6 Billion

On October 12^th, 1999, the 6 Billionth baby was born in the world. Now, at this point, most people saw this a good thing, because the more, the merrier right? Wrong. So, since the birth of the baby isn’t a good thing, it must be a bad thing, right? Wrong again. The fact that there were 6 billion people living on the earth now wasn’t a good or a bad thing, it was just a thing..thing. Nothing revolutionary, new, or really even exciting came out of this. In fact, some 12 year old, about to have his or her 13^th birthday party, has no idea that his or her birth is so significant! That’s because honestly, it’s not. As long as the world keeps doing what the world has been doing since us human folk got here, the population will grow, and keep growing, until the planet’s faithful end. Now, while the specific happening of the 6 billionth person isn’t the least bit significant, there something influential that all of us can take out of this. Now, we know that the 7 billionth person has been born. Whether that is good or bad, I can’t honestly tell you. But what I can tell you, and what I believe very strongly, is that each and every one of the 7 Billion plus people on this earth, for the first time in a generation, know that unless something radical, something revolutionary happens, we are not guaranteed a sustainable world for us to live in. Our generation and the next are going to have to agree on a common goal; to turn this ship around. Because the other option is to watch our ship sink as we helplessly try to keep our heads above water by standing on the shoulders of those who have no other choice but to drown. While I don’t carry a true appreciation for the event of the birth of the 6 billionth person on earth, I do appreciate the implications it has on the future of my generation and those that follow.