Day 23 of 30-Day Writing Challenge
Photo by Luma Pimentel on Unsplash
Dear those of you who are to be born in 2022,
When I was born 60 years ago, I was one of 3.15 billion people on the earth.
Now you will be born as one of 7.98 billion.
Seventy-six percent of the total habitable land was natural (forest and grassland) in 1900. In 1950 it went down to 58%, and further down to 53% in 2018.
The green leaves of trees in natural forest and grassland are generators of oxygen, something you will need to live. You have to share less oxygen with more people.
In the last three years people in the whole world suffered the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 6.5 million people died of this virus and the threat continues. If you are born in the hospital, I bet everybody who helped you come out of your mother’s womb is wearing a mask.
According to World Health Organization, infectious diseases and biodiversity is closely related:
Human activities are disturbing both the structure and functions of ecosystems and altering native biodiversity. Such disturbances reduce the abundance of some organisms, cause population growth in others, modify the interactions among organisms, and alter the interactions between organisms and their physical and chemical environments. Patterns of infectious diseases are sensitive to these disturbances. Major processes affecting infectious disease reservoirs and transmission include, deforestation; land-use change; water management e.g. through dam construction, irrigation, uncontrolled urbanization or urban sprawl; resistance to pesticide chemicals used to control certain disease vectors; climate variability and change; migration and international travel and trade; and the accidental or intentional human introduction of pathogens.
World Health Organization
Since the 1950s, the wild animal populations have more than halved. The loss of biodiversity is no joke.
In 2019, suicide is a leading cause of death, especially in young people. There seems to have gotten more difficult to find joy of living than when I was a kid.
I had never seen a TV until I was 4 or 5. The screen didn’t have any color until 10 or 11 years old. Now you will see vivid color videos the moment you are born. Your parents will likely keep showing it to you with a tablet while they do their errands. You may have seen every animal and creature on earth on the 2-D screen before you even touch a real dog for the first time.
With a helmet on your head when you start learning how to ride a bicycle, and with adults’ watching you when you climb up the jungle gym, you are much safer than when I used to play outside. But who was having more fun? I don’t know.
Should I be proud of the convenience and comfort you enjoy? Maybe. Should I be sorry for the mess we have created? Definitely. But please don’t complain about the situation you are in. Just like you didn’t, I didn’t have a choice of when to be born.
No time was perfect. There have always been problems. Depending upon the time we were born, we face different challenges. Please look around you with your own eyes, find problems you can tackle, and take action with your own capability. I will try to do the same with my time still remaining on the earth.