random samplings of a restless mind scanning life's canopy
That is the question addressed in a thoughtful and thought-provoking blog post on Grist by Steven Solomon, author of WATER: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization which just made my wish / to-read lists. Here's an excerpt from this must read Blog Action Day post:
For most of history, cities have been unsanitary human death traps, unable to provide the two to three quarts of wholesome freshwater each of us must drink daily to stay alive or the minimum four to five gallons -- roughly the equivalent of three to four modern toilet flushes -- needed for the most elemental cooking, washing, and hygiene. Urban populations normally restocked only by net influx from impoverished countrysides. Water-borne diseases like dysentery, diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, malaria, and yellow fever have been, far and away, mankind's deadliest killers.
Cheap, abundant freshwater and good sanitation was one of the key, often forgotten enablers of the demographic transformation that so dramatically increased human population size, longevity, and urban concentration. In 1800, only 2.5 percent of the world's people lived in cities. Today it's 50 percent. Projections are that 70 percent of us will do so in the future, even as world population itself surges from today's 6.7 billion to over 9 billion by 2050.
I'm a reconciliation ecologist studying the responses of wildlife to human influences through an evolutionary lens. I seek ways to apply evolutionary ecology towards reconciling biodiversity conservation with human development. Also a father of two girls; photographer; birdwatcher; bookworm; cinephile; and explorer of the internets.
I'm a reconciliation ecologist studying the responses of wildlife to human influences through an evolutionary lens. I seek ways to apply evolutionary ecology towards reconciling biodiversity conservation with human development. Also a father of two girls; photographer; birdwatcher; bookworm; cinephile; and explorer of the internets.
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