shrinking world

The world population is approaching 7 billion. Have you ever wondered how our precious Earth could hold so many people? What is the breaking point of our planet in terms of resources to support us all?

Due to hunger and lack of opportunities, people from rural areas are migrating to cities. They are moving their families to the cities in the hope of a better life. Instead, they find themselves living in worse conditions than before.

How many cities are host to these squatter communities (or informal settlers if we want to be politically correct)? Studies show that there are about half a million squatter families living in Metro Manila of the Philippines. With an average family membership of 7, we could estimate around 3.5 million squatters in Metro Manila. 3.5 million people living in makeshift housing, often without water or sewage.

It is not uncommon to see these people living along the watercourses. Without proper sanitation, we could all imagine where they dump their waste. The rivers are dying if they are not dead because they were allowed to stay there.

Metro Manila’s population has grown more than it could handle. There are more people than the number of jobs the metropolis could offer. Many squatter families resort to collecting whatever they can salvage from landfills. This is only in Metro Manila. There is a similar situation in other cities in the Philippines.

Metro Manila is shrinking in terms of living space which is actually expanding to become a Megapolis. Nearby suburbs are now being developed to attract families living in Metro Manila. Rice fields are becoming massive housing areas reducing our food sources.

Trees are being cut down to make way for villages. Then we heard massive flash floods. These massive flash floods were unheard of several years ago. With the indiscriminate felling of trees and the reckless disregard for our waterways, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s causing the flooding.

Earth’s population is approaching 7 billion. Of these 7 billion, how many live outside of poverty? How many will throw their waste along the water courses causing their death? How many will be affected by massive flooding? How many of these 7 billion people will live in converted rice field communities? How many of these 7 billion people will live in villages converted from forests?

Our living space is shrinking. Our resources are shrinking. How many people the Earth can support, we really don’t know. There are too many questions. Our world is shrinking. But every body deserves a part of our planet, including the future generation. Let us be aware of what is happening to our Earth now for her sake.

Soon we will celebrate Earth Day. Again we are going to focus on emissions, recycling, global warming and the environment. I hope that the nearly 7 billion people on Earth will join in the celebration.