Today, I am feeling a deep sadness that so many humans are unaware that our time to thrive is quickly coming to an end. For only a few thousand years, humans have thrived and successfully enjoyed the Earth. Most humans seem to be unaware that their success has begun to come crashing down. The final act has begun, and so many are unaware.
Our amazing success as a species is the ironic cause of our looming failure. Only twelve thousand years ago, there were perhaps 4 million humans on the Earth. Within the next 5 thousand years, that population had grown only a slight amount to 5 million. Disease played a major role, most likely, in limiting the human population growth.
The next five thousand years was a different story as the number of humans grew to 100 million. Most likely, acquired immunity to common diseases fueled this growth.
That growth spurt, however, was small compared to what is happening right now, and most people are unaware. In 1975, the 4 billion humans alive reached what is considered the carrying capacity of the planet. Within the next 25 years that number had nearly doubled. It continues to expand. The ingenuity of humans has supported this growth, yet most humans remain unaware of what is happening.
Most humans are unaware of the reality that the life web on which we rely is crashing. There may be some vague awareness of climate change, but most are unaware of the gravity of the situation. The natural system that has supported our rise and our survival is rapidly changing. Insect populations have already greatly diminished. Birds have disappeared, and forests are a fraction of what they were not very long ago. The increasing extinction of individual species is a harbinger of what is to come. The sweet spot in a reliable weather pattern that has allowed humans to flourish is no longer stable. It is changing in what are mostly unfriendly ways.
Half the population in the US shuts their eyes to what is happening and remain unaware of the peril. Many cannot even come to grips with the lethal dangers of a COVID pandemic and they choose a path of misguided risk.
This will not be the first time nature has rebooted. This will be the first time that humans will be part of a massive extinction. Perhaps there will be aware humans that survive. In the past, the species who could adapt were the lucky survivors. Perhaps humans who have the special characteristic of awareness will survive the approaching change The unaware will likely perish.