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If the richer developed Nations don't help the poorer undeveloped nations on planet earth we are just speeding up the extinction of our species. People from the underdeveloped countries will continue to move legally or illegally to the richer nation seeking a better life, jobs and money to send home to their starving and deprived families. It is always the strongest, bravest and most resourceful that will leave driven by desperation to emigrate looking for a better life. They want the benefits, privileges and life style they envision available in the developed countries. They want what the 'have's ' have.

Some succeed in finding jobs but many fail unprepared for adapting to a new culture, and not having qualified job skills. Consequently, they often are forced resort to crime either in gangs or individually, or they may become dependant on their adopted countries draining medical and social services and costing the countries millions of Euros, pounds or dollars. Tax paying citizens of the richer countries resent supporting these interlopers.

Those who emigrate leave behind the elderly, women and children and the sick thus diluting their culture and the ability to protect themselves from marauding bands of warriors from neighboring countries as we see this in Africa today. This results in the deprived countries sinking farther and farther into despair and oblivion competing and fighting for fewer and fewer resources.

They lack the basic necessities required to sustain life like clean water, food, housing, good soil, access to health care, education, birth control, and immunizations from diseases long controlled in developed countries. They lack infrastructure to develop resources basic to modern progress. Requirements like roads, water, dams, bridges, tools for cultivation, animals for food and so on, are not available to them.

These same problems have existed from the beginning of civilization in tribal wars over food, rivers, clean water, and land boundaries, and oil. Today we see similar problems in the Southwest states of the United States, with illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America risking their lives to get into the US to do any job that will allow then to send money home to their starving families. Similar situations exist with Africans invading Europe; eastern European country citizens moving into Germany, Austria; Asians moving to the United States; Cubans to Florida; Middle Easterners to Detroit, Israel and the Palestinians to name a few.

We must learn and fast that the deprivation of any of our fellow humans is a problem for all of us. Our current approach to solving these problems is like ostriches with our heads in the sand. Denial won't work any longer. Instead putting out fires after they start we need to work on a formula of prevention. We must be more pro-active in helping poorer countries develop their natural resources, build their infrastructures, help them learn cultivation and modern farming methods, create jobs, and educate their people to improve the standard of living and quality of life. Together we can implement actions to save our species. And together we can construct a more humane civilization.

No peoples on earth today should suffer starvation; or die from rampant disease like the pandemic of AIDS in Africa, malaria, and dysentery from drinking dirty infected water. We collectively have the money, knowledge, resources and motivated people to work toward solving this problem. Many volunteer programs worldwide are able and willing to help the United Nation to create jobs, oversee and implement programs to achieve these goals.

It is imperative that we look at the BIG picture and set large goals and small achievable baby steps to move forward to raise the standard of living and quality of life for every human being. Education is key to giving everyone the opportunity to unlock and achieve his or her potential.

We privileged humans are like children playing in a sandbox, selfishly holding on to our precious toys mostly gained from the hard work of others and given to us as gifts. When we don't share bullies will take them away from us or two or more will gang up and together take them away with force if necessary and will do so with hatred and resentfulness at our selfishness, feeling no qualms or remorse at their means of our defeat. The fervor at their victory will encourage them to attempt more conflicts, riots and revolutions hoping for more victories. No one will win. We will all loose in the end one-way or the other.

We cannot afford to wait any longer, if we don't act now the human species may not survive. The undeveloped countries are producing the most children and in time they will overrun the developed nations. The world population reached 5 billion in 1987 and just 12 years later it reached 6 billion in 1999. The United States Census Bureau reports that approximately one fifth of all humans that have ever existed in the last six thousand years are alive today.

Population issues alone clearly demonstrate this. Population projections indicate that the world population will reach, 7.6 billion by 2020, 8.2 billion by 2030, 8.7 billion by 2040 and 9.1 billion by the year 2050. The greatest increase will in the underdeveloped and developing nations in Africa, Asia, and India and among Hispanics. At the same time the United States and European population has decreased significantly with lower birth rates. On the average the developed nations are losing population, at the rate of 30% with each successive generation.

We are on the edge of a crisis living on the top of a sharp razor blade. Slice it one way and we will all survive, slice it another way and we will all die'and take humankind with us.

Over population isn't our only problem but it speeds up and creates other problems like crowding, scarce food production, pollution of air and water sources, global warming and the consequences that go along with climate changes issues like melting ice caps, contamination and destruction of our oceans and forests, green house effect, to name a few. All are impacted by overpopulation and accelerated by uneducated and uninformed people living and dying at subsistence levels, which can lead to the possible extinction of out species.

If you don't know where your next meal is coming from, worries or care for the earth is the farthest thing on your mind. Basic needs for survival come first. Only when these needs are met can someone focus on higher issues. When bellies are full, food, clean water, and shelter are readily available, then people can go to school, and learn about restoring scarce resources, not polluting, birth control, cleanliness, and preventive health care. Then they can participate in being good stewards of the planet and consequently raising the quality of life for themselves, their children and for all humans. A good place to start could be using Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs that brought the United States back from the disastrous great depression of the 1930's. Two of these programs alone created 10.5 million jobs The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and with Work Progress Administration (WPA). The United States is still enjoying the long-range benefits of these forward thinking projects. The construction component of the WPA built 650,000 miles of roads, 125,000 public buildings, 75,000 buildings, 800 airports, the Hoover dam and parks. The CCC constructed 3,982,000 dams as a form of erosion control, built 141,000 bridges, 44,475 buildings. They devoted full time to soil conservation work on 4 million acres in 31 states, and built park and picnic areas, planted trees for state, municipal and private forests. This program alone put 2.5 million physically fit unmarried young men to work, and sent money home to their families.

If we did this 75 years ago why couldn't it be done today? While these programs were not flawless they were inventive. We could learn from and remedy any mistakes that may have been made then.

A second possibility is to take the best of the Marshall Plan implemented from 1948 to 1951 for the reconstruction and rebuilding many European countries after the devastation of World War 11. In just four years it assisted the economic recovery. Every country included, except Germany grew beyond the pre-war level. Industrial production increased by 35%, agricultural production increased, and poverty and starvation disappeared. With political reforms and under supervision of neutral parties like the United Nations this could solve the illegal immigration problems in the world today.

If we did this 60 years ago why couldn't we do it today? We know how!

We are all connected, it is time to recognize this and act to save ourselves, all of us and create a brave new world for our descendants. Human survival depends on our actions today. Our challenge now is not to focus on why not and find all the reasons why it won't work, but to ask WHY NOT! And go for it.

Copyright 2006 Nancy O'Connor PhD