Unlimited Population Growth + Finite Resources=?

You would think that someone who lived in Saudi Arabia in the desert for 2 1/2 years would have a keen awareness for the need to conserve water.

I am often aware of my wasteful nature but not always. Even then, I often indulge myself instead of trying to be more conservative. So I acknowledge that I am often part of the problem instead of the solution but I am trying.

I was reminded of this today while I was cleaning my kitchen sink. Instead of filling a bucket once I got the water temperature right, I just let the water flow down the sink. I like the sound of running water.

I realized how wasteful of water and the energy to heat it was but continued to let the water flow away.

My first partner, J.C., taught me about the simple effort of not running the water while shaving or brushing my teeth. I usually follow his example but not always. It brings to mind an ad I saw that showed a couple showering together with the caption "Shower with a friend" in order to save water.

Eventually the population in my area will out strip the water supply. It won't be an occasional drought but a lifetime struggle. I hope not in my life time. And until we stop breeding like animals we will be bound by the same laws of supply and demand.

Someone will suffer.

In the animal kingdom, that would be the weak, the old, the young. With humans, this will not necessarily happen at first. We will try to maintain order but as things collapse, power will ultimately rest with the rich. At least until things become truly desperate. Then we will also return to our animal nature.

It seems that instead of just throwing money at disasters, we should take time between them to use some money to TEACH conservation.

No matter how modern a society is, if a stable population is not attained, eventually it will collapse upon itself. And when the country that everyone turns to when disaster strikes collapses, where will THEY turn for help?

As we've already seen with the banking industry, even the mere threat of our collapse affects the world. But did the world send us aid? No. They offered to loan us money. Our people began losing their homes and no one gave us money or land or homes. They GAVE us nothing.

Perhaps that is why we don't have a problem with people leaving our country. Our generous nature is still one of the things that people like about us. We are the ones that give. Money, jobs, promises of a better future.

We are by no means perfect. Our dependence on others for energy makes for a dangerous alliance. We have come to the point of invading others in an attempt to maintain stability in their countries to insure stability in ours all for the sake of energy.

So we've already far out-stripped our own ability to supply this resource, energy. Oddly enough, there are many ways to change this. Besides slowing down or stopping population growth, we can invest in solar, wind, and water energy sources.

But since capitalism has a strangle-hold on this country, money determines what is important, not the needs of the citizens. And until we are willing to pay more and have less, we will continue our spiral towards the end of the equation:

Unlimited Population Growth + Finite Resources = ?????? ?????? ??????

Better Living Through Chemistry...

When my mother became ill with cancer, I felt as if the bottom had dropped out from under me. It was a roller coaster ride of loss and hope.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I was no longer able to handle things even with therapy and finally spoke with my doctor. He prescribed Paxil and told me "Better Living Through Chemistry". If he only knew...

This morning as a particular short-term drug wears off, I find myself wishing I was still on Paxil. The short-term drug helps but I seem to become even more irritable as it wears of. That's why I would prefer to be on Paxil which is long-term.

For most of my life I have been impatient and critical with myself and others. I even shop at 2AM to avoid having to interact with people. Without drugs, it's even worse.

I love using the general term drugs because it pisses many health professionals off. They are so narrow minded about the effects of substance that they don't prescribe. From over-the-counter drugs, to herbal supplements, to alcohol, and even food have affects on a person's behavior (yeah, Tom Cruise, I think you're full of shit too).

I really just wanted to bitch about my trip to Wal-Mart but it reminded me that no matter what others think about medicating a person, I believe they do help. So I blogged it.

It's kind of like that old recommendation of writing a letter but not sending it for a while. Just write it down somewhere (like a blog) and revisit it later. Once you've had your say, that may be enough to make you feel better. If not, then after a period of time, send it to someone.

In this case, since I send a variety of letters to Wal-Mart (just yesterday was the last about not selling Green Day CD's) and they usually send me back their standardized bullshit response, I thought perhaps I would just share this one with the world for now.

This started with my bitching to the old Irondale Wal-Mart that they needed boxes to throw away the plastic grocery bags to be recycled. After telling the managers about it a few times, I finally sent an email to Wal-Mart. They never responded but soon after, the recycle boxes were replaced. SURPRISE!

That encouraged me later to complain about the lack of big sizes in men's clothing. This fell on deaf ears. Try looking for men's specialty boxers (you know, like the one's with kisses or pictures of homer simpson on them) in 2x, 3x, or 4x. They don't sell them.

Tonight I was using my own shopping bags and as usual, the cashier didn't know how to use it. I told her how to hook the loops on the bag to their bag holders and she said "I'm too tired".

I will admit that I wanted to slap the shit out of her but I just kept quiet. The only problem is that since Wal-Mart probably has my email listed as IGNORE, I can't even suggest they train or RE-train their cashiers on how to bag groceries.

Perhaps I need another email. Now what should the email ID be? How about complainer? Bitch? NeedsMoreMeds? I've got it..... ThereAreNotEnoughMedsInTheWorld. Nope, too long.

Did I mention that Pizza Hut even put a note in my file that I was a "Hostile Customer" just because my partner insisted on our discount any time the pizza was late. I got an apology from the Birmingham VP for that one!!!

(sigh) Well I feel better but I may just need to talk to my doctor about getting back on Paxil before my head explodes. What's that old definition about "Stress"? Something about resisting the urge to choke or kill people...

Thanks for reading...