cans. Canadians and Ame-
ricans. In 1650 the popu-
lation of the entire earth
was probably less thaa
500 million, one fifth of
' ■---
TOO MANY PEOPLE
BY DR. GERALD WENDT
Id a single year the
population of China
inoreasos by twelve m llion.
This it more than the
total of all the people
who live in Denmark and
Sweden. In seven years
the Chinese increase alone
will equal the entire pre-
sent population of Japan
and will be more than
twice the preHent popula-
tion of England or of
France.
In the narrow strip
of the fertile Nile Valley
in Egypt there are already
1,670 persuus per square
mile and each year adds
50 more for every square
mile.
The population of the
earth is about 2,600 mil-
lion people today. By
1980 it will be' 3,400 mil-
lion according to the ex-
perts of the United Na-
tions, and by the end of
the oentury it will be
more than 4,000 million.
The annual ■ - increase is
oloss to thirty million
which is equal to the po-
pulation of Spain. Every
month there are two and
a half million more peo-
ple on earth, every day
there are 80,000 more.
Even the rate of in-
crease is growing year by
year. In 19.M) it was
about 0.4% a year, in
lb00,0.7 ptr cent. Today
it is near 1.0 per cent.
Experts in agritulture and
nutrition, in health and in
eoonomics, are pondering
what to do about too
many people for the limi-
ted resources of the earth.
There is already a short-
age of food; soon there
will be a lack of fuels,
of metals, of power and
even of land.
How many people are
too many? How many
are enough? Who can ans-
wer questions like that?
Nature 'can answer,
of course, but Nature is
extravagant with life,
ruthless with death. She
never has enouch because
she kills them, young and
ojd, without mercy. Count-
less millions of seeds never
sprout, millions of inseots
and fish and rabbits exist,
only to provide food for
other beasts More millions
die of starvation. It is
Nature's way. The indi-
vidual matters little if the
race survives.
But the human -raoe
has a higher standard It
holds each individual as
precious, or even sacred.
Hen protect themselves
from Nature, as from an
enemy by means of clo-
thing, houses and cultiva-
ted foods. '1 hey have lear-
ned to prevent and cure
disease and thus to post-
pone for many years the
early death that was once
called natural. Yet one
of man's instincts more
animal than human, could
make him Nature's victim
after all. He reproduces
his kind with Nature's
extravagance, not thinking
of Nature s merciless pu-
nishment by poverty, suf
fering, disease and famine,
inflicted on the children.
In this one respect man
yields to Naturr instead
of outwitting In i'. His
pervasive weakness is re-
production. His perma-
nent danger is too many
people.
This is a new concept,
forcfd on us by modern
conditions. In ancient
days, when human customs
and culture* began, there
was no throught of it.
All populations were small
and, resource were im-
mense. In North America
there were half a million
American Indians when
Columbus arrived; today
there are 200 million Mexi-
cans. Canadians and Ame-
ricans. In 1650 the popu-
lation of the entire earth
was probably less thaa
500 million, one fifth of