Going to hell in that proverbial handbasket

This story on the BBC News website highlights a report by WWF that claims that by 2050 we’ll need two planets to meet global demand at current levels.

Current global consumption levels could result in a large-scale eco-s ystem collapse by the middle of the century, environmental group WWF has warned.

The group’s biannual Living Planet Report said the natural world was being degraded “at a rate unprecedented in human history”.

Terrestrial species had declined by 31% between 1970-2003, the findings showed.

It warned that if demand continued at the current rate, two planets would be needed to meet global demand by 2050.

The biodiversity loss was a result of resources being consumed faster than the planet could replace them, the authors said.

They added that if the world’s population shared the UK’s lifestyle, three planets would be needed to support their needs.

If that’s correct, by the time my eldest grandchild, currently in infant school, is 45 or thereabouts Earth will not be able to support him or his children. Or, indeed, the rest of the world’s current population level.

The report’s authors warn that if we are going to move towards a sustainable society, significant action is required now.

It seems to me that this report brings Baha’u'llah’s stark prophetic admonition closer to reality:

The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.

But we must not feel helpless - as bleak as the outlook is. The answer lies in religion. As Baha’u'llah says:

The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. Our hope is that the world’s religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy it requireth….

[Note: I apologize for the odd word split in "eco-s ystem". For some reason, my webhosting provider has blocked the words "sistem" (as usually spelt with a "y" rather than an "i") and "exyt" (as normally spelt with an "i" rather than a "y"). I just cannot include either of these words in any of my blog postings!]

Technorati Tags: WWF, environment, planet, biodiversity, Baha’u'llah

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