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To be honest, straightforward and politically incorrect, there are just too many of us. For endless centuries, from the time monkeys first climbed out of the trees right up until the middle of the twentieth century the basic rules of natural selection ensured our population grew to within the means of the environment to support us. The monkeys learnt to use sticks and stones to eradicate those too slow or stupid and from different tribes and what that didn’t cull, disease managed the rest. Population growth, while always steadily upward overall, was kept in check and the scales of the planet were kept in balance.
And then along came technology, medical science, CND, equal rights and political correctness and everything changed. Now long-life and freedom from disease and early death are no longer considered genetic luck – plus not being in the wrong place at the wrong time – they are considered a basic right. And the result, of course, is population explosion.
Anyone who knows the city of Peterborough – just outside of which I have my home – will know that it is not a beautiful city. They will also know that it is built around a very small city centre which, since the 1960’s has been completely surrounded on all sides by what the local council like to call ‘townships’. This isn’t what other, more sane people call them. They range from fairly recent large-scale developments of fairly decent housing with a modicum of outside space between the buildings, to what can only be described as cheaply built intensive housing – otherwise known as slums. Quite seriously if they housed chickens the animal rightists would be out in force. And I should know – I lived for a while in one of them.
The ‘village’ I now live in, some 7 or 8 miles from the city centre and a mere 1 mile from the nearest ‘township’ has had a small community here since the stone age. Obviously it has seen growth over the years but it is still only big enough to support one pub and one small village shop. It is by-passed although the rush hours still bring much traffic through the centre but it has not yet succumbed to traffic lights, speed cameras and yellow parking lines and the petrol station and McDonalds down the road on the bypass are eye-sores but still happily outside of the village limits. We are surrounded on all sides by farmland. At the moment.
The local council has announced, in it’s infinite wisdom and with it’s usual ‘fuck you’ attitude to the local population, a new plan to build a further 2,600 houses – or gardenless people coops – between my village and the nearest township, thereby, of course, joining them together into one big happy housing estate of direness. That’s goodbye almost village and hello to the slums of tomorrow.
And of course, a big thank you to medical science and a huge clapping of hands to our neighbours across the European continent who have not seen fit to invade us for such a long time. And a special mention for technology which has played it’s part.
Couldn’t we have back just one little fatal disease? Perhaps one that only attacks councilors, politicians and town planners. One that strikes down all these people who want to turn this formerly green and pleasant land into one huge, ugly housing estate.
I’m sorry to say I have to agree with you, we do need a good old war and/or a few pesky diseases to both bring the population levels down and to make people be grateful for what they have rather than expect the state to give them handouts for doing nothing.
I agree – I saw it when I was there & have been seeing it in the DC area for the last 15 years. All the beautiful farmland in DC’s surrounding counties is now ugly developments with too many people & too many cars.
But you guys have so much space…. That’s one of the attractions for me – if not the major one. Andf the Shrub will be gone at the end of next year….
Andy, I highly recommend Utah for plenty of space NOT in towns/cities….
While Utah has its downsides (I’m NOT going there in this post since I’m not likely to be “fair”, being female and old), the upsides most likely far outweigh them. There’s really only one metropolis – the Ogden/SLC/Provo corridor. If you don’t “have” to live there, the rest of the state is a playground. The only other sizable town in the state is St George, nearer to Las Vegas than SLC, and even as of the latest local census less than 100k population.
Clean air, quiet lightless star-filled nights, snow in the winter, actually four REAL seasons, geese in their Vs flying over calling to the moon…. oh yes, I can wax lyrical about living here. Um…. you smoke I think, so the not necessarily smoker-friendly climate wouldn’t appeal I guess….
But there are a lot of plusses. You can buy a nice house on a quarter acre of land (enough for a horse and a garden) for about $125k US as long as you don’t want to be IN St George or the SLC metroplex (or at one of the resort summer-home areas). If you NEED green, Utah’s not for you, but there are other levels of beauty (and while where I really want to live is the Pac NW, I’ve come to an “agreement” of sorts with Utah….)
Hmmm. Sorry for the length….
Yes – I smoke but nowhere is smoker friendly anymore in English speaking countries as far as I know. I DO like green though. I only know Utah second-hand. I loved what I saw of Washington state and Oregon as well and am hoping this May, as part of our trip, to visit northern California as well and I have a hunch I’m going to like that. I like havng seasons but a winter that is just a day or two long would suit me just fine!
I can do without California entirely – too many people, though what of the landscape is left is pretty.
Washington/Oregon on the coastal side of the mountains are nice (but boy have they got drowned this year…. even for THAT part of the world!)
We can hope he’ll be gone sooner. There are some burgeoning impeachment initiatives….