Numbers

I've been living in Japan for just over 2 months now and I still can't read the signs, but it's always comforting to know that I'll always be able to read numbers. In many countries, numbers look the same. Sometimes the numbers are up and sometimes, like now, they are down. We all have to figure out a way to keep our numbers healthy at the very least. Whether it's the numbers in our bank account or our weight, it all matters to us.

What about the numbers affecting the Earth? For example, the numbers 2 and 2030. I just read that by 2030, we might need 2 planets to sustain our needs. Where will we get 2 planets? Are we going to colonize Mars as some suggest? Will it be possible to make our lives so efficient that we can live on 1 planet? Sometimes I think about whether having children in the developed world is responsible. Can we actually dare to dream that our children and grandchildren will live in a world where they have enough to eat and drink? How about the number, well actually the fraction, 1/3? That's the amount that biodiversity has declined by since 1970. How about the number 50? That's the number of countries experiencing a "moderate to severe water stress on a year-round basis," according to the Guardian. Here's the link to the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/29/climatechange-endangeredhabitats

Numbers are knowledge. Knowledge is power. What will we do with this new found power to predict our doom? Yesterday's Guardian looked at the possibility that we could become like the Maya - when the Maya were at the height of their power, they crashed. Will we become like them? Here's the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/28/climatechange-population
I really hope we can learn from our mistakes and make the Earth a better place. After all, this is the only place we have to live on.