Kenya

The planet groans every time it registers another birth.
Paul Simon

Dinosaurs made it to the top with sheer brawn. In contrast man has used his awesome brain to populate and dominate the entire planet. His stepping stones to get there included agriculture, industry, and technology, among others. Since population growth is the essential measure of a species' success, we are truly the modern day version of T. rex. And even T. rex did not occupy every ecological niche on earth. Only man has accomplished this.

A look at this greatest of success stories is instructive, and a bit overwhelming. From the emergence of modern man 100,000 years ago, to the time of Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad, human population went from the mythical 2 individuals to a very real 250 million. When Columbus sailed to the new world, a mere 1500 years later, more than twice that many walked the planet. Three hundred years then passed and the year was 1776. America secured her independence from the British and human population had again doubled, to one billion. About two hundred years later, in 1950, human population doubled again, to 2 billion, in the aftermath of World War 2. Not even the "greatest of all wars" could slow the human juggernaut. I was born right after the war, an early baby boomer, and have watched things get even worse. In the span of a single lifetime human numbers have "exploded" to 7.5 billion.

We are presently adding a China's worth of people to the planet every decade. In the blink of the 20th century, .004% of human history, we quadrupled our numbers in an already crowded world. What reasonable person could ponder this and not be worried? And the success gets worse! By the end of this century Africa, the poorest and hungriest of continents, is expected to quadruple again, to 3.5 billion pathetic souls. Say a prayer for Africa. Say a prayer for us all. (next photo)

Return to Collection	Next Photograph

The planet groans every time it registers another birth. Paul Simon Dinosaurs made it to the top with sheer brawn. In contrast man has used his awesome brain to populate and dominate the entire planet. His stepping stones to get there included agriculture, industry, and technology, among others. Since population growth is the essential measure of a species' success, we are truly the modern day version of T. rex. And even T. rex did not occupy every ecological niche on earth. Only man has accomplished this. A look at this greatest of success stories is instructive, and a bit overwhelming. From the emergence of modern man 100,000 years ago, to the time of Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad, human population went from the mythical 2 individuals to a very real 250 million. When Columbus sailed to the new world, a mere 1500 years later, more than twice that many walked the planet. Three hundred years then passed and the year was 1776. America secured her independence from the British and human population had again doubled, to one billion. About two hundred years later, in 1950, human population doubled again, to 2 billion, in the aftermath of World War 2. Not even the "greatest of all wars" could slow the human juggernaut. I was born right after the war, an early baby boomer, and have watched things get even worse. In the span of a single lifetime human numbers have "exploded" to 7.5 billion. We are presently adding a China's worth of people to the planet every decade. In the blink of the 20th century, .004% of human history, we quadrupled our numbers in an already crowded world. What reasonable person could ponder this and not be worried? And the success gets worse! By the end of this century Africa, the poorest and hungriest of continents, is expected to quadruple again, to 3.5 billion pathetic souls. Say a prayer for Africa. Say a prayer for us all. (next photo)

© Danny Kimberlin 2015