Recently, a comprehensive report on the future state of the world was released : 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects is a set of predictions on population growth of humanity and certain aspects of living standards, developed based on the statistical indicators of world countries in 2010. For the first time, the United Nations threw their eyes up in 2100 to predict the future of humanity.

So, what will happen to us until the end of this age? Let’s see …

Number

7 billion in 2011 to 9 billion in 2050 to 10 billion in 2085. These are figures provided by UN estimates, which used different prediction models to predict the “load” that will carry human planet in the next few decades .

Sounds like a lot, especially since time seems to pass so quickly – you think that acoustic gonna be 2050 and will be a third more than we are.

There are also some good news? Sort of. rate of population growth has fallen sharply in the last 50 years and in all probability, will continue to decline. In other words, growth will be slower. Instead of a heavy string of numbers that justify this evolution, look at the animation below, which shows how the global population expected to increase.

There will obviously be differences between continents: Africa, for example, will reach 1 billion people, as is currently approx. 3.6 billion in 2100.

Ranking countries according to population size, will undergo changes, some predictable, others surprising.

The most populous countries in 2010 were: China (1,341,000 locuritori), India (1.225 million), U.S. (310 million).

What will the rankings in 2100, according to official estimates?

Place: India (estimated population: 1,551,000 inhabitants).

Second Place : China (941 million – remarkable decrease, but how good or bad will be to decrease the population of China, that only the future will show us).

And third place - surprise! - Could reach Nigeria, a country now ranks 7 but with a high fertility rate will reach, it is expected for a population of 730 million – as all the present population of Europe!

Older, more old …

As you may know, some countries – the developed ones – have already aging population, as a result of low fertility (fertility is, in this sense population, an index calculated by the number of live births and the number of women in the population) , coupled with longer life expectancy, in contrast , developing countries, where, typically, fertility is high, young populations, but with a lower life expectancy.

Overall, the trend is to increase life expectancy and the aging world population .

In 2010, 7.6% of world population was over 65 years.

In 2100, the percentage of elderly will reach 22%.

In developing countries, with rates higher fertility, life expectancy is on average 56 years (low); experts consider as the main cause of the phenomenon of HIV infection (and subsequent illness of AIDS). advances made in preventing the spread of disease , but also extend Treatment with antiretroviral drugs, provided that mortality due to HIV / AIDS will continue to decline . And mortality from other causes (malnutrition, infection with endemic tropical diseases, etc.) will regress, so that, as expected, life expectancy in these countries will reach an average of 69 years in 2045-2050 and 77 years in 2095-2100. (For comparison: in 2010, average life expectancy in Romania was, according to the minister of labor, 70 years for men and 77.1 years for women.)

Poverty

Currently, 48 of the UN world states are included among “the least developed countries”(Least Developed Countries – LDCs) – in other words, the poorest countries with the lowest living standards, most … Worse-off countries, yes, I know not a word “politically correct”, but describes, I think, more expressive dark picture of livelihoods of those countries than the definition of officialextreme poverty, prepared by Bank World in 2008: to live with less than $ 1.25 per day, per person.

LDC category was created in 1970, the first list, published in 1971 (list is reviewed every three years) were included 51 countries, which had the lowest values ​​of indicators of socioeconomic development.Most are in sub-Saharan Africa.

These countries suffer from extreme poverty, armed conflicts (civil wars, ethnic clashes frequently), corruption and political and social instability. Epidemics are rampant, people are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters.

Because countries can “bump” that are removed from the list when their situation improves socieconomică, exceeding a certain threshold. Discouraging is that, from 1971 until now, only three have managed to promote : Botswana in 1994, Cape Verde and Maldives in 2007 earlier this year.

So, the list is still long: 48 countries want and hope to leave, but still struggle in place of poverty, social and economic vulnerability, the deficiency in health and education programs.

However, the United Nations has bold plans: according to experts it, half of the 48 countries could overcome this status until 2020, if – well, that is, IF … - Will get better programs at national and international support. Development aid better targeted, more effective policies in exports, agricultural productivity and doubling the number of persons included in school curricula and strengthening democracy, are measures proposed by the UN expert group recently analyzed the situation.

Now, on paper it sounds great, but … We have no reason to believe that world poverty could diminish? Hope dies last, you know, but there are some facts, some concrete data on which to ENDORSE hopes?

Mouse successful there, although recent economic crisis has slowed progress considerably, as a whole. The good and bad, here are some data on the evolution of poverty and the fight going against it :

Number of people living below the poverty line (less than $ 1.25 per day) decreased between 1990 and 2005, from 1.8 to 1.4 billion.

The proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing regions has also fallen from 46% to 27%. But (damn it!) 2008-2009 economic crisis has pushed millions into poverty again , rising food prices leading to severe deterioration of the situation for many of those at the margins of poverty.

Overall, even if these positive trends continue, it is estimated that in 2015, approx. 920 million people will still live below the poverty line .

Everything good is charged. UN experts say: the future, hundreds of millions of people (mostly from India and China) will come out of poverty, moving among the so-called middle class. And once you arrive there, they will improve their lives, will have higher standards, greater demands on comfort level, which will generate higher demand for products and services. On the one hand, it is good, on the other hand, must take into account environmental impact: it will be greater consumption of energy, water and raw materials and a larger amount of waste.

In 2050, food demand will be 75% higher than today.

Hunger

Although poverty has many serious consequences (in terms of education, health and others), however, its effect is invoked fastest hunger – that is hungry , when it stretches over time and space.

The sad thing is that after UN estimates, one third of the food produced worldwide is lost or is thrown away - more than one billion tons every year!

In developing countries, it’s rather the loss: the crops are stored in poor conditions, as they are attacked by pests, or perishable products (such as dairy products) are transported without refrigeration and it breaks … The solution would be to improve technology and infrastructure: construction of modern silos, equipped with refrigeration … but all these costs, so we need programs targeted at improving the capacity of food storage and transport. African Development Bank conducted such a program with a duration of seven years, to reduce by 3% loss of food in African countries. If all goes as planned, after seven years, the damage could be significantly reduced.

In contrast, in developed countries, the problem is quite different – here, mostly, it’s about food thrown away simply. Consumers have their share of responsibility, how about grocery chains … let alone: ​​hundreds of millions of tons of perfectly edible food every year to get bin, either because of restrictive regulations on expiration date, either because they lost somewhat ideal commercial aspect. Fruits and vegetables are often discarded for this reason.

And all this while, actually, lots of people not to eat.

Little children under 5 years are still suffering from hunger and undernourishment, a staggering extent, even if the mouse made progress. In 1990, approx. third of children under five were underweight in the world, today, the figure is about 26%.

Obviously, solutions and related financial sphere and politics, with that everyone agrees, but when it comes to the urgent problem of increasing agricultural production, the views are different. Some plants rely on genetically modified crops , blockbuster to solve the problem of hunger. Others say an opposite idea, very bold in the current context: that on the contrary, the so-called organic farming and to adopt some traditional methods that have proven effective over centuries, could be the solution to world hunger . Surprising experiments made ​​in different countries – China, Britain, India, Kenya, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras – have shown that old traditional practices such as fertilizer use manure and cultivation of several species on the same plot of land (in opposed to monoculture – growing huge Tarlale a single species, as is done today in modern agriculture) maintain better soil productivity over time and reduce pest attack. To see!

(In addition to fighting for food, will lead a more fierce battle for water , for ever-increasing water needs, and stocks can not keep up. It is true, and it wastes a lot of water. It seems that we need a new “culture of water” until you get to have one that the inhabitants of Arrakis, depicted in imaginary desert planet Dune , for people whose water, very little, was the most precious resource, the supreme value.)

Obesity …

In contrast, rich countries are facing a true epidemic of obesity , in addition, malnutrition strikes the surprising extent, and the citizens of these countries, because many of them eat much, but worse.Abuse often generate junk food nutritional deficiencies of vitamins and minerals, in addition, risk factors, those represented by high cholesterol, blood all increased, enlarged belly and she … And the prevalence of obesity is growing and growing …

… and other diseases booming

Disturbing and dark, one of the diseases that spread more widely known dementia - whether Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia – in conjunction with increasing life expectancy: these diseases are more common among the elderly. That is, everything is with shower and come back.

And still a disease that spreads rapidly in the world depression , which are found ever new forms. And modern lifestyle is itself associated with the development of specific diseases, real diseases the new times .

Well, die, yes why?

If contagious diseases have long been a major cause of death worldwide, non-communicable diseases and accidents in the future will become major cause of death, says World Health Organization. The same institution warns that auto accident rates will increase and deaths caused by smoking will exceed that number even those produced by HIV / AIDS. Even in Africa, whose countries have young populations, smoking, hypertension and high cholesterol levels in blood came to be among the top 10 health risk factors.

After the bleak vision of a humanity consisting of a lot of people malnourished and die young and as many more obese but malnourished and depressed or dementia, can we have some reason for optimism? It seems cynical and almost absurd even to mention the word optimism. And yet …

These figures are calculated and set not only know how to sit, but also to warn us, because each of us, knowing the current trends, may take measures to stay in power. Not necessarily to those grim statistics bold and new. Take care of yourself, eat and how to stay healthy, not making fun of resources and try to find reasons for joy in life, as long as you will be given to live. Health – physical and spiritual – all!

I don’t have my father anymore; he passed away in 1984, of cancer. It attacked him quickly, turning him from a vigorous 70 year-old to a pale shadow of himself in less than two years, and perhaps in the end that was merciful. He spent the last few months of his life in pain, but never allowed that pain to affect his demeanor, never letting himself become bitter or discouraged. When the doctor’s told him that he could be treated for a time, but was ultimately terminal regardless, he decided to save the family from financial ruin by accepting his mortality, and deciding to die with dignity, and honor intact.

My father taught me well how to be a man; both by his life and his death he showed me the way to walk through life with honor. The example he set for me sustains me even today; when making a tough decision, I still imagine him looking over my shoulder & telling me to make the decision that allows everyone involved to keep their self-respect and meet their own needs, by telling the truth tempered with compassion, and having the couraqe to take the responsibility for my actions.

In today’s world, surviving with one’s sanity intact is a perpetual challenge. Human society has, for some time now, begun to suffer the effects of overpopulation. Everyone alive today knows what happens when overcrowded living conditions reach a critical point; we all performed, or at least read or heard about, the experiment with a rodent population allowed to reach that point. Increasing violence and abberrant behavior, breakdown of societal norms, food, water, & shelter become items of primary import. Ultimately, the colony dies, and being human does not shelter us as a species from the simple, deadly fact of this aspect of living in an increasingly unbalanced ecosphere.

One of the symptoms of impending disaster, the “breakdown of societal norms”, is the unfortunate evolution of the norm for a “family” in today’s world. The two-parent household is no longer the majority in today’s society; one parent households are just a common. And this simple fact means that, of the children growing up today, less than half will have an effective male, or female, role model in the home. Many children will not have either a mother or father figure available, or will have that role filled by grandparents or extended family, or by people outside the home such as teachers.

This phenomenon is not necessarily all bad; in my experience, even folks who aren’t terribly good at parenting are at least doing their best. But it does mean that society in the future will be different, very different, and can only contribute to the general overall confusion in society. Humanity has a very challenging era rushing upon it, and significant changes will need to be made, and survived.

My father, whom I honor every day, was part of what may be the last generation ever to have the majority of families with a traditional make-up. I hope the model that society evolves in coming years will create in children the same feelings of self-worth, confidence, and compassion for others that my father, and mother, were able to teach to me. If it is, then I believe there is hope for humanity. If not, then the time of critical danger is apporoaching all too fast……

And then, in a staggeringly short 33 years the world’s population reached 3 billion (in 1960).

Fourteen years later in 1974 we reached 4 billion and in another 13 years the world hit the 5 billion mark (in 1987).

It took 12 years from then to reach 6 billion in 1999 and now; in another 12 years on we are just about to hit 7 billion.

This is phenomenal growth and was made possible through medical developments and a massive growth in agricultural productivity. But now many people are struggling for the basics in life. We have global food companies who can seemingly get away with murder just to keep up with the supply and demand to sustain us. We are using up resources faster than they can be produced and we still seem to have problems getting along with our fellow man..

So where exactly is it all heading?

Are we all in danger of facing a growing food crisis? There are already far too many people dying of starvation in the world. Could you imagine being in that position?

There’s no denying that climate ‘change’ is happening (and has always happened through the earth’s existence). And more and more of the world’s population are being directly affected by climate related disasters.

We have certainly been fed enough of these disaster movies to condition us to what may or may not happen to us in our future.

This could all be pretty depressing stuff (and I’ve already given many of you enough to cry about with my articles: Songs guaranteed to make you cry  and 13 movies guaranteed to make you cry) so I didn’t really intend to give you any more reasons for reaching for that box of tissues!

Perhaps the best tool of survival for any of us is knowledge and understanding. With awareness we can make better choices. We can decide to buy our food locally and eat a macrobiotic diet, we can choose to reduce, reuse and recycle for charity, and we can make sure we buy things wisely and truly understand the difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’.

Ultimately, we can all choose to tread more carefully on this planet and enjoy every moment while we are here.

                    The most significant consequence to consider is the diminishing food supply. If the food production does not satisfy the amount of consumption worldwide, hunger and food shortage will eventually proceed. Even though technology increases the food production rate, there will come a time that the amount of consumption will exceed it due to lack of land suitable for agriculture and storage space. Not only will the food supply be affected but also the water and energy resources as well. Soil erosion and animal extinction will also be apparent results.

                  In addition to the consequences mentioned above, pollution is also a major consequence of overpopulation. The pollution in our environment is caused by population and technological explosion. Pollution occurs as a consequence of the increase in population and rise in standards of living. Pollution does not only bring destruction to our environment but also helps in reducing our natural resources by contamination. Another problem imposed by overpopulation is the decline in economic growth.  Economic growth is directly affected by rapid population growth. Most countries observed that the increase in their population size reduces per capita income. Rapid expansion of world population imposes a severe burden on efforts to raise levels of living. It is easy to demonstrate that the load would become an impossible one for the economically underdeveloped countries should their rates of population increase. The lack of education also stems from overpopulation which creates problems such as juvenile delinquency. The rapidly increasing expenditures on education have been associated with enormous increases in the proportion of eligible children attending school.

A Need for an Immediate Action

                     It is now clear that there is indeed a need to solve the problem of rapid population growth knowing already its devastating consequences. More efforts are necessary in order to restore or stabilize the balance in our world. In order to fix the population problem, we need to come up to every possible and potential solutions. High fertility rates are the one to blame for the rise in growth and therefore we need to think of solutions to make it decline.

                  We are confronted with a number of methods of birth control such as abortion and infanticide for women, coitus interruptus (premature withdrawal), and use of contraceptive devices and medicines. These are the most popular and perhaps the most common among the methods of reducing birth rate.

                     Family planning on the other hand is a more broad method. Government and voluntary organizations offer two solutions for family planning programs. First, it also involves the distribution of contraceptives which will assist the couples to have only the number of children they want. Second, it deals with the enhancement of family planning programs to provide knowledge which improves not only the health of the mother but also the welfare of the child. Educating the women, using the mass media to develop awareness of the problem, and improved access to health care are also among the suggested solutions.

                     Before probing on the actions against rapid population growth, it is important to know and understand its concept in order to devise an effective solution.  The study of factors related to high fertility levels and fertility decline is a great importance in understanding the high rate of population growth experienced by most developing countries (United Nations, 1973).

                    Population growth involves three factors which are: birth rate, death rate and migration. These distinct factors provide different outcomes to population growth which is related to the social and economic development of a society (Barclay, 1950). If there is high birth rate but low death rate, the result will be inflation on population size.

Therefore we can conclude that in order to decrease the population growth, the birth rate should be lowered.

                   People differ from their perspectives about rapid population growth. Thomas Malthus, a famous scholar who proposed the demographic theory, was the first one to present ideas about population growth. Many other scholars predicted frightening catastrophes and disasters such as world-wide starvation that will result from overpopulation and suggested solutions for this problem.  

                    In a major sense, most developed countries see rapid population growth as a threat that needs to be immediately solved. But in the views of some, it is a phenomenon that will give them the chance to increase their capability of having a better economy and to enhance their national power and security (Cassen, 1978).

                        At the beginning of population explosion, there were many factors that caused its growth. The successful reduction of death rates induced the inflation that affected the stability of the population. Generally, great advances on science and technology granted the high birth rate. One of the factors associated to population explosion is the increase in food production distribution. Farmers were able to improve their ability of increasing the food production by the use of new and effective variety of techniques brought by technology. These innovations produced by technology caused the large expansion of agriculture which in turn, increased the food supply. Another factor is the improvement in public health and medical technology. Compared from the past years, there was a great progress in the medicine field that enabled scientists to find new ways of curing and preventing different types of diseases which is one of the primary causes of increased death rates (Kinder, 1998).

                      In addition to these factors, poverty can also be the cause of rapid   population growth. A poor family cannot even afford to buy a calendar or have a safe place to store a box of contraceptives. It is also not surprising to see children playing with condoms in the street on poverty-stricken areas (Sauvy, 1976). Moreover, poverty brings many problems such as ignorance, large family size and lack of education which also causes rapid population growth.

                      These different factors mentioned were the major elements that regulated the pattern of population growth over the period of time. On the whole, we can see that the advances in technology and science brought along these factors which resulted in rapid population growth. Poverty, on the other hand, brings chain of problems which not only affects the rate of population growth but also the social status of a certain community as observed from the slums.

Poverty as a social problem is a deeply embedded wound that permeates every dimension of culture and society. It includes :

·         sustained low levels of income for members of a community.

·         lack of access to services like education, markets, health care, lack of decision making ability, and lack of communal facilities like water, sanitation, roads, transportation, and communications. Poverty is the especial factor that contribute to social problem.

·         Furthermore, it is the spirit of poverty that allows members of that community to believe in and share despair, hopelessness, apathy, and timidity.

The major  factors of poverty are:

• lack of markets
• poor infrastructure,
• poor leadership, bad governance,
• under-employment,
• lack of skills,
• absenteeism,
• lack of capital

 and their eradication is necessary for the removal of poverty.

Due to lack of sufficient income and resources, inevitably causing a lack of basic needs such as food and shelter. The causes of poverty vary from society to society and even individual to individual, and the effects are wide-spread and troubling.

Overpopulation can play a major part because if there are too many people and not enough food and resources to go around, the number of poor will naturally rise.

New technologies and techniques in farming and animal husbandry have resulted in mass production to keep up, even exceed the needs of our growing population.

World poverty is also caused by high costs and standards of living. A lifestyle that might be considered adequate in a developing nation is considered poor in another.

Lack of educational and employment opportunities is one of the largest factor that leads to poverty.  Because the government is unable to afford the costs of school and teachers, many children in poor societies grow up illiterate. Thus, they are only able to obtain jobs that pay minimal wages just to keep food on the table.

 Overpopulation can not only result in poor conditions, but it can also result in poor environments. Poor or degraded natural environments are also considered to be causes of poverty. Polluted waterways, dead soil and chemical pollution cut resources down considerably. Changing trends in the economy and job markets can also result in poor societies. If industries change due to new technologies and inventions, workers are expected to adjust to these changes. In some societies, the changes come as a shock to the system and people lose their jobs rather than adjust to changing trends.

Hunger is rooted in the alleviation of poverty, as poverty leads to hunger. World hunger is a terrible symptom of world poverty. If efforts are only directed at providing food, or improving food production or distribution, then the structural root causes that create hunger, poverty and dependency would still remain.

Eliminating Poverty

Poverty is eliminated by:

• generating more employment;
• raising the level of minimum education;
• making the social elite aware of the possibility of removing it;
• presenting the government concrete programmes of prosperity;
• drawing upon the resources of every social institution
• educating the public opinion that poverty is not inevitable.
• accepting the principle that the world can compel

·         To move out of poverty one needs to — truly want more, make the effort to gain it, seek self-employment over normal employment, gain the necessary skills to accomplish it and establish personal values like organization, cleanliness, honesty, and others in one’s life. If there is a foundation of such virtues, then further opening and calling to the Force will enable a multiplier effect of great achievement. Its a process that can easily be understood, and with will and determination, brought about in the shortest period of time with the maximum result. It’s a formula for ultimate success, prosperity, and joy.

The usual response to this question is along the lines that providing there is a good quality of life then living forever or, at least, for a few centuries would be exciting. Just consider the last hundred years or so. We’ve gone from the Wright brothers’ first flight of just 120 feet to putting men on the Moon a quarter of a million miles away. Diseases like smallpox have been eradicated while others, such as TB, are far less dangerous. Alexander Graham Bell could never have imagined that his simple telephone would evolve into a mini hand-held computer while the rise of the automobile has transformed society beyond Gottfried Daimler’s wildest dreams. And if geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Einstein and Maria Curie were still alive today, how much different would the world be? So who knows what the next few centuries will bring?

But there are problems with living to a ripe, very old age.

The most obvious problem is that if people stopped dying, or lived for considerably longer than they do now, then the world would quickly become overpopulated. During the 20th century the world’s population rose from about 1.8 billion to about 6 billion. If the current birth rate continues unchanged over the next 100 years then the global population will reach 9 billion. Of course, even if death through ageing ceased, people would still die. Disease, accidents, suicide, murder and war would all take their toll but the death rate would be miniscule. Overpopulation on a world wide scale would rapidly deplete the planet of its natural resources while the unstoppable spread of cities would eat into valuable land required for agriculture.

One question that everyone would have to ask themselves is how they would cope. No matter how much you love your job, would you really want to be doing the same thing in a hundred, five hundred or even a thousand years from now? And if you hate your job then being stuck in a rut for centuries could be a living hell. Of course, there is no guarantee that you would have a job. We cannot provide full employment as it is. Could you spend the rest of your long life on the pittance that the government is prepared to give you? If you are one of the lucky ones to have a job you perhaps would fight tooth and nail to keep it. But how would the younger generation view your determination to remain in gainful employment? Chances are, they would resent it. The longer you keep your job, the less chance they have of becoming employed. Could longevity spark a generation war? Perhaps.

And what of your personal relationships? It is becoming increasingly common for people to go their own separate ways after being together for just a few years. So will marriage become obsolete? When you agreed to sharing your life with your partner “…till death us do part” did you really think it would last for a thousand years and that you would have to buy a thousand wedding anniversary presents not to mention a thousand birthday and perhaps Christmas presents?

Maybe one of the less obvious pitfalls is just sheer boredom. We all get bored, of course. For most people boredom will last a few hours, perhaps as long as a couple of days. Yet what if you had to try to stimulate your brain every day for the next ten centuries? Sure, the invention of new technologies and changes to the way society behaves would bring some challenges, entertainment and amusement, but it is difficult to imagine a mundane-free utopia.

Of course there are potential solutions to all these problems, and solutions that we cannot even yet imagine. To control population growth, for example, governments could ban births. Or at least try to. Yet humans, like most creatures, have an inherent desire to procreate. Ask yourself: would you really agree not to have children? And what would happen if you did start a family? Perhaps you could be fined or face a lengthy jail term? Perhaps the child would be taken off you to heaven knows where? In a desperate world where food and water are scarce commodities would society sanction infanticide? Or forced chemical castration? Who knows?

There is undoubtedly something attractive about living longer: watching the world and society change, perhaps for the better, and witnessing the never ending advances in science and technology. Yet there are serious pitfalls to longevity which society will one day have to address.

For me the prospect of an extremely long life brings the possibility that I will one day see my football team win the league, though I doubt that a million years will be long enough!

By: EK Encarnacion

Wedding Rings (Credits to Google Images for the Photograph)

Last June 25, I attended the Ultimate Wedding Gig, a nerdy-grunge-and-rock-and-roll-themed wedding of my college friend, Vergel “Verge” Valenzuela, and his wife, Rachel Anne Porras (now, Rachel Anne Valenzuela). It was actually storming the previous night until the morning of the wedding so one could just imagine how stressed the couple must have been trying to pull things together for their big day. But God was (and is) so great. He used prayers to dissolve the nimbus clouds and allowed sunlight to penetrate the elephant-filled skies and hit the completely soaked ground right before the bride took her most cherished walk along the church aisle.

Verge was the first of my friends to exchange I do’s with someone so I’m still at that state of being awestruck with the fact that I’m getting older every single day. Believe me when people ask me how old I am, my brain keeps on registering 21 because that’s the last time I really cared about my age. Do I feel pressured about getting married within the 20-30 age range? A little, I guess. I wouldn’t lie. This world is such a very discriminative world. When a guy passes the 30th mark and remains single, most people will immediately doubt his sexuality or think he’s too much of a player or assume that he has a rough attitude that nobody really wants to tie a knot with him—any of these three: being a bachelor apparently turns out to be a shameful status, a curse even. But at the present, for some reason, a larger portion of my heart is happy and contented being single and being able to do what I want—buy things with my own money, eat out and spend time with people I care about whenever I’m free from work and school responsibilities, and travel anywhere as long as I can afford it. And this feeling is also perchance brought by the fact that my brother already has a son (my godson) and that my father need not worry about the continuation of our genealogy. Our family tree is assured for another generation. But let’s not dwell too much on me or my family.

Verge’s wedding proper was short, simple and solemn. Among the different parts of the ceremony, I was quite indulged when the priest (I was listening intently at the sermon even if I’m not Catholic) discussed the sanctity of marriage and emphasized how love, commitment and sacrifice play an integral role in the pursuit of marital success.  And then out of the blue, I thought of the move in the congress to push for the legalization of divorce in the Philippines.

I suddenly felt disappointed.

No matter what direction I take in analyzing the issue, I always end up strongly disfavoring the implementation of such bill. Call me old-fashioned or trapped in tradition but I do believe in the saying, “Ang pagpapakasal ay hindi kaning isusubo at iluluwa kapag napaso” (“Marriage is not like rice that is swallowed and spat if too hot”—I apologize for the very (very) poor translation). What differentiates marriage from simple one-night-stands or flings or boyfriend-girlfriend relationships is the fact that the first is a three-way pact amongst God, the husband and the wife. It is a crucial decision that states that all three parties will remain faithful to one another no matter what the situation will be at the present and in the future. It is a lifelong commitment that can only be invalidated at the death of either husband or wife. In my point of view, marriage will start to lose its meaning upon the passing of the divorce bill. And either husband or wife can use whatever legal terminology that their respective lawyers can formulate from thin air to make their marriages null and void. In fact, most celebrity divorces I knew were based on the grounds of mental incapacity or something of that sort. And it is because of this reason that I’m beginning to conclude that a huge percentage of our political and showbiz personalities are a bunch of asylum patients.

Many congressmen would like to pass the bill saying that it could be a powerful tool that battered women can use against their abusive husbands. As much as I want to say, “It is also the women’s fault that they did not try to really get to know their spouses beforehand”; I’d rather say, “Shouldn’t we just implement a law that can strongly protect married women?” In my own opinion, it is more morally sound and appropriate to legally separate a battered wife from her husband rather than end their marriage via divorce. Unlike divorce, legal separation, as far as I can remember from my constitution class, does not permit either the husband or wife to remarry. It only promotes physical separation—a creation of a legal barrier that hinders contact between the two individuals. And such can preserve the definition and sacredness of marriage.

Honestly, I do think that the main reason why most of these congressmen are headstrong in legalizing divorce is the fact that they would highly benefit from it. Most of these congressmen have probably lost their sexual drives and fantasies with their spouses that the only thing they can think of is to pass the divorce bill just so they can immediately vomit their spouses into the human recycling bin and hurl themselves back into the dating pool—probably to get a fresher catch. Well, that is with exaggeration of course. But really, the point is that the divorce bill has a large tendency of being tweaked and utilized for improper reasons. The divorce bill can be abused and can result to particular malpractices. In this sexually-inclined world, what else do you expect?

In another point of view, this issue may also be related with overpopulation. If you do believe that 90 million Filipinos are already too much for this country to sustain, then it is a no brainer that allowing a person to remarry again can most possibly result to the production of new offspring. And thus, more mouths to feed in this developing nation.

So what if Malta has passed the bill? So what if it is only the Philippines left that has not implemented divorce? Should we mimic what other countries have done? Do we not have our own say?

The desire of the majority doesn’t always mean it is the right thing.

I believe there is much respect in being the only nation left that strongly values and considers the essentials of marriage. I think there is much pride that we, Filipinos, remain and stand true and devoted to the vows: “for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward ‘til death do us part.”

PS: May I just add that the last phrase sounds more flawless than the title of this article. Don’t you think?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EK Encarnacion became a ring bearer at his aunt’s wedding, the best man (who made the toast) at his brother’s wedding and a groom’s man at Verge’s wedding. It seems the only position left for him to fill-in is the groom itself. To nominate a potential spouse, visit his blogs: Every-Comedy-Thing(life blog), Culinary Coliseum (food blog), Travelocities (travel blog), and By God’s Grace (gratitude blog). His works are also indexed at the Pinoy blog, The Filipino Diaspora.

I’m not very fond of writing about politics, showbiz and science (despite me being a chemist and, hopefully, an environmental scientist). Maybe I’m just too supersaturated with all the hullabaloos from these three realms. We have our journalists to write about the most current political issues. We have talk show hosts, village beauticians or manicurists or pedicurists, or the ultimate gossiper in our respective streets or wet markets to whisper to our ears the newest showbiz controversies. And we have our researchers to publish the most recent scientific discoveries. Besides, I’m nothing but an amateur blogger. So who am I to join the experts?

But then there’s this important point tackled in legislative debates regarding the Reproductive Health Bill that sort-of concerns and bothers me; that pushes me to join and butt-in—the fact that some senators or congressmen believe that overpopulation in the Philippines is a myth. Whoever said that must be (insert a harsher term than stupid). But then since we voted for these politicians, that makes us more (I give you the privilege to insert a more degrading term than the one you thought of previously). You may not have voted for them personally but I used the pronoun “we” anyways for the sake of Filipino brotherhood. We’re supposed to be one nation, right?

FACT: “The PHILIPPINES is OVERPOPULATED” (parenthesis, capitalization, bolding and underlining were used for emphasis in case your eyes failed you). But before I explain, allow me to tell you that I do not desire nor intend to use journals again to support this statement because this blog entry would turn into a scientific paper similar to what I passed in my Environmental Science 212 class. Please give me a break, will you? My brain’s been dipping itself into chemistry sauce every single day and blogging is one of the easiest ways I use to escape my scientifically-inclined reality. So I plead for your deep understanding.

If my memory serves me right, the Philippines is 12th highest among countries with the largest populations. With a recent count of approximately 93,261,000 individuals (what in the world have our Filipino couples been doing in the past years? Mass-producing babies?!), it closely follows Mexico (11th highest) with a human population of about 113,423,000. On the other hand, the top ten nations with the largest counts (as of 2010, in decreasing order) are China (1,341,335,000), India (1,224,614,000), United States (310,384,000), Indonesia (239,781,000), Brazil (194,946,000), Pakistan (173,593,000), Nigeria (158,423,000), Bangladesh (148,692,000), Russia (142,958,000), and Japan (126,536,000). Now such figures are worthless if I do not mention that the world has 6,922,800,000 people. So what is alarming then?

First, computation tells us that the population in the Philippines is almost 1.35% of that of the world. And that alone proves to be outrageous since China and India combined already comprise 37.07% and the other 180 plus countries (including the Philippines) are to share the remaining 62.93%! Second, it has been determined that the land area of the Philippines is only 298,170 square kilometres. Calculation reveals that for every square kilometer, there are about 312 people that must share the said space. As a matter of fact, that number is very crowded for a country such as the Philippines considering that some regions aren’t quite liveable because they’re most likely mountainous, volcanic, densely covered with trees, used as roadways, highly polluted, or distant from civilization. So whoever those senators and congressmen that say that we can simply distribute ourselves across the Philippines must they themselves be transferred to the distant islands, the mountains, or better, any available volcanic crater. Make sure you throw them right at the center while the volcano spews out boiling lava. If you try researching, you will find out that the Philippines and Bangladesh (133,910 square kilometres) are the two nations among the 12 listed in the previous paragraph with the smallest land area—and thus, both have extremely high population densities. The nation with the third smallest land area in the group is Japan with approximately 70,000 square kilometres more than the Philippines. But a broader research also tells us that Japan possesses a GDP of 4,487,000,000,000 US$—placing them as the third most affluent country in the world and allowing them to immediately answer the needs of their residents. The Philippines, on the other hand, well… we’ve all been used to or deafened by the term “developing country” so there’s no need to expound on that anymore.

 Even if you turn the world upside down, it is impossible to deny the fact that the Philippines is now overpopulated. I would be amazed if those people whispering to the ears of senators and congressmen will be able to present even an iota of solid evidence that can prove that our current population is stable, that we have enough resources to feed our people and the next generations without importing from neighboring regions, and that we have enough jobs for everyone in this country. Yes, I know that most of you would be blaming the corrupt politicians in this country for robbing our nation’s funds. That, my friends, is also true. But you cannot eliminate the fact that population is another major contributor of why we are having difficulties answering hunger and joblessness.

The Reproductive Health Bill is not perfect. But I do believe that its implementation will be able to assist us in properly preparing our country for the benefit of the succeeding generations. The RH Bill has many detractors saying that we are simply urging immorality in the Philippines. But after years that the Catholic Church has been screaming at the top of its lungs to perform “abstinence”, has it really stuck inside the heads of our people? Do we not have more early pregnancies now than before? Do we not have more people diagnosed with AIDS at the present than in the past? A lot of people are concerned with the contraceptives and the condoms—thinking that once the bill becomes approved, everyone will be having sex with everyone else everywhere, every minute of every day. But my focus is more on the education and the family planning strategies part of the bill. I perceive them to be the most significant of all points included. If our people become more learned about the consequences of unplanned sex and families, there’s a bigger chance that they will avoid any act that can lead to it. Have you ever wondered why most families belonging in the upper classes have lesser children than those in the lower classes? It is because the former are concerned of giving the best to their children. They know that having more children means more mouths to feed, more money to pay for schooling—lesser quality of life. They will not be able to fully enjoy the fruits of their labour. The latter, on the other hand, have more children because they think that eventually these kids will grow up and be able to help them in the future. But how will these children be of help if not all of them is fed properly? If not all of them is able to attend school? They will all end up jobless. Sadly, some of them may just turn into being society’s parasites or, worse, criminals. The same analogy goes for professionals and our workers who were not able to finish their undergraduate studies. Most members belonging to the first group do not readily jump into making families of their own because most of them will not be able to spend for the extra yearnings of their hearts. They somewhat know for themselves that having an unplanned family can cut a large portion of their salaries and eventually, the enjoyment brought about by indulging in their desires. Most of our non-graduate workers, on the other hand, enjoy little of society’s extravagant activities that most of them turn into relationships and, probably and eventually, create families without much planning.

Have you ever wished that the number of young beggars in our streets will decrease? Have you ever desired that the number of criminals, whose motivation of committing crime is simply to feed his/her family, to decline? Have you ever hoped that there will be more jobs available to choose from or less number of applicants to compete with for a particular post? Have you ever prayed that the minimum salary increase so as to allow you to buy your needs and wants? Have you ever longed for the time that there will be less traffic because the roadways aren’t congested with public and private vehicles? We Filipinos also deserve the best quality of life.

Let’s not wait for the time when our resources are all used up and the only thing we can do is import from fellow nations. Let’s not wait for the time when the only thing our people can think of is to leave the country only to get a job with mediocre salary. Let’s not wait for the time when we’re all standing side by side, shoulder touching shoulder just so we can truly claim that we are living in an overpopulated Philippines. 

Credits to Google Images for the cartoon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EK Encarnacion believes that education can solve not only our terror professors’ homeworks but also ignorance and population. To learn more of his points of view, visit his blogs: Every-Comedy-Thing(life blog), Culinary Coliseum(food blog), Travelocities(travel blog) and By God’s Grace(gratitude blog). His other works are also indexed at the popular Pinoy blog, The Filipino Diaspora.

            It is a unique phenomenon in human history for so many people to unanimously deny the existence of something that is supported by all the facts and statistics. What is being referred to, of course, is humanity’s unspoken taboo on overpopulation. No one wants to concede that humanity is heading down the path of sure destruction, but we are nonetheless doing exactly that. It is becoming increasingly difficult not to vindicate some of the data being published by researches, for example: if everyone in the world lived in the same luxury as us Westerners, we would need 7 and a half worlds to support the drain on natural resources. Overpopulation is a severe issue and is verified by living conditions of overpopulated nations, scientific projections of terrestrial carrying capacities, and recorded drains on resources that are proportional to population increases.

            To appreciate the effects of overpopulation, let’s take a look at the second most populous country on the planet: India. The world bank estimates that 80% of India’s population lives on less than $2 a day. 9.1% can afford to have a phone, and 2.5% can afford to use a car. Out of all the countries in the world, India is the 119th most developed, a shockingly low figure for such a powerful nation. Not all of the issues in India have their roots inexorably in unsustainable population growth, but they are definitely inextricably linked and exacerbate problems to the point that they’re nearly insurmountable.

            Carrying capacity is defined as the maximum amount of a species that can be indefinitely sustained. Calculations of Terrestrial carrying capacity vary wildly, but recent studies by the university of Cambridge have concluded that the carrying capacity of the earth is somewhere around four billion. At first this number seems ridiculously low, since we have already nearly doubled it. But if you think about it, 3 billion people on earth live in abject poverty and 841 million are malnourished daily. Another two billion people barely scrape by, and the West lives very leisurely comparatively. The West has a population of about 3 billion. So really, if we think about it, the figure isn’t that hard to understand. If the earth has a greater number of humans than it’s carrying capacity, we are overpopulated.

            The two graphs of world energy consumption and world population growth are spooky to look at. They are nearly the exact same. During the 1950s to 1970s they both spike dramatically, and then follow a semi-linear progression until our current date. Currently our oil is projected only to last us around 50 years. All of our fertilizers, our whole economy, our ability to farm efficiently, almost everything we do, is dependant on not only oil, but cheap oil. Oil is still relatively cheap; we pay %80 to fill up our cars and then we transport a couple thousand pounds of metal a couple hundred kilometers. But at our current rate: around a billion gallons a day in the US alone, our largest energy source will be largely depleted. Our whole lifestyle depends on oil, and our huge population inflated by the benefits of it will have to be reduced by at least 36%. (Since oil accounts for 36% of global energy and fossil fuels over 50%)

            In short, we are irrefutably doomed as a race unless we take action against overpopulation that is causing drastically deteriorating living conditions in overpopulated countries, the surpassing of our carrying capacity, and depletion of our largest energy source within our lifetime. Although nobody seems willing to accept this, we must, for the sake of humanity; so we might survive the cataclysmic event which is undoubtedly coming.