Living in a Finite World

 HS #70 2021.5.13

 

Living in a Finite World

 

I remember it vividly. I was a first grader walking to Randolph Elementary school in Lincoln Nebraska with two 5^thgrade neighbors when we passed a 7-Up bottle by the curb. They challenged me to smash it. “Heck – it’s outside, what’s the big deal?”  So I heaved it against the curb shattering it to bits. Got a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done, and my companions laughed in hearty approval. Continuing on, we passed four more opportunities for fun and, encouraged by my mentors, I took advantage of each of them.  How neat! – I had discovered a new pastime with a steep learning curve, and was impressing and entertaining my 5^th grade idols who for some reason were chicken. A win-win!

 

The next day I discovered a Coke bottle in the front-yard curb and put another star on my helmet. When mom, who was watching out the window, came running outside, I proudly showed my accomplishment.  But watching her sweep up the mess, my perspective changed. A new revelation: Even the outside needs to be kept clean. Who would have guessed? I didn’t just “go away” on its own? Twas a new insight for a six-year-old.

 

What was the insight? I thought there were “inside rules” and “outside rules.” Inside, where we lived, had limited space, so was kept clean and tidy. In contrast, outside was expansive – essentially infinite. Things took care of themselves. Unlimited space and unlimited resources. 

 

Growing up, my perspective continued to evolve. My 7^th grade science teacher took advantage of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 to raise our awareness. But I also discovered that many adults hadn’t yet learned the lesson.  

 

Evidence abounds. 

 

In 1800 there were 30 million bison roaming the western plains. Hunted indiscriminately - even shot from passing trains, a century later the number was 300. Gladly we learned our lesson just in time. With conservation efforts, today there are half a million. 

 

The carrier pigeon wasn’t so fortunate. In that same time period, due to hunting and loss of habitat, carrier pigeons went from 3 billion to zero. 

 

In the 1967 movie “The Graduate,” Ben (Dustin Hoffman) gets advice, “One word – ‘Plastics’ – there’s a great future in plastics. Think about it.” Unfortunately, few of us did. Consequently, enough plastic to fill 110 train cars flows into the Great Lakes each year, and a region of the Pacific Ocean about twice the size of Texas called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has 2,000,000,000,000 pieces of plastic. Plastic doesn’t goes away – it breaks into smaller pieces and if not ingested by turtles and fish falls to the bottom of the ocean. Gladly, in 2013 The Ocean Cleanup initiative was begun. Mom would be pleased. 

 

We are also polluting space. Just as neutrons smashing into atomic nuclei release more neutrons leading to a nuclear explosion, so also pieces of space junk smashing into satellites is creating an exponential explosion of debris which threatens satellites and humans. The recent SpaceX flight to the International Space Station passed a piece going 17,000 mi/hr. Totally foreseeable problem, but ignored.

 

In the five minutes it takes you to read this, 7600 acres of tropical rainforest – the most biodiverse area on earth and potential source of medicine - have been destroyed.

 

The earth is finite. The sooner we realize it and live accordingly, the sooner we will have a good home. How many people can the earth support? According to a BBC article, if everyone on earth lived like Americans, we would need four earths to accommodate us.

 

What about West Michigan? Louisiana, even with the mighty Mississippi rolling through, is losing 350 million gallons of water daily from its underground aquifer. It is replaced by salty sea water. We in the Great Lake State brag about our “Lake Michigan – Unsalted,” but due to the population growth in Ottawa County (20K to 45K in 30 years) and our affection for manicured green lawns, the underground water level has dropped 40 ft in the last forty years. Wells are drying up and crops are being threatened with irrigated saltwater.  Are homeowners willing to sacrifice lush lawns for the greater good of a healthy agricultural economy? 

 

Space is also limited. Those who live in Holland have a similar question to answer regarding possible rezoning. What are we willing to sacrifice to live in a city which actively accommodates the needs of others? Questions for each to answer. We all live together in a finite world.