Chapter Seven
Global Manifesto
In my interest in taking some kind of action regard- ing the longer range future I prepared this Global Mani- festo several years ago and published it on the Internet. I have updated the data but otherwise it is the same as the original. It forms a good summary of changes that need to be made to provide for a better world in the years to come. I would encourage readers to feel free to copy and distrib- ute with due recognition of authorship.
Global Manifesto
PREAMBLE
It is becoming more and more obvious that steadily increasing population and increasing material consump- tion are creating a world that is fast consuming its capital and pushing nature’s limits. There has been no lack of warnings issued by various individuals and organizations but more corrective action must be implemented. The time is now when urgent action is required before pollu- tion and shortages of fertile land - and water - create a world that cannot recover from the pillaging that has been and is going on. The following document has been pre- pared to alert decision makers in business, government and academia to what action is urgently required.
A. POPULATION
FACTS
World population in 2007 is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 6.6 billion and increasing by 73 million per year, a growth rate of 1.15%. By 2050 they estimate it will reach 9.4 billion at the reduced rate of increase of 0.49 depending on rates of fertility, especially in the third world.1)
Increasing population requires increasing supplies of energy, water, grazing land, grainlands, fisheries and other natural resources all of which are already at risk, and declining on an absolute and per person basis.
Increasing population generates more pollution of air, water and the soil as the result of increased consump- tion of resources.
Increasing population becomes concentrated in cit- ies which generates problems of housing, transportation, food and energy, with increased potential for poverty and social unrest.
ACTION REQUIRED
National governments must make urgent efforts to stabilize population by limiting births by: family plan- ning, birth control and upgrading the status of women, and in some cases the enacting of legislation limiting family size.
Religious and social bodies must lift restrictions on birth control.
The education of women in less developed countries should be encouraged and financed by the more developed countries.
B. ENERGY
FACTS
Oil and coal represent 64% of world energy used of which oil was 36% (2006)2) most of which is burned releasing large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. This is major contributor to global warming.
Massive burning of coal - 28% of world energy (2006) - will have a serious impact on global warming due again to the release of CO2 to the atmosphere. Alternative energy to replace oil is unlikely to be available to satisfy increasing demands (even at higher prices) by the next decade at present rates of development.
Political decisions in oil producing countries could drastically reduce or cut off oil supplies to the major oil consuming countries causing a major fuel crisis in trans- portation, heating and electric power generation.
The website ‘‘The Coming Global Oil Crisis’’ sup- ports the above concerns :3)
‘‘A growing number of analysts now predict that global oil production will peak within the coming decade and then start to decline, leading to higher energy prices with major economic consequences. Oil is the largest single traded commodity in the world. It supplies about 95 percent of all transpor- tation fuels and 40 percent of the world’s commer- cial energy. It also provides feedstock for thousands of manufactured products and is critical for food production.’’
ACTION REQUIRED
Commitment of much larger resources to the devel- opment of alternative sources of energy (such as wind, solar, geothermal,