Plan B 4.0: Preface and Chp. 1

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     Plan B 4.0 is all about mobilizing to save the environment. In the preface and beginning chapter, the opens the discussion and gives a summary on what this means as well as an introduction to the big plan. It pinpoints food as the weak link because we are entering a “new food era” with higher prices, growing numbers of people and intensifying competition for resources (Brown Preface). It is very true that we do not have nearly enough food to support the amount of people here on earth. The food is also unevenly distributed. We waste so much food by throwing it out or having it go bad when there are millions of people in other areas that need it. Some people have an abundance of food while others are starving. We need food to survive and it is a huge problem that we do not have enough of it for everybody.

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Continuing on with the scarcity of food, the author begins to discuss different ways that we can fix this problem. Some people “point to genetically modified crops as a way out of this predicament” (Brown 8). I do not believe that this is the answer to our food problem. Genetically modifying our food to make it more nutritious or bigger or whatever else just is not natural. It may be a viable option and one that works, but I do not think this should be used. I do not like the thought of engineering our food to fix our problem or meet our needs. Food grown out of nature should not be tampered with in my opinion. I want natural nutrients not added ones.

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There is no question that the world’s overpopulation contributes greatly to our food problem. There are simply too many people on the world. As Dwight on the TV show The Office would put it, “we need a new plague”. Families are having too many children that they simply cannot afford and that the world cannot support. Cities and suburbs alike are overcrowded. Traffic is horrible. There are just too many bodies on this earth. Too many babies are being made and people are living much longer. The Plan B goal is to stabilize population at eight billion or lower because as of now the predictions are that the population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050 (Brown 24). Population definitely needs to be stabilized or lowered if possible. Less people would solve so many of our problems.

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With a happy ending to the first chapter, the author states, "a world where population has stabilized, forests are expanding, and carbon emissions are falling is within our grasp" (Brown 27). I believe this is too optimistic. We have such a long way to go. And frankly, many people just do not care to put in the amount of effort that Plan B is calling for. People in today’s world are far too selfish and focused on instant gratification. Plan B will have slow progress and the results will not be seen any time soon but in years beyond us. Because of this, I just do not believe enough people are willing to work and take the time out of their day to change for the better of our environment.