[GJM] Fw: Creating Social Transformation for globalisation of austerity- David West and further comment by mary rose

Tue Jun 17 02:03:38 MDT 2008

I am also communicating the need for ecological audit of all the decisions...Allah/God/...the creator of all the intellects  prohibits excess of all sort and calls for moderation.. adoption of middle path..we need to get the middle path through accelerated adoption of austere and pious measures across the globe..per capita consumption reduction is possible through globalisation of austerity..

--- On Tue, 17/6/08, mary rose <maryrose333 at att.net> wrote:

From: mary rose <maryrose333 at att.net>
Subject: [GJM] Fw: Creating Social Transformation - David West and further comment by mary rose
To: "Discussion Forum for Global Justice" <discussion at globaljusticemovement..net>, FixGov at yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, 17 June, 2008, 12:56 PM

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: David West 
To: mary rose 
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 7:22 PM
Subject: RE: Creating Social Transformation - Dan Robinson

Hello Mary,

Just for the sake of reference, and interest, I used the population figures shown at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density

Peace be with you

David

mary rose:  David, this site is very interesting. What occurred to me as I contemplated these figures was the question as to how the population density figures relate to "carrying capacity" of a country by region. One of the ways in which we have contributed greatly to the destruction of our ecosystems has been by letting population growth expand beyond the carrying capacity of the ecosystems in which we live. . 

I would not have known this had I not become familiar with Ecodesigner Jim Bell's Territorial Life Systems Mapping, (my term, not Jim's) in which all components of the ecosystem are taken into consideration with regard to how many people the region will support. And this is what is referred to as "carrying capacity."  And, I suspect that there are many regions in the world where the population exceeds carrying capacity.  

But in considering carry capacity, one must take into consideration resource use. Different cultures use resources differently.  Let me quote from JIm Bell's book:  "Achieving Eco-nomic Security on Spaceship Earth" 

"In spite of their considerably smaller populations, people living in the developed world have a far greater negative impact on our planet's ecology than do people living in developing nations. 

The per capita contribution to pollution in the developed world is. . .greater than the per capita pollution generated in the developing world.  At 1970 pollution levels, "an increase of 75 million Americans (U.S.) would be equivalent to adding 3.7 billion Indians (from India) to the world population.  This puts the pollution contribution of the average U.S. citizen at almost 50 times greater than that contributed by the average Indian. 

In terms of mineral and fuel consumption, 75 million Americans (U.S.) are the equivalent of 2 billion Columbians, 10 billion Nigerians, or 22 billion Indonesians (in terms of 1970 figures). Even if we assume that the negative ecological impact of the average U.S. citizen is only 20 times the per capita impact of the average Third World resident, the U.S.. population alone has almost twice the negative ecological impact as all the people living in the developing world combined.  

Another factor that is critical to carrying capacity is how much of an ecosystem is available for habitat. One of the things with regard to mapping the territory, one finds out where it is appropriate to do what. And this is extremely important in terms of preserving water supply, providing for wildlife habitat, determining where residences, shopping centers and industrial complexes may safely be located, etc. For instance, common sense dictates that New Orleans should not have been built in its present location. But, as is frequently the case, cities grow up where lines of supply are located and other factors are thown to the wind.       

But in the manner in which the world has grown, there has been no consideration of these factors in terms of population growth management based on carrying capacity of ecosystems. However, if we are to have a peaceful and sustainable world, then land management policies must take these factors into consideration.  

If there is to be a "right to life" then assurance must be given that this right includes adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care, along with education based on learning, in order for this life to flourish and grow. .

And, while we're on this subject, let's revisit the Ecological Footprint website so we can get some idea of what we need to do in the way of cutting back on luxuries in order to live on this one Earth. 

Here's the URL for the Redefining Progress website where you can take the Ecological Footprint test to see how you are doing with regard to living a lifestyle that can be accomodated on one Earth. http://www.rprogress.org/ecological_footprint/about_ecological_footprint.htm

Now facing Global Climate Change, another factor that must be taken into consideration is what regions of the world will support life as this phenomenon closes in on us and changes the environment?  This is a major factor that cannot be ignored.  .   

with love and in gratitude, David for all that you do and all that we do together. 

mary rose  

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