FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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It’s not diet, it’s overpopulation that’s killing the planet

It’s not diet, it’s overpopulation that’s killing the planet

Re: “Is this planet ours to ruin?” Have Your Say, January 4.

Will this tedious vegan earache never end? “In believing that everything can stay the same way, you will face some hard questions from the next generation,” bleats the sanctimonious Diane Cornelius.  Indeed, everything could stay the same way it’s been for tens of thousands of years... IF there were far fewer people.  Let’s stop ignoring the elephant in the room.
Have you produced children, Diane? And you, Jenny Moxham, and Eric Bahrt? If so, it is you who deserve the “hard questions”.  Each additional human consumes the earth’s resources, adds up to 400 square metres of concrete to the surface of the planet and leaves his filthy footprint behind. When I was watching my beloved English countryside disappear under suburban sprawl as a child, I vowed I would never contribute more people to the planet, and would find a wife who was of a like mind. So if some snotty member of the next generation starts laying into me with “hard questions”, I’ll say, Sod off, mate, I did my bit, I practised safe sex, I banged on in the media about overpopulation, but the growth-ists wouldn’t buy it. Go and pester your parents.
The fundamental problem underlying the planet’s environmental woes – extinctions, deforestation, pollution, fished-out seas, desertification, etc, etc – is Too Many People.  The apocalyptic warnings of Thomas Malthus, Paul Ehrlich, Dr Stephen Hawking and Sir David Attenborough have been ignored, and Dante’s vision of hell is becoming reality. Forget Kyoto, Doha, the Paris Accord and COP24 (most sensible people have done so already); our world leaders, focused on short-term economic growth, are not remotely interested and that’s why they send delegates who are one step up from a lavatory attendant.
What we choose to eat is insignificant. The growth-ists are sending us to hell in a handcart so let’s try to enjoy the ride. Is it “pig-in-a-blanket” again tonight, Dr Frank?  Mine is a Steak Diane. Bon appetit!
Nigel Pike
Phang Nga 

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