Editor, The News:
Re: The world really is a better place (Letters, Feb. 4).
After reading Dan Banov’s rose-coloured impressions on the state of the planet, I felt compelled to say something to counter such a ludicrous assertion – the world is a better place.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are facts about the actual state of our planet:
• 22,000 children die every day from starvation, over eight million a year;
• 50 per cent of humanity lives on $2.50 a day;
• 1.1 billion people living in developing countries lack access to adequate water;
• 2.6 billion lack proper sanitation;
• Americans dump 16 tons of sewage into the water systems every minute;
• the planet has already lost 80 per cent of its original forests;
• half of the world’s mammal species are in a state of decline;
• nearly a billion people entered the 21st Century unable to read a book;
• nearly half of the 2.2 billion people in the world live in poverty.
This compilation of facts is the just tip of an exhaustive list, depicting a planet spiralling toward critical mass. If thought processes and actions are not adjusted, this planet will shake the human species off, like fleas off a dog.
The world is not a better place. Humans have continued to carry on self-destructive manner with little regard for their habitat or fellow humans, and complete disregard for future generations. There are countless organizations and individuals dedicating their lives to rectify these social and environmental issues, and such frivolous comments both belittle and undermine their efforts.
Simply saying things are better doesn’t make it so.
May I recommend reading State of the World, an annual publication from the WorldWatch Institute. This material presents a thorough review of how dire the state of the planet really is, and what is being done to change our current path. Knowledge is the first step toward change, become informed, because the world will not change if we in the affluent industrialized nation sit with rose coloured glasses and assure ourselves that the “The world really is a better place”.
Jeff Chenatte
Maple Ridge