This mess has been brought to you by your local municipal governments in conjunction with your provincial and federal politicians. None of them have had the guts to curtail this runaway situation. They have all preferred the quick buck over long term stability because they only have to worry about the next four to eight years. As long as they can survive a couple of terms in office, they can relax - they’re fixed for life and their worries are over.

Within the next ten to fifteen years, all these problems will have become overwhelmingly critical. There won’t be nearly enough money to solve or even manage them. That’s when the region will slide into a tailspin and people, including the politicians that failed to do their jobs, will start running for the hills. This should never have happened.

The GTA may be one of the worst examples of ‘urban planning’ in North America!

E.O. Wilson is a world renouned scientist and naturalist with two Pulitzer Prizes to his credit. His book, The Future of Life, is an overview of the status of planet earth’s biosphere and it’s life force.

Wilson explains the tenacious nature of life, but points out that humans are only tiny part of the life force and we are, quite simply, expendable. He examines the problems humanity has caused and tries to help us understand the potential consequences if we continue on our present path. He also offers possible solutions - providing we are willing to change our ways.

In the end he leaves the reader asking the inevitable final question, “Will humanity take the necessary actions to ensure its own survival, or will we become extinct like millions of species before us?” It is truly our choice.

One thing is cetain, planet earth will continue - with or without us.