SIX MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Friday, February 7. 1958
Is That So?
By EUGENE BURNS
Ranger-Naturalist
During the brief time that ;
you read this piece, the num
ber of people on earth will
have increased by 200. By
tomorrow at this same time,
the earth's population will
Rave risen by almost 100,000
roughly the population of
Lexington, Ky. To produce
the food required to feed the
new arrivals of a single
month, new arable land has
to be found equal to the com
bined areas of Rhode Island
and Delaware; and for a year
ihis new land must be about
the size of Maine.
- Now, only 2 per cent of the
earth's surface can be used
as arable land. The rest is sea,
mountains, deserts and - the
eternal ice. Admittedly, dur
ing the last 150 years points
out Bernard Grzimek, author
of No Room For Wild Animals
(Norton, N. Y.) and director
of the Frankfort Zoo, wide
new tracts of land have been
brought under the plow. But
in spite of this, the total area
of cultivable' land on our
planet has decreased during
the same period.
From the time humans have
started to practice agricul
ture, we have always created
new wastes, which later turn
into irrecoverable deserts.
We burn or cut down the
forests, drain all the good
ness out of the earth, and ex
pose it to the sun and the
winds.
The Sahara, for a long time
the granary of Rome and
Greece, due to our handiwork
is now a desolate waste. The
Promised Land has been
turned into a tragic desert.
What was once the Garden of
Eden in Mesopotamia (Iraq)
is now a sandy waste. The
bare and rocky mountains of
Italy, Spain and Greece were
once clothed in shady forests.
Earth Washed Into Sea
After less than one century
of breaking the sod of the
savannahs in America, dust
storms today whirl over the
impoverished soil of the U.S.
and each hour the streams
wash the good earth irretriev
ably into the sea.
Mexico's forested mountain
lands have been denuded to
supply timber and today Mex
ico City's 000,000 frequent
ly find that their water sup
ply is rationed to night hours
only.
And yet, the population of
the earth increases.
Humans, in the currently
accepted definition of the
term, have existed on earth
for 500,000 years. By 6,000
B.C. there were some 10,000,
000. By 3,000 B.C., perhaps a
mere 20,000.000. By 1650
A.D., there were only about
450',000,000 on earth, half of
whom were in Asia.
Increased During War
Since then the yellow races
have increased fourfold; the
European races ninefold. By
1920 there were 1,527,000,000.
And even while the greatest
war of human history was
raging during the years 1939
1945, the world's population
increased by 10 per cent.
Today we have reached a
total of 2.4 billion and well
before the end of this century
if things continue as they are
now even without modern
hygiene and medical science
helping in China and India
we shall reach the 5 billion
mark.
This is the reason, basical
ly, why all the wild animals
of this earth are compelled to
yield to the ''human locust"
and eventually die states Di
rector Grzimek.
But surely thinking- man
can find an answer. It may
be limitation of populations;
the saving of soil; water; nat
ural resources; and the prop
er "harvesting" of game; and
finally the establishment and
rigid control of sanctuaries
where an animal forever will
be safe from man, the destroy
er.'
It takes infinitely more
"know-how" to "get" an ani
mal with a camera than with
a gun.
(Copyright, 1958,
by Eugene Burns)
" (Released by McClure
Newspaper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrange
ment with the editors of the
Encyclopedia Americana, my
panel of judges will award
each week to the reader who
sends me the best true-life na
ture adventure, the best na
ture observation, or the best
question on nature and wild
life, a complete 30-volume set
of this world-famous refer
ence work in a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be consider
ed. Sorry, I simply can't an
swer your many friendly let
ters. Please address your let
ter .to: Is That So! care Med
ford Mail Tribune, Box 575,
Sausalito, Calif.
Elephant Seals
Now Number 6,000
La 1 Jolla, Calif. (IP) The
elephant seals, once hunted
to near extinction now are in
creasing on Guadalupe island,
120 miles off the west coast
of Baja California, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography
reports.
Prof. Carl L. Hubbs said
the elephant seal population
on the island has reached a
record high of almost 6,000.
The species now is protect
ed by Mexican law. In 1900
less than 100 of the animals
were noted on the island.
Greyhound Service
Reduction Denied
Salem (IP) Public Util
ity Commissioner Howard
Morgan Thursday denied an
application of Greyhound
Lines for a service reduction.
He ordered that the two daily
roundtrips be maintained be
tween Portland and Astoria
via the Lower Columbia River
highway.
The action was in response
to the company's application
last October to reduce pass
enger service to one roundtrip
daily.
Public hearings were held
on the reduction in Astoria
and Portland.
Morgan said the hearings
indicated that overall opera
tions on the route were not
profitable. But he said:
"The buses nevertheless are
the sole means of public trans
portation available to the pa
trons and it cannot be denied
that the schedules are essen
tial to the public interest."
Pakistan Asked To
Reconsider Choice
Lahore, Pakistan (IP) The
influential Pakistan Times
urged the government today to
reconsider its appointment of
Prince Aly Khan as perman
ent ambassador to the United
Nations.
"Aly is one of the best-
known international play
boys" and "is not even a Pak
istan citizen," the newspaper
said.
The Times said Pakistan'i
diplomatic repri sentatives
never have been very satis
factory "but it will not be easy
to think of anything more
fantastic than the govern
ment's latest decision."
Bull elks may weigh
much as 1,000 pounds.
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