Facts:
- "Every day 340,000 people are
born on Earth. The human population is
expected to increase to nine billion by 2042, most living in dense urban areas." (1)
-"In 2007, for the first time in
history, a majority of human beings live in vast urban areas, according to the
United Nations." (1)
- "The UN estimates that of the
nearly 3.5 billion people living in urban areas, one out of three live in slum
conditions, plagued by air pollution, contaminated drinking water, and open
sewage. The health impacts are staggering. Malaria, diarrheal diseases, bronchitis,
pneumonia, and other respiratory illnesses, and exposure to chemical and toxic
waste kill millions or urban slum dwellers each year. The outlook is grim." (1)
- In most of the world, governments of rich
and poor countries have allowed the stimulation of massive migration of people from
rural zones into urban areas. As a
result, this has provided the needed labour force required for the growing
cities' industries and services.
- "Climate change is impacting the
Earth, and to worst the situation, the effects of human- climate change are
most pronounced in the southern hemisphere, where the poorest people of the
world live. Climate change is already
having an impact on agricultural across the poorest regions of the southern
hemisphere. Climate change induced
droughts, floods, and other forms of extreme weather have crippled food
production in many parts of the world." (1)
- "For the 2.6 billion people who
have incomes of two dollars a day or less, price hikes can tip the scale from
survival to starvation and even death.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the UN says there are
now between 800 million and one billion people on the planet who lack adequate
food." (1)
- "There are millions of destitute
people." (1)
Conclusion
We should return to the county fields to stop the spread of over dimensioned cities.
It is a must if we want to survive.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I am leaving my house in the city to get back to a
nice little orchard. I am a lucky one. I hope you can do it as well.
(1) Jeremy Rifkin; The Empathic Civilization
(1) Jeremy Rifkin; The Empathic Civilization
