Stefanie Hawks-Johnson: Prospective Dave the Planet Running Mate

Vote for Stefanie or another applicant HERE to determine the People’s Choice for Dave Gardner’s V.P. (Dave MAY actually select the People’s Choice applicant, but he may choose differently.)

APPLICANT IN BRIEF:
“Saving the planet is saving ourselves from horrific suffering, please join me in the campaign for Dave Gardner as president so we can help all people and all species on our beautiful planet.”

VOTE HERE

MEET ALL THE APPLICANTS HERE



APPLICANT’S STATEMENT:
I am not an alarmist or deliverer of fake news.  I am a marine biologist that has over 20,000 hours in the field as a researcher, naturalist, protected species observer and educator. And I am supporting Dave Gardner’s presidential run by offering my support to run alongside him as his Vice President. He is the only candidate that would change things to help all of us and the planet we rely on.  Almost every day I am witnessing tragedy. I have seen our beaches become almost barren, I see the number of migratory birds decline year after year, I learn that critically endangered whales are being killed by cargo ships regularly, baby whales faces literally being ripped off.  I hear about whales and dolphins being entangled in fishing lines for years at a time and slowly and agonizingly dying. Coral reefs bleaching out, fisheries "disasters” regularly becoming common, sea stars and multiple other marine species being wiped out by diseases that can be linked to anthropogenic sources. The list goes on and on.

Ninety six percent of mammals on earth now are humans and the livestock we eat.  One hundred years ago humans and livestock were only 30 percent of the mammal biomass on earth. We are adding 80,000,000 (80 MILLION) people a year to the planet, One billion every 12 years. We are at 8 billion already. Most scientists know that if every human had a decent living, (a European standard of living…. which every human should have and all animals could thrive alongside us too, we would be at 3 billion or less.

And let’s wrap our heads around this, A BILLION IS A 1000 MILLION. Every other mammal species is at a fraction of that. For example, endangered blue whales number only 10,000. Several whale species have less than 300. Elephants total only 100,000. We are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate and that makes a sick planet and a sick us. More cancers, more diseases, more pandemics. The logic is there: you were to stand on a football field with 2 people and one is sick, likely the other won't get sick. Now imagine standing on a football field with 1000 other people, one is sick and likely the other 999 will get sick too. We will have more fires, more resource wars, rampant (extra) CO2 causing warming in our seas we have never seen before…some places as hot a hot tub.

Human overpopulation is the issue. It is the issue of our lifetime and our children’s lifetime. It is our own existential crisis and it's solvable by choice, compassion, contraception and love.  Or it will happen by crime, chaos, wars, fires and horrificness. I want the former-by choice and compassion- for my kids. I want the smart way.  If you are religious, which most have a connection, I am certain your higher power did not say, wipe out all the species I have created, it's okay. Yet that is what we are doing. Yes, human overpopulation is the primary problem and it is solvable by caring compassionate choices if all of us start talking about it and coming up with caring solutions.