Contemporary civilisation seems important, and it is, but in
geological terms it is absolutely irrelevant.
 |
David R. Montgomery's
book, "Dirt: The Erosion of
Civilizations". |
Earth is thought to be more than 13 billion years old and
the species that eventually became mankind has been plodding about the planet
for a comparably insignificant 200 000 years.
Modern humans first originated in Africa
and reached what is described as “full behavioural modernity” about 50 000
years ago.
The arrival of modernity and man’s emergence as the
pre-eminent species is cause for celebration, but a moment of joy that needs to
be suffused with humility and certain caution.
That modernity has brought with it an understanding, coupled
with it the associated skills to exploit all other species and the planet
itself that has given us an undisputed top spot on the food chain.
As our understanding of how to feed ourselves has burgeoned,
so have our numbers and despite the odd historical hiccough, more than seven
billion sit down at the table, metaphorically, every day and 2050 we will need
another two billion settings at the table.
Even a cursory examination of history will show that
civilizations prospered when the soil on which they lived was cared for and
allowed to recover between bouts of use for food production.
Back in 1675 John Evelyn presented a “Discourse on Earth,
Mould and Soil” to England’s
Royal Society for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge in which he encouraged
members to descend from contemplating heavenly bodies and focus instead on the
earth beneath their feet.
Writing in “Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations”, David R. Montgomery said that Evelyn implored Royal Society members to
consider both how the soil was formed and how the nation’s long-term prosperity
depended on improving the kingdom’s dirt.
Our reliance on dirt is clearly evident for students
of history for when civilizations were founded on rich, productive soil their
numbers grew rapidly, but when the nutrients were leached and the soil’s
fertility subsequently collapsed, so did the population.
Examples of those scenarios and their resultant
outcomes abound and in contemporary times they have only been avoided by the
use of man-made fertilizers using a finite resource of which the end is in
sight.
It is one thing to understand more about what we
need to do to ensure we can successfully feed our billions, but equally urgent
is the need to slow down, or maybe even reverse, the exponential growth of
human numbers.
Coercion to control our numbers is both immoral and
unjust, but education, particularly of women, will significantly lower birth
rates to reduce demands on food stocks and, importantly, slow consumption of
goods only available because of finite resources.
Humanity’s brief moment in the sun can only be
extended and enriched if we address our numbers.
by Robert McLean.
