Over Population

Wow, this post is just like the lecture we had in biology on Friday. You have to wonder if they plan this... Basically, the problem is simple, while we may be sentient, humans are just as much a part of the planet as every other living thing. This means that we take up stuff. Whether it's the basic nutrients that make up living things, or simply the space we need to survive, people take up space. Which leaves less room for other things, like food. Simply put, super concentrate the human population and you get a lack of food and living spaces, you get slums, you get misery.
Now here in America, this doesn't seem like that big a deal. I mean, look around, sure in some places its crowded, but its not THAT crowded. Course it's a different story if you live somewhere like China or India. Too many people, not enough space, not much fun. There's many ways to go about solving this problem. China for example has a one child policy. On the surface, this plan seems simple and efficient, families have one child and then stop, the end. Problem is, things don't always go as planned. Your kid's too sick or stupid or violent or you just get pregnant again, by accident. Then all of a sudden, there's a government official at your door pressuring you into getting an abortion you don't want for 'the good of China'. Then, there's the fact that every family wants a boy. Your children, oops child, is your life insurance, this is it, your nursing home cradled there in your arms. Aww, cute right? But if baby is a girl.... Well, that's risky, women aren't as reliable, as self-sufficient, better just to dump the kid and try again. Sure, China's going to run out of girls soon, but hey, that's not your problem is it?
So if cutting off the fountain of youth at the roots isn't the answer, then what is? How do you stop the exponential growth of this planet's human population. The answer is simple, except for the fact that it's something we've been trying to do for ages anyway. End poverty. I know right? Simple, impossible, and totally off topic. Except it's not. Remember, in happy shiny countries like America we don't have much of an overpopulation problem. Why? Because at some point of success, we cross a line and kids go from an asset to hard work. When your kids are going to be out there plowing the farm, having seven or eight is a good idea, when you're going to have to pay for their clothes, and doctor's bills, and day cares, and toys, and educations... Well, suddenly it seems a lot less in your best interest and more for your simple pleasure and joy.
Basically, overpopulation isn't the thing we need to focus on. Poverty, and the things that cause it, are the root of the problem. We fix that, and much of the rest will simply fall into place, fixing itself without us ever lifting a finger.

Genocide

Darfur. It has been called the first genocide of the twenty first century. A brutal massacre led by the Sudanese government, through the Janjaweed. While the world has more or less stood by 400,000 civilians have been slaughtered, and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes. It's Rawanda all over again, but this time it's taking place on a larger scale. Darfur, the area in turmoil, is roughly the size of the entire country of France. But more importantly, while Rawanda went on for about a hundred days, Darfur has been happening for years.
While it is true that individuals have learned from past mistakes, governments themselves seem to remain blind. What we saw with Rawanda, we see again with Darfur. Governments and important officials who could end the bloodshed turn a blind eye. Meanwhile the UN sits debating and rewriting the definition of genocide over and over again. All the while, innocents, from terrified women, to sobbing children are murdered. However, grass roots movements sprang up and defended these forgotten people. After a while, even the world on a larger scale began to at least acknowledge what was going on. Stopped bothering to deny the fires, refuges, rapes, bodies. They even, slowly, considered considering doing something about it.
Of course none of this would have ever been necessary if it weren't for the Sudanese government. If the body of people endowed with power hadn't felt it was necessary to turn on their subjects. Honestly, that is the most disturbing thing of all. The people who were supposed to protect the innocents of Darfur instead fund the murderers who cause the destruction. At the heart of the problem, lies a small group of people who are cold hearted enough to inflict death upon a group of people who has no one else to protect them. While it is horrible to watch and stand by, it is ultimately up to the people doing the killing to put a stop to it.