Home » Poems » Bernard Barclay » Overpopulation

Overpopulation

I sat with a friend,
discussing overpopulation,
"the worlds not overpopulated"
he stated

"Look around you,
there is still, a lot more land,
there are still places, 
with very few people"

Granted that's true,
there are still places with few people
yet the fish have become 
depleted from the sea

We cut down fifty eight football fields
of raintree forest, every day,
the seas are depleted,
because people need to eat,

We cut down the rain forest
because people need furniture,
there are only three hundred 
Siberian tigers left in the world,

Other animals have a right to life
three, tiger species became extinct
in the twentieth century,
the ozone layer is becoming depleted

because of the carbon
that we, as a race create.
granted cows have more stomachs
cows give off more methane gas,

Yet we are by far 
are the biggest creator of carbon pollution,
cars, cigarettes and human gas,
go into creating air pollution,

four and a half new babies 
are born every second,
yes people have a right 
to have a family,

Yet what do you want, 
their future to hold,
We depend on nature 
but now, nature also depends on us,

The north and south pole
are melting,
fresh water going into the ocean,
could change the chemical balance

Of the sea,
perhaps stopping the Mediterranean rift,
perhaps changing heat transfer,
perhaps changing nature,

we depend on this planet
for our survival,
yet this planet also 
depends on us,

We have a brain,
We have the ability,
to overcome these problems, 
Together we can achieve the impossible,

United we stand divided we fall
yet if we work against each other 
we achieve nothing, using investment, 
we can overcome our problems,

We can make cars that run on electricity,
We can decide, to have less children,
Together we can do the impossible,
We have already sent people into space

Yet if we spend our time fighting,
against each idea, we get nowhere,
To overcome a problem 
first you must agree you have a problem

Then create a solution, that solves the problem,
Increasing tax and destroying lives does not work
investing together creating change is a solution,
We are the most intelligent animal on the planet

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