Police have compiled nearly 1,200 cases of murdered and missing aboriginal women in Canada over the past 30 years – a number that is three to four times higher than their average representation in the country.
It is a scary thing the numbers game. Can you imagine all that is happening right now and has happened in the past?
Last week over 2000 Women, Children and Elderly were slaughtered in the town of Baga Nigeira. One point five Million people have been displaced - no place to go in Nigeria.
Numbers are very scary. Be afraid be very afraid. So many numbers and so many things.
Over Seven Billion 7,000,000,000 in the world and growing. Go to the World Population Clock and just watch how fast the numbers grow. How are these people going to eat? You know what is really staggering is that they estimate that since the time of people, there has One Hundred and Six Billion (106,000,000,000) people that have walked the Earth. Wow! In the after life, how are we going to find our lost loved ones? That is a fear that I have sometimes. What if I can't find my Boy in the midst of all those people or Spirits? But I guess that is a different conversation for later.
There are pages on the internet where you can go and read about the number of deaths from wars and disasters. Incredible! The numbers are just numbing! Between 58 and 85 million lives taken in The Second World War (six years and one day). Can you imagine that number in a relatively short period of time? In Europe the number of Jews killed is said to be six million, the Holocaust. Six million people gone. Can you imagine the logistics in murdering slaughtering that many people? Six cities the size of Edmonton. Staggering. The number of people killed per minute, per day? The number of times people were put on a train? The number of families separated? We are aware of these numbers but it is hard to imagine. We can only say "ruthless".
What about the Earth and the numbers that affect the Earth? Yes we are on a water planet with 70 percent of land under water, but most of it is salt water. So a miniscule amount of water can sustain our drinking needs. And guess what? The salt water (Ocean) is rising about 3 meters a year. Know what that means? The small number of fresh water supply is being contaminated with salt water. We can't drink that. We lose about 260 billion tons of land ice per year. Unreal and that land ice raises the ocean levels. Scary stuff. And guess what else? We are concerned about Climate Change but not really. It's a topic but we don't really think about it. We have no concern about the declining rain forests. What does it have to do with anything? Regardless: The study estimates that tropical forests absorb 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide out of a total global absorption of 2.5 billion — more than is absorbed by forests in Canada, Siberia and other northern regions, called boreal forests. The forest is our lifeline. But those numbers mean nothing to us.
You know what is also scary, the population decline of animals, birds, fish and insects. The numbers are staggering. But really who cares? The "Earth has lost half of its wildlife in the past forty years..." We are eating too much food. What that means: "that today’s average global rate of consumption would need 1.5 planet Earths to sustain it. But four planets would be required to sustain US levels of consumption, or 2.5 Earths to match UK consumption levels." One of the biggest losers in the fresh water systems. "As well as pollution, dams and the increasing abstraction of water damage freshwater systems. There are more than 45,000 major dams – 15m or higher – around the world. “These slice rivers up into a thousand pieces,” Tickner said, preventing the healthy flow of water. While population has risen fourfold in the last century, water use has gone up sevenfold. “We are living thirstier and thirstier lives,". Yes, we are eating and drinking ourselves to death, and that is not alcohol drinks.
"What about the children? Who will care for the children?"
The numbers of too much. We get them everyday.
The number of crimes in the city, the province, the country and the world. The number of Women being killed, raped or missing. The number of children living in poverty. The number of people living on the streets. The number of people that are in jail. The number of politicians that are not taking part in legislative votes. The number of cold days in winter. We take the small doses of numbers so that way we don't go out of our minds. The numbers mean nothing to us.
You know what numbers mean something to us? The number in your pay cheque. The number of cheques you will get untill that vacation or until next Christmas. The number of litres it takes to fill up your car. The number of coins you have to park your car downtown. The number of weeks until you get holidays. the number of days until the Superbowl. The number of tickets you can get to the game.
Those are the numbers we know. Are they scary?
There are so many people that have diabetes now. They have to watch numbers in order to keep on living. Watch your numbers or get a scary number. Those numbers are affected by other numbers. The weight you are carrying around. Your belt size. Your calorie intake, your exercise numbers, the stress level you face.
Other scary numbers are the number of people in our community dying by suicide. So many deaths that may be preventable. Also the rise in FASD - Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are scary numbers. So many numbers of things that we are or should be scared of today.
I'm like most people. The numbers important to me are not relevant to the Universe. I count the number of family members left. How many children and grandchildren I have. The number of meals I have in a day. The steps I take. The number of shows I watch on television. The number of days before garbage day (to see if my bin is full).
But if I sit and think about the numbers like - the time that the Earth has left, how much time beore the Sun burns out, How long until Rain Forests are cut down, how high and fast the Oceans are rising, the time it takes for Polar Caps melting, the next time a World War will occur, - I get scared. Yes I do. I put it in this way, what kind of world will the Grandchildren have? What will the numbers have in store for them?
For the scary numbers to mean something - Make it personal I guess.
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