Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Saving the World, One Bottle of Cabernet at a Time 2008_0122CandlesandWindow0004

Cabernet Sauvignon is a popular, versatile red varietal, perfect with beef, pasta, bread and cheese or global crisis intervention. I prefer it with a thick juicy steak, a ripe brie or a robust bowl of fettuccine with pesto, while listening to “In a Silent Way” on the iPod. It’s also a nice accompaniment to tackling the number one environmental issue of our time. “Aha,” you exclaim. “Lapsed Bohemian, you so crazy…. anyone knows that you can’t solve a global crisis while sitting on your backside tossing back buckets of Two Buck Chuck!” Well, you’re wrong there, Grasshopper. Can you say, “Population Control?”

Of course, this phrase instantly conjures images of a Huxleyan nightmare or Orwellian, Stalinist government intervention, along with a few other ugly concepts touted by the pitchfork-waving crowd. But reining in the explosion of human flesh currently mucking up the planet is, or should be, Job One; and averting a global disaster may just be a simple matter of universal sex education, family planning and birth control. As individuals, we can do our part right now, by limiting the number of children we bring into the world.

There are two humane, effective and morally acceptable ways we can do this. One is abstinence, a favorite of fundamental Christian zealots. The other is the deployment of one or more effective birth control mechanisms during the phenomenon known as non-abstinence or, as it is commonly called, sex. Abstinence generally requires less effort and expense (simply do nothing, don’t even think about it) and therefore is the easiest way to do your part to decrease the surplus human population, while sex tends to be very complicated, time consuming and requires a great deal of energy; in other words, it’s hard work. Although abstinence is clearly the simpler, easier path to population control, I personally have never chosen the easy way. Perseverance in the face of adversity, that’s my motto- “once more into the breech, dear friends!” At any rate, both methods are greatly enhanced by the consumption of a decent Cabernet in large quantities. So, in between frequent cold showers, we could just sit back and relax, sip our vino and contemplate visions of wide open, sparsely-populated green fields full of cute little spotted owls … or, conversely, we could roll up our sleeves, step up to the plate, so to speak, while consuming boxcars of Conceptrol and cases of Mondavi. Well, I have always relished a challenge. “Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work…”

But seriously, folks…there are so many social, political and environmental issues facing our species, like third-world exploitation and oppression, war, genocide, accelerated extinctions of other species, world hunger, and, of course, global warming; but all these problems are interconnected with and pale in comparison to the imminent threat of overpopulation; the fact is, there are just too damn many of us on this planet and we are rapidly choking the life out of it. It’s the mother of all issues, one that calls for a rethinking of an essential part of human nature.

As the most advanced primate species, our fundamental nature hasn’t really changed since the days when we first walked on two legs- we have been genetically programmed to survive, dominate, self-actuate and perpetuate. For the first thirty thousand years or so, it was nip and tuck in the war between man and nature. Then we began to get the hang of it, moving from the survival column to the domination column with the help of Bronze Age technology. Along the way, we wiped out Mr. Neanderthal, who was physically stronger and actually had a larger brain, and Cro-Magnon Man, who was a fine cave artist and probably played a mean saxophone on weekends. Oh, not to mention Bucky the Cat and his hairy elephant buddy, Tuskzilla- they were out. This worked well for us; fairly soon we began to get cocky, deciding that our huts were not fancy enough, food in the wild wasn’t abundant enough and jolly old Sun wasn’t God enough. We tamed beasts, grew crops, invented the bongo drum, erected monuments and palaces for ourselves and fashioned deities in our own image; or rather, we fancied ourselves to be created “in God’s image.” We went forth, became fruitful and multiplied… and multiplied…and multiplied. You see, we had to- we were too busy smiting each other, at the behest of whatever gods du jour we erected to serve our narcissistic pleasure.

By 10,000 BC the world human population was estimated to have been between one and ten million happy souls, running around like crazy screaming, “My God is red-hot; your God ain’t doodly-squat!” They didn’t know any better- they thought the world was flat, or riding on the back of a turtle…how were they to know that they could simply move to another neighborhood and stop smiting each other? But then, we became enlightened, educated, civilized and, presumably, wise. We explored the world and found plenty of elbow room. Our brightest minds gave us more expanded, rational views of our universe. We also figured out where babies came from. You would think that we would stop all this smiting, learn to reign in our primitive nature and get a handle on the indiscriminate procreating. But, as we all know, that’s not what happened. Just look at us now- still waging wars, still going nuts over religious ideology, still living the same narcissistic, all-consuming existence, stinking up the joint with our garbage and fossil fuels. And still reproducing like lab rats. In God’s image, indeed.

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates of world population growth, between 10,000 BC and 1800 AD the total number of humans had grown to one billion. One hundred years later, at the turn of the twentieth century, the world population had grown to one and a half billion people; you’d think that, by now, we would have realized we are not an endangered species. But NO, human life is sacred, isn’t it? It must be- because, by the middle of the twentieth century, a billion more mewling, diaper-clad curtain climbers were dropped into the world. Think about it: It took all the time from the dawn of civilization until the nineteenth century for the world’s human population to reach one billion. By 1900, it had increased to 1.5 billion. A mere 50 years later, the population figure exploded to 2.5 billion. Even taking into account the mass amount of technologically-enhanced smiting going on, that’s a mess o’ being fruitful.

Yes indeedy, two and a half billion is quite a number, but more shocking still is the time frame in which we have reached this level of redundancy. Consider that, in 1800, the world population finally hit the billion mark, by1900 we had reached one and a half; but by 1950, we added an extra billion. Now, hold onto your hats, folks: 59 years later, the population has blossomed to nearly six billion, seven hundred ninety-five million. If this keeps up, we just might have to evict a few more spotted owls.

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And it seems that this geometric trend will continue. According to Forbes.com, “Global population numbers are on track to reach 7 billion in 2011, just 12 years after reaching 6 billion in 1999. Virtually all of the growth is in developing countries. And the growth of the world’s youth population (ages 15 to 24) is shifting into the poorest of those countries.” This demographic shift has monstrous implications. While developed nations are stabilizing their populations, in the third world there is an increasing mass of people living on the fringe of human existence, and these hapless souls are most vulnerable to the horrors of mass starvation, war, pestilence and genocide. But what do we care? To the leaders of the G-20, these are simply emerging markets that will suck up Fords, BMWs, Toyotas and Kias like greedy little ant eaters.

Now, here’s the kicker- according to US Census Bureau projections, by 2050 the world population will have increased to over nine and a half billion- a 50% increase in just forty years. At this rate, we will be 18 billion by 2080; by the year 2100… well, these geometric leaps will probably have taken their toll, and not just on developing nations- factor in loss of habitat and arable farm land, overfishing, global climate change, depletion of energy, war, global famine, pandemics and a number of unforeseen events, life, as we know it, will probably cease to exist. Forget technological advances, forget civilization, forget religion… forget all the wonderful things mankind has achieved. It will all turn to crapola within the next hundred years or so, unless we change the nature of the beast. By ‘the beast,’ I mean us.

So, what does this have to do with imbibing Cabernet while listening to Miles Davis? Absolutely nothing. That was my shameless ploy, to get your attention, although it does serve to frame the issue in more personal terms. While we are sitting around sipping our wine, enjoying the bon vie of modern civilization, there are billions living a tenuous, substandard existence in the so-called emerging markets. Tens of thousands are dying from malnutrition and disease. The harbingers of massive world famine are already staring us in the face, as are the other key environmental issues, all related to that one big issue- overpopulation. Paradoxically, while we allow thousands of unfortunates to die of starvation, the world population is exploding. What can we do?

We can stop pretending that the problem isn’t ours to solve. Even though the developed nations have reached what is sometimes euphemistically referred to as “neutral replacement fertility,” there seems to be no unified consensus on what roll we should play to combat the looming crisis. Because fringe groups (anti-immigrant groups, racists, anti-Muslim hate groups, etc.) often exploit the raw data to rationalize and promote their own twisted agendas, the subject has become almost a third rail of political correctness. But hate mongers and political fringe groups be damned- sealing our superficial borders against third world immigrants, ignoring mass starvation and genocide, treating refugees as if they were problems, not victims in need of our compassion- that’s a fast track to our own self-destruction. We can continue to ignore the issue, until it is in our own backyard. You think we had problems during the recent recession? Pack your bags and book a vacation in the Horn of Africa. Or stop averting your eyes when you see images from a world hunger organization fund-raising ad. This shame is on all our heads and is a prelude to what our great-grandchildren face, unless we start changing our behavior.

Obviously genocide, mass starvation, pestilence, government-forced abortion and war are unacceptable ways to control the population and not at all necessary, at least at this stage of the game. Don’t even think for a second that I advocate targeting any particular demographic or ethnic group for such Draconian measures; there is an effective solution which is much more palatable and doesn’t harm anyone. What we need is a global paradigm shift in thinking to embrace the concept of gradual, uniform, voluntary negative population growth, with increased emphasis on sex education for all, equal rights for women in developing countries and adequate access to family planning and birth control for everyone. Educated, socially liberated women in control of their own reproductive systems are not so quick to conceive a gaggle of unwanted children and educated, enlightened people tend to favor rational parenting, especially if responsible reproductive practices are culturally reinforced and encouraged, politically and economically. (Note that I said reinforced and encouraged, not enforced.) When all nations achieve neutral fertility, we will have gained enough time to create, if not utopian perfection, at least an egalitarian global community which would offer the opportunity for an acceptable quality of life for all inhabitants. This is a very simple concept, though one that will be difficult in its implementation as political, industrial and religious leaders all over the world will fight tooth and nail to maintain the status quo- but this is a fight we must join and win. The alternative is too horrific to imagine: a doomsday trifecta of climate change, mass starvation and eventual extinction. Wrap your head around this image, from year One Million, PH (Post Humanity): a nattily-attired cockroach, selling insurance door-to-door, a shining example of the planet’s dominant species. (“…and for a few crumbs more, Mrs. Scurry, this policy will include a guaranteed thorax protection clause!”)

At the very least, we can start talking about it. In the meantime, we still have to solve the myriad environmental and social issues, along with the economic disparity among the different population groups. Currently, while most citizens of developed countries live in what can only be called decadence, over one billion people in the world don’t have enough to eat. That’s a disgrace, since we now have the means and resources to eradicate the problem. Eventually, if we allow the world population to reach critical mass, we won’t have that luxury- because we will all be starving. Is this the legacy we want to leave for our great-grandchildren?

By taking preemptive action now to reduce the human population numbers, we may still look forward to a future in which our descendents can sit on their front porches, sip Cabernet Sauvignon from a long-stemmed glass and yell, “Hey you spotted owls- get the Hell off my lawn!”

Brilliantly written! Rational and compassionate thoughts on a serious global issue. The most urgent crisis, in my view, (and many others as well) is the environmental one. If we don’t get some kind of handle on what should be nose-on- your- face obvious, that all the profits from industry won’t mean a damn thing if there is no planet to spend it on, then the over population problem will solve itself in short order. Dara Hurt January 16, 2013 at 1:06 pm Reply

Hi, I saw your comment on the documentary Mother: Caring for 7 billion. There are people in the world who feel like you do. ;-D. I have taken on a lot of personal responsibility regarding this issue. I speak to this issue freely, the same as if one of the ladies at work start talking about their kids. I don’t get as many smiles or nods of agreement though as the parents do. A hidden responsibility-of having dealt with the emotions of losing many a potential partner-as a result of my decision not to have biological children, is little understood by my peers. I state it like it is, “I don’t want any children, I think it is unethical to have them.” Most people don’t understand this and feel like I am stomping on their “right” to reproduce or that I am extremist. I also have taken on the emotional burden of not attending any family or friends’ baby showers, sacrificing a way to connect with peers and deepen relationships. I do this as a way discontinue my participation in the social encouragement to reproduce. I just don’t respond to invitations. I now say “I hope it works out.” to those who news me with their pregnancy. Plus, “congradulations” does not sound right when I say it. I’m not happy at all when people I know have kids. When, however, the kids are here, I do adore them. I just wish educated people could love and care for adopted and others’ children as much as any reproduced child. I have not seen this documentary yet as it is not free to the public at this time. But from all the reviews I have read on it, it sounds like a movie to watch. Have you heard of VHEM sir? Rain October 2, 2014 at 6:18 am Reply

Thank you for your comment, Rain. I think very few people actually think about the population bomb. Voluntary human extinction is a fun concept but I’d personally settle for a stable ultimate world population of a half billion happy, peaceful, intelligent people living creative, fulfilled lives in harmony with other species and the environment. Bill Barnes October 3, 2014 at 12:02 pm Reply

Confessions of a Lapsed Bohemian Finding inner peace and fulfillment in a Beat universe

About Bill Barnes

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Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Bill grew up in North Carolina, where he began his professional career in the late sixties as a backup musician in pickup bands. During this period he played with R and B recording artists such as Eddy Floyd, Spider Turner, Gary US Bonds, Rufus Thomas and others. On the concert stage he has opened for a diverse lineup of acts, including Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Tommy James, Blue Oyster Cult, Michael Henderson, Betty Wright, Tommy Roe, The Marvelettes, Sam the Sham, Len Barry, The Turtles and KC and the Sunshine Band. In 1969 he toured with Atco Records star Arthur Conley (Sweet Soul Music,) on a series of concert dates to promote the release of Conley’s single, Funky Street. His love of jazz had him leading experimental groups in the late sixties and seventies, while continuing to play in road bands backing up artists such as The Drifters, Platters, Coasters and perennial Carolina favorites like singer Scotty Todd and The Showmen of Norfolk Virginia. Working out of Atlanta in the mid seventies, he toured the country with the progressive rock band Sweetfire and worked the Underground as a house musician at Scarlett O’Hara’s. Soon he was back on the road as the lead guitarist for Salsoul recording artists Ripple and the jazz-funk horn band ATL. He wound up living in New York City in ’79, where for the next 13 years he was an active studio musician, doing sessions with Don Casale for Easy Street Records and Malaco Records, later working with singer/songwriter Camille Gucciardo and sax player/arranger/writer John Bastianelli on projects for Columbia. However, heading his own jazz guitar trio had been his long-term goal and, while paying dues with other ensembles, he was forming his concept for a different approach to the traditional trio, one which would meld the edginess of fusion and hard bop with the passion and sensitivity of blues and Latin, seasoned with elements of traditional Japanese and Indian music. He is mostly self-taught; drawing on his influences, which include jazz giants Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, John McLaughlin, George Barnes, Bucky Pizzarelli and Lenny Breau, although he acknowledges a tremendous debt of gratitude to New York bebop guitar master Mark Marino, LA guitarist Cliff Kuplan, legendary pianist Lynne Arriale and Bellarman University’s Jazz Guitar Professor Jeff Sherman, all with whom he had studied privately. Thematically, much of his music is influenced by Eastern philosophy. He has long been a devotee of Zen and Taoism, as well as a student of martial arts. In 1996 he earned a first degree black belt and is registered with the American Chung Do Kwan Taekwondo Association. While living in Louisville, Kentucky, he formed his first trio in 2000 and released the first trio recordings, which were featured on Public Radio WFPK’s Album Spotlight. Winds of Bodhgaya is his first major release. This collection of original compositions (and one standard by Hoagy Carmichael) explores the themes of ascension and spiritual evolution, emphasizing the simplicity, power and acoustic integrity of the guitar trio as recorded in real-time without the usual multi-track overdubbing or heavy artificial sweetening.

Bill currently lives in Hope, Maine. He can be contacted through this site or at billbarnesjazz@hotmail.com.