Population and location values.

• Author: Dodson, Edward J.
• Position: FROM READERS - Letter to the editor

Congratulations to World Watch on a balanced and thoughtful group of readings [September/October 2008 issue] on the challenges we face associated with our "footprint" on the Earth and its life-support system. If there is any reason for hope, it is the fact that so many thoughtful people are not simply in dialogue but are taking action. That said, we are living in a period of intense uncertainty, made more difficult by the loss of momentum toward shared cultural values and norms. Movement toward just law that embraces and protects human rights has been derailed by deepened claims by groups to exclusive sovereignty over territory. Even the noble principles of the Law of the Sea treaty--recognizing the seas and the resources of the seas and sea beds as a global commons--have been supplanted as nation-states grab portions of the commons for exploitation and profit.

In parts of the world, millions of people are forced by systems of government that favor an elite few to live at the very margin of existence. As we know, this is why much of the tropical rain forest has been cleared by people desperate to find some means of survival. At the same time, millions of acres of fertile land are held idle or set aside to graze cattle or sheep. Monopolization of rural agricultural Land is one of the main drivers of people into the cities in search of any kind of work.

The population-related issues...