The main point of my blog is the idea whether land should be owned or not. Many people would argue with me over this simple question. Especially people that own homes or land. The idea isn't to take property away from anyone, just to highlight the many dilemmas from land being owned.
Mankind has reached out from the cradle of civilization to grasp at the very edges of the map to pull itself up from the deepest darkest recesses of primal decrepitude. The necessity to do so has been driven by survival since the dawn of mankind. EXPAND, REPRODUCE, CONQUER. Since then we as a race have grown to encompass to globe. There are many places we have not populated, mainly because it is very inhospitable, such as the Antarctic, however, our reach has barely been exceeded. Mankind continues to grow.
As of today, there are over 7 billion people on the planet. There is about 57 million square miles of land in the world. Granted there is adequate space to accommodate the populace, but that doesn't mean every inch of space should be taken. There are the natural areas, where wildlife exists, though mankind continues to encroach. Not to mention farms, which takes a considerable amount of space, and more is needed to provide for the ever increasing population. There are cities, overflowing with the multitudes residing within its urban sprawl, skyscrapers and suburbs spreading in all directions. With these are also the economic downfalls, climbing cost of living, and limitations to affordable places to reside. At some point, there will be a tipping point, a critical mass, where mankind has exceeded its resources, and that point may be impending.
"This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth" Chief Seattle is attributed with writing this in a letter to President Pierce after the purchase of land from the Suquamish and the Duwamish tribes in 1855. The message of the letter is a discussion of the relationship between mankind and nature, and how humans should treat the world. I feel the quote addresses a pertinent issue, that the world really can't be owned.
Since I was a child I have always wanted to get a place of my own. To purchase some property in the mountains, where I could build the home of my dreams that my family would always feel comfortable and safe. However I feel a twinge of guilt because of how I feel about Chief Seattle's quote and the acknowledgment of owning land, though it won't deter me from buying the land. More questions come to mind, especially regarding the population, the environment, and how we as a race can progress.
How can people live without the need to buy or rent land? Can it be done in a sanitary and environmentally friendly manner? What happens when people can't get the income to live in a home? What are the pitfalls of owning property? Where do we go from here? Can mankind expand to other planets, or into the ocean? How can we correct the mistakes of our pollution to the environment? I intend to explore the many issues these questions raise.
Your research inquiry seems very broad! What happened to your questions about homelessness? In any case, what you want to explore is interesting and important, but as you move onto your next posts, I encourage you to narrow your focus. The question of whether humans can expand to other planets would probably take a book-length work to address, and you've added onto this the ocean and the issue of pollution. Which ONE of these directions are you most interested in exploring?
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