Day 2407

The most interesting thing I read on the Internet today was something called The Neurotic Eater's Grocery List. I urge you to read it. The provocative little article confirmed something that I have thought for a long time. Practically everything we put in our mouth these days is bad for us. I haven't eaten Tilapia since I learned how the fish are farmed, but apparently Tilapia are actually safer than many other fish. I'm increasingly wary of shrimp. We have become accustomed to eating oranges and strawberries all year long, even though we know that these are seasonal crops. Most of our food is imported now and we don't generally know where it came from or how many pesticides it contains. Humans are so ravenously hungry that we are literally depleting the ocean of fish. We convert prairies into farmland. We suck vast amounts of water out of the ground to irrigate these farms. We use pesticides to increase crop yields. We cut down forests for firewood. This is simply not sustainable. Even the most ardent environmentalists seem reluctant to deal with the real problem. There are simply too many people on this planet.

I have read that some leading scientists think that humans will be extinct in 30,000 years. They are probably right. We are the one species on the planet at the very top of the food chain. Every other animal has to worry about someone else eating them for dinner. This food chain kept everything in balance for millions of years until we came along and claimed everything for ourselves. Without any natural predictors except for other humans, we multiplied too fast, became too greedy, thought too highly of ourselves, and now look where we are. Everything from social unrest to global warming can be traced straight back to too many people trying to share a finite number of resources.

I hate to be gloomy, but I don't see anyone trying to get a grip on the situation. The world is spiraling out of control and the only solution seems to involve searching for Pokémon or looking at cute cat pictures. Whenever there is a police shooting or a terrorist attack, there is a moment of silence and some heartfelt prayers. Nothing changes though. Why is it so easy to say there are too many guns and so hard to say there are too many people?  Why do people who are convinced that every dog or cat on the planet should be spayed or neutered still think it is OK to have ten kids? I just don't get it.

Although the world is certifiably insane, it still has it's pleasures. I enjoyed my walk with Dash this morning. It amused me to see pumpkins growing in the park. I've seen watermelons growing in the park too. The flowers on pumpkin vines are actually quite beautiful. I'll have to watch this patch and see if any pumpkins start growing. I doubt that these are native pumpkins and watermelons I'm seeing. The watermelons are the result of someone's picnic long ago and the pumpkins are the result of my neighbors throwing their rotting pumpkins into the weeds after Halloween to feed the squirrels and rabbits.

I went to the gym and vacuumed the house after I returned, but you knew that already. Dot is still doing well. We walked her around the block again this morning and she didn't stumble at all. As long as I kept the television turned off and refrained from reading my Facebook friends political opinions, this was actually a pretty nice weekend.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day