4. What will happen on this planet earth until the year 2025?

 

"The road to the future leads us smack into the wall. We simply ricochet off the alternatives that destiny offers: a demographic explosion that triggers social chaos and spreads death, nuclear delirium and quasi-annihilation of the species. Our survival is no more than a question of 25, 50 or perhaps 100 years"(Jacques Cousteau)

 

The first of January 2025 is only 9380 days, 225.120 hours, 13.507.200 minutes, or 810.432.000 seconds, from us away!

In this period, the world will probably face many problems to overcome. The moment will come that we are confronted with the fact that our fossil fuels will be depleted. It will not anymore be possible to supply the world population with enough necessities for a reasonable life on earth.

 

In order to survive on the planet earth a human being needs:

1. Shelter (heating and illumination*)

2. Production, transportation and communication means

3. Clean air, fresh water, and enough food

4. Guarantee of safety

5. Human reproduction

6. Health

 

(* A strange thing happened to me, when I looked in the English dictionary for the correct translation of the Dutch word "verlichting" (English: illumination). At that very moment, the electricity fell out in our town for only a couple of seconds. It erased the just written text from my computer! Maybe a warning sign?). 

 

At present, we are facing a number of big problems.  We will try to analyze the interrelation and interaction of these earthy problem conditions.

1.       The exponential growth of the world population

2.       The exponential growth of the urbanization. Density of population in urban areas gives more crime and violence

3.       Depletion of fossil and renewable energy resources will lead to drastic restriction in production, transportation and communication means.

4.       Clean air will be endangered through burning of fossil energy resources for transportation, industry and trade. Fresh water shortage owing to deforestation, desertification, destruction of arable land and soil erosion. Not enough food production owing to scarcity of fossil en renewable energy, insufficient arable lands, exhaustion of fish, extinction of plant and animal species.

5.       Warfare is necessary to secure or to conquer energy resources, water wells, arable land, fishing grounds.

6.       Death through aids and other contagious diseases like malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis.

 

.

A technological solution of these problems is not yet available; as long as human mankind is striving for more and more production and consumption. Nature will take over, hunger, war, diseases will diminish the world population to sustainable proportions.