J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy.

I say YES! And a prominent Microsoft scientist agrees. Although he didn’t actually refer to infestation specifically, his 3600-word article left no doubt. The title itself speaks volumes:

“Humans: the real threat to life on Earth.”

Microsoft’s head of Computational Science (based in Cambridge, UK), Dr. Stephen Emmott recently presented the world with a terrifying wake-up call. And his message is simply this. Unless we make some HUGE changes in the way we live and reproduce, our future descendants are in deep trouble. A link to his entire article (an edited extract from his new book, Ten Billion) is provided below.

85-second video, Ten Billion Book trailer (August 20130

Book description. Deforestation. Desertification. Species extinction. Global warming. Growing threats to food and water. These driving issues of our times are the result of one huge problem: Us.

Dr. Emmott does a magnificent job of describing the global issues that we face yet, like others before him, he makes no mention of the single most powerful “behavioral change” that we could make to alleviate many of those dire realities. Like practically all of our most brilliant scientists, he probably believes that we truly “need” to eat animal protein in order to be healthy.

Once he realizes that we don’t need ANY animal protein, he will quickly grasp the staggering benefits of using 90% less land, 90% less water and 90% less energy to produce the same number of food calories. Maybe then he will see the ray of hope that I see—a plant-based pathway out of this horrible mess that our species has created.

As he says, “The only solution left to us is to change our behavior, radically and globally.” Yes, but let’s start with the single “behavioral change” that will yield the greatest benefit—in the least amount of time. Let’s put together a “dream team” of leaders to teach the entire world what we should be eating. Let’s stop destroying the lungs of the world (our rain forests) in the search for more arable land to perpetuate the most harmful, wasteful and unsustainable diet-style imaginable.

Otherwise, I agree with Dr. Emmott’s dismal conclusion. In his book he appeals to the world leaders to take decisive action, but confesses that he doesn’t think that they will, concluding in his own words, “I think we’re f_ _ _ _ d.”

His well-researched article appeared in The Guardian on 6-29-13 and reminded me a great deal of one of my earlier blogs, Too many people, wasting resources, eating the wrong food. Dr. Emmott’s article begins:

If population levels continue to rise at the current rate, our grandchildren will see the Earth plunged into an unprecedented environmental crisis.

We currently have no known means of being able to feed 10 billion of us at our current rate of consumption and with our current agricultural system. Indeed, simply to feed ourselves in the next 40 years, we will need to produce more food than the entire agricultural output of the past 10,000 years combined.

Yet food productivity is set to decline, possibly very sharply, over the coming decades due to: climate change; soil degradation and desertification – both of which are increasing rapidly in many parts of the world; and water stress. By the end of this century, large parts of the planet will not have any usable water.

90-second interview with Dr. Emmott (August 2013)

Pretty chilling stuff. So, who is Stephen Emmott? You can read his entire bio at the link below, but here are a few highlights.

• • He has two jobs. Professor of Computational Science at the University of Oxford, and head of Computational Science at Microsoft (Cambridge, UK)
  • His new book is entitled Ten Billion and will begin shipping in September of 2013. Now available on Amazon.
  • With a PhD in Computational Neuroscience, a prior stint as a post-doctoral fellow & scientist at Bell Labs, and now heading up computational science at Microsoft, he is arguably one of the world’s most prominent “big picture” thinkers.

He makes his case with numbers. Here are a few of his points about our “big three” finite natural resources that caught my eye:

• • Water. It takes 4 liters of water to produce a one-liter plastic water bottle.
  • Land. Demand for land for food is going to double – at least – by 2050, and triple – at least – by the end of this century. This means that pressure to clear many of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests for human use is going to intensify every decade.
  • Energy. We are going to have to triple – at least – energy production by the end of this century to meet expected demand. To meet that demand, we will need to build, roughly speaking, something like: 1,800 of the world’s largest dams, or 23,000 nuclear power stations, 14 million wind turbines, and 36 billion solar panels.

The Solution. He writes, The only solution left to us is to change our behaviour, radically and globally, on every level. In short, we urgently need to consume less. A lot less. Radically less. And we need to conserve more. A lot more.

To accomplish such a radical change in behaviour would also need radical government action. But as far as this kind of change is concerned, politicians are currently part of the problem, not part of the solution, because the decisions that need to be taken to implement significant behaviour change inevitably make politicians very unpopular – as they are all too aware.

Leadership. Since beginning this blog in February of 2011, at least 100 of my 777 blogs to date have dealt in some way with leadership.

We need powerful leadership coupled with a lot of money to organize and execute a plan that is capable of addressing these catastrophic issues that are unmistakable products of the human species.

Although Dr. Emmott doesn’t think we’re capable of getting it done, he does offer a solution to an imaginary disaster of a similar scope:

Asteroid approaching. If we discovered tomorrow that there was an asteroid on a collision course with Earth and – because physics is a fairly simple science – we were able to calculate that it was going to hit Earth on 3 June 2072, and we knew that its impact was going to wipe out 70% of all life on Earth, governments worldwide would marshal the entire planet into unprecedented action.

Every scientist, engineer, university and business would be enlisted: half to find a way of stopping it, the other half to find a way for our species to survive and rebuild if the first option proved unsuccessful. We are in almost precisely that situation now, except that there isn’t a specific date and there isn’t an asteroid. The problem is us.

The Dream Team for Change. Here’s the line-up. Stephen Emmott works for Microsoft and understands the “big picture” perhaps better than any other person. Bill Gates has been talking lately about the unsustainability of our feeding model. He’s also got the billions necessary to quickly teach the world what we should be eating. I am thinking that we should organize an “Asteroid-type” task force to begin the urgent process of preparing our planet for the rapidly approaching disasters of epic proportions. Now, who else do we need on our team?

I have been writing for years about the necessity of a globally-recognized leader who truly “gets it” about food. And I wrote recently about 5 reasons why Bill Clinton should be the Global King of WFPB.

He already has first-hand knowledge of the disease-reversing power of plant-based nutrition. Now, he just needs to spend a few hours with Dr. Emmott to help him connect the rest of the dots. Then he’ll be ready to ask Mr. Gates for all the money we need to get this Asteroid Type Project underway—perhaps under the umbrella of the Clinton Global Initiative.

It’s going to be real tough to curb population growth and change the way we live. But, in comparison, it will be relatively simple to start changing the way all of us eat. We just need leadership and MONEY—and lots of it.

Back to Infestation. Does Dr. Emmott agree with me that humans are the infestation of planet Earth? You be the judge:

Infestation. The state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. To be present (in a place or site) in large numbers, typically so as to cause damage or disease.

Sounds to me like he agrees with the “infestation” label. He writes: “Earth is home to millions of species. Just one dominates it. Us. Our cleverness, our inventiveness and our activities have modified almost every part of our planet. In fact, we are having a profound impact on it. Indeed, our cleverness, our inventiveness and our activities are now the drivers of every global problem we face. And every one of these problems is accelerating as we continue to grow towards a global population of 10 billion. In fact, I believe we can rightly call the situation we’re in right now an emergency – an unprecedented planetary emergency.”

“We can rightly call the situation we’re in an unprecedented emergency. We urgently need to do – and I mean actually do – something radical to avert a global catastrophe. But I don’t think we will. I think we’re fucked. I asked one of the most rational, brightest scientists I know – a scientist working in this area, a young scientist, a scientist in my lab – if there was just one thing he had to do about the situation we face, what would it be? His reply? “Teach my son how to use a gun.”

Still not convinced? This one-minute cartoon may do the trick.

The YouTube description of the above cartoon, “A wonderfully crafted animation depicting the infestation of Earth by the parasites known as “Humans.” They mentioned that humans work fast; how fast? If the 4 billion years of life on Earth were crammed into one year, humans have been around for only 26 minutes and we have inflicted the vast majority of the damage in just the last one second. 

What can I do? I can do my best to facilitate an alliance between the kinds of brains, power and resources that have the combined ability to help us all avert this unprecedented planetary emergency. And since I have had no luck in getting an audience with Bill Clinton or Bill Gates, I have written a letter to Chelsea and mailed it on 7-12-13 along with a copy of our book. (See link below).

If only she would decide to make this her #1 project for the rest of her life. As the only child of POTUS 42 and probably 45, she may be the best person on Earth to inspire the  leadership, resources and support necessary to make those radical changes that Dr. Emmott mentions. No less than our future as a species hangs in the balance.

My second blog on “infestation” posted one month after this one, on August 9. Responding to a reader who objected to my terminology. “Infestation” IS the best word—if it gets your attention For your convenience, a few links to the primary source article, relevant blogs and information on Dr. Emmott.

• Source article by Dr. Emmott. Humans – the real threat to life on Earth
• Related blog posted 3-3-14. “Not-so-funny” cartoon series. Saving our ecosystem.
• My 7-12-13 blog. Letter to Chelsea Clinton
• My earlier blog on “human infestation.” “Air, Water, Sex and FOOD” revisited
• My next blog after this one. “You’re Screwed” or “We’re F_ _ _ _ D?” Take your pick.
• Order Dr. Emmott’s book, “Ten Billion” on Amazon.
• Stephen Emmott Bio. He is professor of computational science at the University of Oxford, and head of computational science at Microsoft
• Earlier blog, Oct. 2012. Too many people, wasting resources, eating the wrong food
• Q & A with Stephen Emmott
• Stephen Emmott. Forbes article from August 2012.
• Blog about Bill Clinton. 5 reasons why Bill Clinton should be the Global King of WFPB.
• Chelsea Clinton Bio on the Clinton Foundation Website.
• Candidate for a major leadership role. James Cameron—on “Walking the Walk”

Handy 5-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

• The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD 
• Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
• An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
• Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.
• Dr. Campbell’s new book: WHOLE, Rethinking the Science of Nutrition

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

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