Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.
--Oscar Wilde "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"
You get the point, do you. But please be advised not to interpret this quote as a contemporary reference. The point to be made here is that as much as we love our habitat, we stride to make it a better place. In the mean time, we cannot but destroy. However, does this justify Pointing's rather communist views/assumptions? Your comments are welcome by this group. Click here to send comments.
Mr. Ponting shows a correlation between the changing relationship between humans and the environment and discusses the implications this relationship has had upon human disease and death.
Historically major chnages in our history have shown different patterns of disease. For example...
Death in childbirth, infant mortality, and life expectancy are indicators of the health status of a population. However, the author points out problems in the lack of documentation, reliability of the documentation that does exist, and the lack of universality of records in the use of such measures of health. Another major problem surfacing throughout the chapter is the correlation between poverty and disease.
The affects of disease are a fear that all humans live with and are reminded of each and every day. It is therefore not difficult to find information currently available in regards to disease and it's effects. We would like to recommend the following for individuals whom are interested in further information on the subject. And the Band Played On ,is an excellent book about the development of AIDS in our society. The movie The Cure, represents how Hollywood tackles with the problem of AIDS. We would also recommend any comparitive information between AIDS and historical diseases such as the Bubonic plaque. For music the children's rhyme, Ring Around the Rosey, would be effective(after all it is about the Bubonic plaque).
Links to further information about disease and plaques..
As the heading suggests, this chapter presents a detailed, rather meticulous, map of numbers to illustrate the point the writer is trying to make: the rise in population has resulted in the consequent burdens for the world and in turn we are in an age of disaster. What are the burdens and what disaster are we facing?
First of all, the number of years taken for a billion people to be added to the total population has shrank from two million to twelve years! This rapid growth in population has caused a shortage of food supplies and to make up for crops production, people have cut down forests and resorted to other damaging methods to keep people fed. However, this is not the sole reason, if a justifiable one, for disaster to land upon us. Rather, the imbalance of food supply is and should be blamed as the culprit.
While many people in third world countries are dying of famine, wheat and corns are fed to livestock to meet the "luxurious" needs of the wealthy. This unsocialized and uncommunal waste should make the wealthy ashamed of themselves if they choose to open their eyes and show empathy to those who do not even have potatoes to eat.
The desperate deforestation and ruthless attempt to better the living standard of the rich have caused disaster beyond repair. The most noticeable harm is that large pieces of land are degraded due to deforestation and overgrazing which in turn have caused soil erosion.
All problems are basically a chain reaction touched off by the need to feed, the need to feed better, and the desire of the opportunists who take advantage of money making moments.
Some good sites for more information about population include...