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A Few of the Things We Can Do On the Way Down From Peak Humanity
I think we’re done. Well, almost.
I saw the first movie The Matrix when it came out in theaters. I remember how they depicted the height of humanity in 1999. I remember how I felt watching the scene where they recounted the history of the Matrix and how it came to be. I recall seeing the tall shiny building with “Malfa” on the side, and the well-dressed people walking on the virtual street. Then there was the virtual woman in the red dress. At the time, that was peak humanity to me.
23 years later, I can’t help but think we’ve crested the peak of humanity. I see our birth rates declining, our education systems declining, and our general welfare declining. There used to be a recognizable sense of optimism in America. I don’t see it now. There used to be a sense that we could recover from our setbacks, but that’s gone, too.
And yet I also see a sense of relief. It’s like humans have finally realized that they’re stressing the planet too much and that we must make a change. We need to use restraint. I also see that the damage we’ve done to the earth has placed very real constraints on our capacity to grow.
A recent study has shown that air pollution significantly increases our risk of cancer. Another study has shown that microplastics are making us obese. And yet another study has shown that hormone disruptors have cut our birthrates. We’re still trying to figure out what forever chemicals are doing to our bodies. If we’re not careful, by 2050 in vitro fertilization will be required to have kids because pollution is such an effective contraceptive.
From just about any angle, it looks like humanity is on the decline.
I walk every day in my neighborhood. I have a 50-minute route that allows me to gauge the progress of construction, see how houses are changing, and see the kids growing up. I wonder who will fill those homes and for how long.
I remind myself that in America, the national birthrate is 1.70 kids per mother. I remind myself that in 2021, two-thirds of every county in America reported a natural decline in population, and we’re not even talking about migration. I have reason to believe that in about 20 years, half of the houses near my…
