Babe's Eye View article

People are different in so many ways: race, culture, religion, skin color—that sometimes it is easy to forget that we share a common fate in a planet that is getting more crowded faster than we realize.

This, in essence, is one of the powerful messages that world-renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs essays in his latest book Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. I have just started going over the book—given to me by former Press Secretary Mike Toledo—and I must say certain chapters strike me as thought provoking, particularly on topics that I am really concerned about.

The title alone suggests that the enormous number of people inhabiting this planet will soon make it difficult for the environment—actually the world's available resources—to sustain the growing needs of humankind. Interestingly, the foreword by Edward Wilson, a professor emeritus at Harvard, says the book calls the attention of "those responsible for Earth's 6.6 billion people: Just look at the numbers." The world has changed so much, and though we have advanced in terms of science and technology, we will soon "run out of margin" and destroy this planet if we do not change our ways.

Being the economist that he is, Sachs drives home his point with graphs and illustrations. The problems of "extreme poverty, population explosion, environmental protection and narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor" are interconnected and can not be seen as issues isolated from each other.

As a matter of fact, the chapter on "Global Population Dynamics" warns that though global population growth has declined, we should not become complacent. Sachs draws attention to the "continued increase in the population by large numbers in areas least able to ensure health, stability and the prosperity of the population."

I have often said that this country is plagued by the three "P's"—population, pollution and poverty and oh yes, I forgot another "P"—politics. Too much of it can kill us, too. Population growth is one critical area we should do something about since this could impact on the environment and generate even more poverty particularly in the lower sector of society. People may not agree, but it is really in squatter areas, where houses are built wall-to-wall, that you see parents having children one after the other despite the fact they could hardly feed them.

Resource scarcity is very real and "rapid population growth in the poorest countries hinders economic development, condemns children to continued poverty and threatens global political stability," says the book. We should therefore embrace a set of policies to "stabilize" the population at 8 billion—to stem the current trajectory which could lead to 9 billion or more inhabitants by 2050.

Sachs, who is special adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, refers to an article in The Economist that dismisses population growth as a concern, claiming that while the impact people have on the climate is a problem, the solution lies in consuming less fossil fuel, not in manipulating population levels. The said article is rather oxymoronic—how do you expect less consumption of oil or other resources if there will be more people demanding such resources?

Critics dismiss the author's premises as "naive," sneering at his "feel-good" propositions and calling it simplistic for its gung-ho, can do spirit. But if we really look closely, we begin to realize that the "roadmap" Sachs has drawn makes sense. Indeed, the author says what keeps us from solving problems on a global scale is our "cynicism, defeatism and outdated institutions."

Instead, he exhorts people to chuck the "them" vs. "us" mentality, urges governments to work together to solve "common threats to our survival," and envisions a community of nations working together with richer ones helping those who have less.

If the trillions of dollars spent on Iraq were invested in clean energy, disease control and new ways of growing food, we wouldn't be facing high food and energy prices and other problems. Further, powerful technological solutions are within reach, he points out.

In essence, this is the classic example of changing mindsets. We cannot remain unconcerned with the neighbor's garbage thrown carelessly across the street—because our indifference could come back to us with tenfold consequences once the floods come. As a nation, the Philippines has to do its part in this "global village" and work together with other nations since, as the author describes it, we are all "crowded into an interconnected society of global trade, migration, ideas, risks of pandemic diseases, terrorism, refugee movements and conflict."

Sachs correctly says that if we make the right choices, there would be room for everyone on this planet. Each one of us has a role, and it all begins with "awareness and engagement." If people initiate, political leaders will be compelled to follow our lead.

Indeed, the power of one has the potential to create "great social transformations" as we have seen in the past. The problems that we face are solvable—if we just believe, persist and do our part—because in the end, as Jeffrey Sachs points out, "our fate, our common wealth, is in our hands."

A photo showing two buildings right in the middle of the rainforest in Subic with the caption "Environmental degradation?" came out in The Philippine STAR (April 4) and the Philippine Daily Inquirer (yesterday). This is a despicable act against the environment, with people putting money and profit above health and environmental concerns. I hope people like Gina Lopez, Loren Legarda and other environmental advocates can still do something about this unspeakable crime.