Mankind has a dream
To rid the world of strife
To manipulate and scheme
And create a better life
But by eradicating illness
And improving food supply
We lost the population checks
Of ancient times gone by
Now a sterile urban jungle
Replaces complex life
Gone the living jungle
Gone the web of life
We must restore the dream
Put some balance back in life
And manipulate and scheme
To enhance the web of life
It is easy to blame the world’s problems on greedy self serving people living in comfort at the expense of the less fortunate but when you look at things more closely it is not like that at all. The world is full of inequality but most people do their best to contribute to society and to make the world a better place. The fundamental problem is that every positive advance or contribution we make is generally balanced by a negative and often unforseen consequence to other people or the environment. Few people would consider for example that the donation of unwanted clothing to a third world country may put the local textile industry out of business or that the expansion of agricultural land needed to feed hungry people could drive species to extinction. It is never the intention of those who spend their lives eradicating disease and improving food security to increase human population pressure on the environment but this will always be the consequence. Our huge and rapidly expanding global population that is threatening the web of life that sustains us all is largely due to the efforts of talented and selfless people trying to make the world a better place.
The good news is that we can learn from our mistakes and it has never been easier to share information. We will never be able to anticipate all the consequences of our actions but acknowledging that there could be consequences, learning from experience and thinking things through carefully before we act is an important step. We need to, or we and our children and grandchildren will face a bleak future in an impoverished and sterile world. Then it really will be a case of paradise lost.
