THE PALE HORSE OF THE APOCALYPSE
means that two-thirds of the world’s resources are ‘used up’.
The sound of the pale horse’s hoofbeats is getting louder. The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries – some of them are world leaders in their fields, concludes that the human race has used up two-thirds of the world’s resources, most of it in just the last sixty years.
Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House, claims that mankind uses all of our natural resources. He produced a six-point indictment against the human race and declared that it would lead to the extinction of all life on Earth.
1. LAND OVER-CONSUMPTION: Because of human demand for food, fresh water, timber, fiber, and fuel, more land has been claimed for agriculture in the last 60 years than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined. An estimated 24% of the Earth’s land surface is now cultivated.
2. WATER OVER-CONSUMPTION: Water withdrawals from lakes and rivers have doubled in the last 40 years. Humans now use 40% and 50% of all available freshwater running off the land.
3. OCEAN OVER-CONSUMPTION: Since 1980, about 35% of mangroves have been lost, 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed, and another 20% are badly degraded.
4. FOREST OVER-CONSUMPTION: Deforestation and other changes could increase the risks of malaria and cholera and open the way for new and so far unknown diseases to emerge.
5. RIVER OVER-CONSUMPTION: Flow from rivers has been reduced dramatically. For parts of the year, the Yellow River in China, the Nile in Africa, and the Colorado in North America dry up before they reach the ocean.
6. FISH OVER-CONSUMPTION: At least a quarter of all fish stocks are overharvested. In some areas, the catch is now less than a hundredth of that before industrial fishing. An estimated 90% of the total weight of the ocean’s large predators – tuna, swordfish, and sharks – has disappeared in recent years.
The study contains what its authors call "a stark warning" for the world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries, and other habitats that recycle air, water, and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet and to itself.
The study concludes by saying that we have plundered the ocean’s bounty, we have destroyed the seabed’s riches, we are running out of sources for food, we are running out of fresh water, and because of all this misuse of nature, we are plunging towards the threat of killer plagues and epidemics.
Most sobering of all is the timing of all of this overconsumption. This study concludes all this damage took place — not gradually over six thousand years of human existence — but within a single generation! That conclusion reminds me of what Jesus said about the end of days for the planet Earth.
"So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done." (Mark 13:29-30)
(WNS-23; 050515AM)
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