Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

SAGE is intimately involved in the Global Footprint Network, which is a collaborative process for evaluating the "footprint," or impact, of human population on the environment in a number of areas. It is clear from GFN's research, as well as other researchers around the world, that humans have exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet.

Another SAGE researcher Dr. Mathis Wackernagel's research underlies the ecological footprint interactive project that allows individuals to respond to a number of questions to determine one's personal footprint. The concept and the project is discussed and explained in the article "Dr. Mathis Wackernagel and His Ecological Footprint Concept.

The climatological portion of the SAGE project is made possible through the use of a super-computer funded by DURIP grant ( U.S. Navy Defense University Research Instrumentation Program. It is nice to know that some public good is coming out of a military grant.

The Amazon rainforest has taken the biggest hit lately as the forest is replaced with soybeans for export to the EU and China (Guardian). Outside of Africa and Latin America, all areas that are favorable for crops are under cultivation, and in Africa and Latin America, further environmental destruction is the only way to increase acreage. Given the climatological impacts of rainforest destruction, further growth is hardly advisable.

It is important to note that the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest, and other areas, undermines the ability of local populations to survive. The crops grown are for export - not to feed local populations. The destruction of habitat effects not only native species but those human groups who also depend on that ecosystem. I seriously doubt that they are getting a vote in either the destructive process or where the food is grown.

The studies indicate that humans have exceeded the growth boundaries of the planet. Every ecosystem is in decline, and humans will surely follow that trend if we stay on the current course. We can't keep looking the other way on these issues.

There is a saying, "Give a man a fish and he eats today. Teach the man to fish and he eats forever." While the sentiment is nice, you can only eat forever if there are "fish" to be caught. In virtually every resource area, the "fish" (literally and figuratively) are disappearing. The first to starve will be those who have consistently been exploited, left behind and left out. However, they won't be the last to starve and those will full bellies had best look up and see what is happening.