"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike."
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be great or a democracy."
These were interesting observations in light of current events, I thought. Then there was this quote from a president universally lauded as a great conservationist:
"Conservation means development as much as it does protection."
I frowned. Wasn't this a contradiction? Perhaps it wasn't a century ago, but it certainly seems like one today. But then, I suppose, human beings are not widely known for the consistency of their thoughts, or actions, presidents included. In fact, our capacity to hold contradictory thoughts, even to the point of trying to reconcile them, seems to be one of the hallmarks of our evolution. If so, it explains a great deal of our behavior, I thought, as I headed deeper into the museum.
In any case, I wondered what ol' Rough-and-Ready would have made of the 21st century.
I drifted into the Hall of Biodiversity about an hour before closing time. I followed a large pod of distracted, black-clad teenagers into the space, which was split down its rectangular length by a wall. Staying with the students, I veered to the left. In the interstices between coats, sweaters, and heads bowed over ubiquitous cell phones, I glimpsed images of attractive landscapes
Completing a U-turn at the end of the wall, I entered the other half of the room, anticipating gloomy news. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a thoughtful, and somewhat hopeful, analysis of why biodiversity is in trouble around the planet and what is being done about it. To my right, as I walked, was a rather standard litany of trouble: pollution, overcrowding, habitat destruction, and other sins of industrialism. But when I twisted my head to the left, a hopeful solution resided on the opposite wall. For example, there was an educated discussion about careful stewardship of cattle as an antidote to overgrazing – not something I expected to read in the heart of New York City.
The most informative display, however, awaited me at the end of my short walk. On the right wall was a large map of the world, and above it was an electronic ticker. When I arrived, the ticker read: 5000 BCE (Before Common Era) and the map displayed a handful of lighted red dots. Each dot represented one million people, and they were clustered in the usual places, Egypt, Mesopotamia, China. As I watched, the ticker began to advance... 4500 BCE... 2500 BCE... 500 BCE... 500 CE... and on up to the present day.
You know what happened to the map.
New dots appeared, slowly at first, then more quickly, spreading all over the world. Then, around 1850, the map exploded. In a blinding blur, red dots swamped nearly all the empty places as the world's population soared exponentially. One billion people by 1900, more than two billion by 1950, six billion by 2000. It was like watching a popcorn machine go totally
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