I know I'm insensitive in the matter, but people who have to farm dirt (DIRT--the whole freaking world is made of dirt on some level) probably aren't going to have much success raising a non-starving family. I was making this point because the point was made that they were dirt farming in the first place to feed their families, in the process destroying what little they had. To me, tampering the need or desire to procreate only makes sense, and seems much less selfish.

Then again, one of them might be the kid who invents a machine that makes the future of dirt farming a much safer undertaking (insert angels and harp sounds here.) ;)

For the record, my area is freaking limestone everywhere you look, no such thing as a basement on a house because you'd be drilling down into solid rock, and quantities of dirt for leveling your yard or whatever are actually relatively expensive.

On the other hand, we don't have to buy it from as far away as Gaza, that's for sure.

I didn't know that...I guess I figured somewhere down there it's dirt. Anyway, the idea of farming dirt was a completely foreign concept to me. I'm no geologist, or even a homeowner. :)

"Tragedy of the Commons". Nobody thinks their little bit of dirt will be the one that breaks through. Nobody thinks their little bit of litter is significant. Nobody thinks their motor oil will be noticed in the sewer line.

Pretty much everybody.

Except maybe Dana.

I see humour in tragedy. I just don't see much humour in life-endangering poverty and the casual arrogance of priveleged westerners who can stoop to judge what the desperate do to survive.

The idea of dirt farming isn't without its humour. But dismiss them as idiots? Suggest they can solve their problems by just not having so many children? The privileged have ever thus rationalised the suffering of the less fortunate.

See what I mean?

Oh, for Christ's sake...they weren't dirt farming, they weren't farming at all. they were stealing the soil that held the retention ponds. Duh
Doesn't anyone on this board know what dirt farming is?

Wuh-oh, I take full credit for this one

I can honestly say I don't.....I kind of assumed it involved harvesting dirt in some way.

I have to admit...I was totally ignorant on the concept.

Damn city kids don't know nuttin bout farmin.
You might be ok with dirt harvesting, though, in they were harvesting profit from someone else's labor. The "else" that built the retaining ponds.
Bet the people that were paying big bucks for those loads of dirt knew exactly where they were coming from. too.

See what happens when the people don't listen to qualified experts in their field, like bluesdave.

Almost certainly.