Preservation of the environment and nature... where?

Dr. Assaf Rosenthal explains his motto "The time has come that instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there will be control of the human population for the sake of the environment"

Environmental protection is an accepted concept and the need to preserve nature is agreed upon by most people. Although there are debates between the "zealous" and those who just want "beautiful flowers" in the garden, there is no doubt that the majority of the inhabitants of the (western) world agree on the attitude that says that we are part of the natural environment, we enjoy the resources of the natural environment and therefore it is up to us to preserve and preserve it.

In order to implement the conservation approach, large areas are allocated (not enough) that will remain undeveloped and undamaged and declared as nature reserves, species in danger are located and efforts are made to preserve them, as well as projects are implemented to save and return species to a state of healthy populations, laws are passed that prohibit the trade in rare animals and plants And even in agricultural areas, migration corridors are left that will connect the reserves and allow contact between populations that would be isolated without the corridors.

Today, about 13% of the land areas are defined as reserves, with about half of them under strict protection, on the other hand, only about 1% of the oceans and seas are protected and a tiny part is defined as reserves. In other words, the preservation of terrestrial species seems to be a success... isn't it?

According to A report from 2009 There is "impressive progress in preserving wild animals and plants in reserves all over the world". Protected areas are expanding and so is the awareness of the need for protection growing and expanding, except that reading a detailed report from the end of July 2011
http://www.int-res.com/articles/theme/m434p251.pdf וממבט בתרשימים שמופיעים בדו”ח עולה תמונה שונה לחלוטין. התרשימים מראים את העלייה המרשימה במיזמים להגנה על הסביבה אלא שמסתבר כי למרות מאמצי השימור נמשכת הפגיעה החמורה במגוון הביולוגי.
Indeed, the conservation and protection efforts are increasing, more areas are declared as reserves and receive protection, there is indeed enforcement of laws, but in front of them is rising and multiplying a great and enormous corrupting force, in the face of the meager resources that are allocated to the conservation of nature stands.... The ancient human instinct / need to procreate. The primal instinct that pushes the details of the human race to engage in... pro and pro!

The increase in the human population that causes pressure on the natural environment is noticeable in "developing" countries in general and African countries in particular. The pressure on the environment is manifested in the intrusion of herds of sheep and cattle into nature reserves, the constant pressure of farmers on forest areas and reserves, and the continuous cutting of trees for the global timber industry, and in addition, the cutting of all plant material to be used for combustion and charcoal production.

All these and other factors create constant and increasing pressure on the environment and natural resources. A pressure whose negative results are much more noticeable than the tiny successes in preserving the existing, the surveys show that in the next half century we will lose 50% of the species in the wild. This is a faster extinction than any of the mass extinctions in the past, who thinks that human society will not be affected by a mass extinction.... wrong !

When all efforts and resources are directed towards the visible and understandable direction of protecting the environment, there is a mistake and a lack of regard for the main cause of damage to the environment.... The human population explosion. The best researchers who deal with the subject agree that: the main problem of our world is the ever-increasing consumption of resources by the human society whose population is growing and multiplying. The increasing use of natural resources and the exploitation of resources in an unsustainable way, that is, one-time use that depletes the resources!

Most of those dealing with the issue agree that in order to minimize the negative human impact on the environment, two main steps are necessary, one is limiting the number of births, a step that will traditionally be met with great resistance, yet there are societies that are already inclined to aim at it. The second step is a significant reduction in resource consumption. A reduction that will have a profound effect on the economy, an economy that is based on consumption, consumption above and beyond what is needed for a fair existence and a good quality of life.

Because the difference must be made between the sought-after concept - level of living - which means consumption of unnecessary products, consumption beyond the consumer's ability to pay, consumption of disposable products that cannot be reused (recycling), consumption that has nothing to do with a real need more than... advertisement in the media, any This is to achieve a level of life, a level of life not a quality of life, a level of life that because of the mad rush to achieve it, the quality of life of the consumers and of everyone and everything around them is affected. The "consumer" society tries and succeeds in selling its members the demand for this standard of living at the expense of loss and lack of quality of life.

It is much easier to convince a government to set aside an area for the protection of tigers or sharks, than to agree to a change in the economic direction and stop the "consumer economy", since all governments (or at least most of them) will see such a change as political suicide, a change that also goes against social conventions in broad populations. Changing the way we consume can be easier in certain areas: eating local ingredients or producing electricity from renewable sources, these are positive trends, but so far they hardly affect the trend of a crazy increase in consumption.

When you read in the Sale and Mora paper that in 2050 humanity will use so many resources that in order to do so in a way that will be sustainable we will need... 27 times the ability of the environment to renew itself. When you understand the meaning of the data, the urgency of a significant change is clear.

According to "Science", the population explosion began after the industrial revolution, in the middle of the eighteenth century. Although in recent decades growth has stopped in Western countries, in "developing" countries, especially in Africa, the trend of population growth continues and increases. Therefore, it would be correct to implement programs on a global scale, family planning programs through education mainly for women and through the distribution of contraceptives. When you connect the unnecessary consumption culture to the population explosion and check what the governments of the world are doing in the face of the snowball.... Accept failures or inaction.

The next opportunity for the rulers of the world to address the issue will be next year at the "Rio Summit". In the preparatory talks, there are attempts to discuss both issues and there is even the beginning of drafting documents for example "Certain investments and types of necessities will be limited to prevent waste and overuse of resources", "while "environmentally friendly" investments and consumption will have the opportunity to expand". It is to be hoped that something from the preparatory talks will seep into the summit meeting and the world leaders will understand the situation and act to correct it.

I often end my lists with: "The time has come that instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there should be control of the human population for the sake of the environment!"

A saying that can be interpreted in different ways, one of the most simple is to stop the explosion of the human population, a population whose technological development precedes the development of its instincts by fifty thousand years, a technological development that enables the explosion of the population but also precedes the laws, regulations and social attitudes. The "delay" of adapting instincts to technological progress prevents the establishment of rules that will limit and stop the population explosion, since the social rules are dictated by feelings that are based in our (very) distant past.

"Population control" is possible through education and the provision of social and economic security, as these will eliminate the ancient need to multiply offspring and allow the use of contraceptives.

But - "controlling the population" has another facet, who or what controls the population today is the mad rush after consumer products that consumers have no real need for, manufacturers of nonsense "inflate consumers' heads" with the help of media that depends on a consumer economy, and instead of living properly and well, consumers are busy with constant competition in front of themselves and in front of their environment. A competition that causes many of us to live at a level above our income, a competition that causes us all to live at a much higher level than desired while using many resources above and beyond what our natural environment is able to provide.

Therefore, in this case, "population control" means stopping the crazy consumption race and the competition for a standard of living that destroys every good part, empties the environment of natural resources, and destroys the chance for environmental balance and quality of life. Population control will give the inhabitants of our planet the opportunity to live in balance with their natural environment, replace the "standard of living" with quality of life!