[Coral-List] On Stephen Jamieson

Medio, David MedioD at halcrow.com
Fri Sep 12 10:12:10 EDT 2008


Dear listers,

As always the issue is much, much more complicated than it appears. 

As much as I agree with the general statement that given the financial
and scientific resources at our disposal we have done a pretty poor job
at managing the planet, I am not sure that it is just population control
that is sufficient to improve matters. For instance Europe sorted out
its population problem long ago: Italy and Germany for example will not
disappear thanks only to a dramatic (and frequently tragic) influx from
poor countries: but the price has been a constant drain of the better
educated (doctors and nurses), precisely those people - especially
females - who have the power to say: school not children. 

I argue that it is those countries that have indeed largely sorted out
the population problem that are largely responsible for trashing the
planet (at least those bits away from home turf) through a range of
subtle and less subtle actions. 

For instance: we (rich nations) use an overwhelmingly high (per capita)
of the world's resources (food fuel etc); the most influential Western
administration will not allow the issue of population control to be part
of large scale poverty alleviation strategies (through a mix of
religious bigotry and economic greed) causing untold misery; science
remains a detail in many overall environmental strategies (see the US on
climate change and the EU on fisheries policy); regular use of double
standards is widespread when large scale coastal developments are funded
by large Western conglomerates (with political blessing) knowing they
would never get away with at home. And on and on...

I agree though that we must keep on trying (like Martin and everyone
else on this forum, I certainly do) and if indeed we are genetically
wired not to cope then we will disappear like the dinosaurs by starving
ourselves.

At times I wish I could have dinner with a trio made up of Galileo,
Voltaire and Darwin and see what they made of it all.

David

((The above is my personal opinion as a marine scientist)). 

Dr David Medio
Principal Environmental Scientist
Halcrow Group Ltd, Arndale Centre, Otley Rd, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 2UL,
UK
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fax: +44 (0)113 274 2924   email: mediod at halcrow.com
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