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Aerial view of the tar sands region, where mining operations and tailings ponds are so vast they can be seen from outer space; Alberta, Canada. Pic: Garth Lentz. Source: Supplied
WARNING: Some graphic images.
THEY say a picture paints a thousand words.
So in sending a message about overpopulation, environmental group Global Population Speak Out decided to do it with a book of photographs.
Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER) aims to open the world’s eyes to the perils of overpopulation on the planet. The free e-book shows a series of powerful photographs along with expert commentary from human rights, population and conservation experts. Check out a sample of the compelling pictures below:
Dead Polar Bear
Dead Polar Bear: The western fjords on Svalbard, Norway, that normally freeze in winter, remained ice-free all season. This bear headed north, looking for suitable sea ice to hunt on. Finding none, it eventually died. Pic: Ashley Cooper. Source: Supplied
Ice Waterfall
Ice waterfall: In both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, ice is retreating. Melting water on icecap, North East Land, Svalbard, Norway. Pic: Cotton Coulson/Keenpress. Source: Supplied
“The Arctic situation is snowballing: dangerous changes in the Arctic derived from accumulated anthropogenic greenhouse gases lead to more activities conducive to further greenhouse gas emissions. this situation has the momentum of a runaway train.â€â€“ Carlos Duarte.
Shrinking Island
Shrinking Island: One of Earth’s most vulnerable nations to climate change, the Maldives Islands are severely threatened by rising sea levels. Pic: Peter Essick. Source: Supplied
“The island is full of holes and seawater is coming through these, flooding areas that weren’t normally flooded 10 or 15 years ago. There are projections of about 50 years [before the islands disappear]. After this, we will be drowned.â€â€“ Paani Laupepa.
Storm from Space
One of the most powerful and disruptive storms in U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina (2005) strikes land. Pic: NASA. Source: Supplied
Airplane Contrails
Airplane Contrails: Globalised transportation networks, especially commercial aviation, are a major contributor of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Photo of contrails in the west London sky over the River Thames, London, England. Pic: Ian Wylie. Source: Supplied
Toxic Landscape
Toxic Landscape: Aerial view of the tar sands region, where mining operations and tailings ponds are so vast they can be seen from outer space; Alberta, Canada. Pic: Garth Lentz Source: Supplied
Circles and Squares
Circles and Squares: An industrialised landscape — centre pivot irrigation grid among square fields in West Kansas, USA. Pic: Google Earth/Image Landsat. Source: Supplied
Nuclear Meltdown
Nuclear meltdown: The 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station in Japan galvanised the world’s attention and again highlighted the risks of nuclear power. As of 2013 it was reported that the damaged plant was still leaking radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Pic: Mainichi Newspapers/AFLO. Source: Supplied
“So the big question about nuclear “revival†isn’t just who’d pay for such a turkey, but also ... why bother? Why keep on distorting markets and biasing choices to divert scarce resources from the winners to the loser — a far slower, costlier, harder, and riskier niche product — and paying a premium to incur its many problems?†– Amory Lovins
Drain Pipe
Drain Pipe: Tar sands-related tailings ponds are among the largest toxic impoundments on Earth and lie in unlined dykes mere meters from the Athabasca River in northern Alberta. Indigenous communities downstream are fearful of being poisoned by toxic seepage into the food chain. Alberta, Canada. Pic: Garth Lentz. Source: Supplied
“Think of Alberta as the Nigeria of the north. (Well, there are a lot more white people in Alberta, and Canada’s military hasn’t killed anybody to protect the oil business.) Both economies have been increasingly dominated by oil. In 2009 Nigeria exported around 2.1 million barrels of oil per day; Canada exported 1.9 million barrels per day. Environmental regulation of the oil industry in both Nigeria and Alberta is lax, and the industry has been actively opposed by native people — the Ogoni, in particular, in Nigeria and the Cree in Alberta.†– Winona LaDuke and Martin Curry.
Oil Spill Fire
Oil Spill Fire: Aerial view of an oil fire following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, Gulf of Mexico. Pic: Daniel Beltra. Source: Supplied
Container City
Container City: Shipping containers, indispensable tool of the globalised consumer economy, reflect the skyline in Singapore, one of the world’s busiest ports. Pic: John Stanmeyer Source: Supplied
Big Hole
Big Hole: The Mir Mine in Russia is the world’s largest diamond mine. Pic: Google Earth/ 2014 Digital Globe Source: Supplied
Oil Wells
Oil wells: Depleting oilfields are yet another symptom of ecological overshoot; Kern River Oil Field, California, US. Pic: Mark Gamba/Corbis. Source: Supplied
Clear-cut
Clear-cut: Industrial forestry degrading public lands, Willamette National Forest, Oregon. Pic: Daniel Dancer. Source: Supplied
Computer Dump
Computer Dump: Massive quantities of waste from obsolete computers and other electronics are typically shipped to the developing world for sorting and/or disposal. Photo from Accra, Ghana. Pic: Peter Essick. Source: Supplied
Smokestacks and Garbage
Smokestacks and Garbage: Brick kilns dot a dystopian landscape of trash in Bangladesh. Pic: MR Hasasn. Source: Supplied
Night-time Grid
Night-time Grid: Los Angeles, California, population 15 million typifies America’s consumption-oriented and car dependent culture. Pic: Mike Hedge. Source: Supplied
“American suburbia represents the greatest miss-allocation of resources in the history of the world. the far-flung housing subdivisions, commercial highway strips, big-box stores, and all the other furnishings and accessories of extreme car dependence will function poorly, if at all, in an oil-scarce future.†– James Howard Kunstler
Satellite Dishes
Satellite Dishes. The rooftops of Aleppo, Syria, one of the world’s oldest cities, are covered with satellite dishes, linking residents to a globalised consumer culture. Pic: Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Source: Supplied
Urban Scene
Urban Scene. Central area of Barcelona, Spain, population 5 million, density 16,000 per square mile (41,400/km2). Pic: Google Earth/NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO. Source: Supplied
“Faced with a world that can support either a lot of us consuming a lot less or far fewer of us consuming more, we’re deadlocked: individuals, governments, the media, scientists, environmentalists, economists, human rights workers, liberals, conservatives, business and religious leaders. On the supremely divisive question of the ideal size of the human family, we’re amazingly united in a pact of silence.†– Julia Whitty.
Dead Bird
Dead Bird: On Midway Island, far from the centres of world commerce, an albatross, dead from ingesting too much plastic, decays on the beach; it is a common sight on the remote island. Pic: Chris Jordan. Source: Supplied
Wave of rubbish
Trash Wave: Indonesian surfer Dede Surinaya catches a wave in a remote but garbage-covered bay on Java, Indonesia, the world’s most populated island. Pic: Zak Noyle. Source: Supplied
City Night
City night in London: Large urban areas like London, U.K. (population 13 million), represent a huge amount of embodied energy in their infrastructure as well as require massive ongoing inputs of energy. Pic: Jason Hawkes. Source: Supplied
Tire Dump
Tire Dump: End of the road for these tires is a desert dumping ground in Nevada, USA. Pic by Daniel Dancer. Source: Supplied
Book cover from Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER). Source: Supplied