Mastodawn

I gave one of my first-year university lectures today, on biodiversity and extinction rates, in which I mention the recent population growth of the Earth's most abundant large animal species ever: us.

I still remain completely gobsmacked by the magnitude of the world's recent human population growth.

8.27 billion: today's population, according to worldometers.info.

7.2 billion: in 2015 when I started teaching the course.

6.8 billion: in 2008 when my daughter was born.

3.8 billion: in 1971 when I was born.

2.3 billion: in 1946 when my parents were born.

1.9 billion: in 1923 when my Dad’s Dad was born.

So 1.9 billion to 8.2 billion in just over a century!

I worry about whether we can sustain this many people on the planet long-term while retaining and restoring a thriving wild biosphere that supports us.

Some of us are going to have to learn to use a lot less energy and resources.

#SoManyPeople #HumanPopulation

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Wannabe Astronaut Feb 24

@joncounts
I've read a **lot** of science fiction and science fact in the past 45 years.
I think humanity's best chances for the best form of a long-term future, is if we all were to become fanatically (religiously?) obsessed zealots for Sustainability.
I mean, the best future we can hope for, is one in which every human knows deep in their bones, and in our racial memory, that our sole role on Earth is Caretaker. Nothing more.

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Phil Stevens

@space_cadet @joncounts I have a vision of a seven-generation project (admittedly, it will take even longer than that at realistic scale) where stewards of land all over the world turn excess biomass into long-lived biochar and put it into the soil.

Since the beginning of the year, I've personally turned 2 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 into stable carbon over six half-day burns, and would have done twice that if January hadn't been so rainy and windy.

It's achievable but it will take commitment and dedication, especially as climate breakdown gets worse all around us.