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| I used to see those words displayed by a man carrying his sandwich boards through my home town over 60 years ago. At the time I did not understand the meaning, however, his "nigh by date" is now long gone and mine is rapidly approaching. Perhaps in the 30s this man had foresight, because recently I have seen in the media a report claiming the Earth will be used up in 75 years. Francis Sullivan, the director of conservation of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature claims that, at our current rate of consumption, the very fabric of our planet is being eroded and will threaten our long-term survival, having wiped out a third of the natural world over the last 30 years. The scale of devastation is so great, he claims, that we will have used up all the world's natural resources by 2075. If every human alive continues to consume resources and produce carbon dioxide as we do today, far outstripping the planet's regenerative rate, we will need to colonise at least two new Earths to live on. The Living Planet Report 2000 is a comprehensive analysis of the environmental catastrophe being wrought by mankind. Ecological pressure from humanity on Earth has increased by over 50 per cent since 1970. The amount of fishing worldwide exceeds safe biological limits, 10 per cent of the world's forests have been destroyed since 1970 - an area the size of England and Wales every year. The United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Centre states the level of CO2 emissions and the burning of fossil fuels has increased threefold and is the major factor in our climatic change. The flooding recently experienced, will be a regular occurrence in the future and, with an increase in global warming, sea level will rise dramatically and be a threat to lowlands throughout the world. in hot mediterranean areas, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, the temperature during summer will rise unbearably and with virtually no rain during winter (we shall be getting it all) agriculture will virtually cease. It is only about 15 years ago that experts predicted oil would run out in 25 years. That time is rapidly approaching. After all, they cannot extract an unlimited amount of oil at the present rate of consumption. There is not a bottomless pit and it must run out one day, which, according to the pundits of the 1980s, should be in about 10 years time. The current annual consumption worldwide exceeds 1,000 billion gallons. I can imagine the hysteria in the Middle East when the first large gusher starts producing sand. The queues at petrol stations seen at this moment will be nothing compared to the panic-buying we will then be witnessing. The oil producers will increase the price of crude oil, fearing an end to their lucrative profits. It will probably quadruple in price as more and more wells run dry. No doubt many of us will be driving round in milk floats. LPG, currently a cheaper alternative to petrol, is distilled from petroleum and would also be in short supply, as would diesel fuel, aviation fuel, kerosene, paraffin, bitumen, lubricating oil, etc. Large thirsty cars would become worthless things of the past and it won't be just the private motorist who would have to bring about change. Railways would all have to be electrified, or return to steam power and we shall probably see an increase in the good old-fashioned tram or trolley bus in urban areas. Aeroplanes would be a problem as they cannot be steam-driven or run on electricity - the flex would get tangled with other flights. 2075 seems a long way off - I will be long gone, but these problematic times will be a headache for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I hope they have the wisdom and foresight to make certain THE END IS NOT NIGH for generations to come. Brian Scott-Smith | TOP | | |
THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH