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Show THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2006 FEEDBACK The Readers Respond... | POPULATION AND WHICH ‘POPE’ ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? ? Edi ditor, Ned Mudd (June/July), points out that fo r a variety of imperative reasons we must Dear Jim: shrink our numbers. He then blames the Pope. I agree, but perspective is needed, and I guess I must ask, which Pope. Several nations enjoy——a word I use quit e literally negative population growth, although that is a fact that puts the knickers of our own boom boosters in a knot. They believe, wrongly, that we must have p th to have economic growth, although admittedly population growth is a great subsidy to land speculators. This brings us to a quote by economist Kenneth Boulding, ““Anyo ne who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” But negative-growth nations, Italy, Spain and Ireland, are predominately Catholic. Ireland, has one of the strongest economies n the world. So, many Catholics, do not necessarily allow the Pope to dictate their fami y sizes. : gripe with the Pope, while major, takes second fiddle to recent Republican administrations which cut funding to Inter! national Family Planning and with the environmental community which remained largely silent as this happened, in the case of Bush the Second, based on the outright lie that the funding goes to fund coerced abortions rid lack adequate birth control and often ty view of most Americans on the subject is sub-planted by the extreme religious right, a n affront to the concept of representative democracy upon which our nation is founded. But we must also look at America’s love affair with growth, as outlined in THE POPULATION FIX: Breaking America’s Ad dition to Population Growth. We are so programmed and indoctrinated that growth is ” “good”” by the corporate media that we are unaware of the population tsunami that has sy wept our nation since 1970 and that, if not soon curtailed, could match India’’s growth in th ne 20" century, including our reaching ONE BILLION. in China. As a result, women around the wo essential health care. And, the moderate majori own sense of what we can accomplish together, honoring an integrated society where the social, intellectual, physical, and economic well-being of all is considered, not just the While it is a topic many environmentalist: 5 wish to dodge for a variety of politicalcorrectness reasons, the reality of the most resource-consumptive, polluting, greenhouse- wealth and health of the corporate few." And from Ed Abbey: "A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his — gas- producing nation (although China may ov er take us) reaching one billion is my worst nightmare and, back when the Sierra Club wo uld still discuss United States growth, that government." eventuality caused director Carl Pope to refer to us as ““the world’s most overpopulated nation.”” So, it seems, the Pope——the Catholic pope, not the Sierra Club Pope——enjoys a great Crista Worthy Pacific Palisades, CA deal of company when it comes to blame f or a population crisis which 58 national academies of sciences in 1995 warned MUST be ¢ dealt with. Science alone, they wrote, cannot continue to solve population-based problems. My gut instinct is to "escape" to a place like Moab, but | am very aware that | would simply contribute to the ruination of the place, - by adding to your current problems. BOTTOM LINE: TOO MANY PEOPLE Kathleene Parker. Rio Rancho, NM REPLY FROM NED: Ms Parker wasa tad WY Wh vyhen she mentioned that the See Errors used fo discuss population. So maybe that's a swipe. The Klub here is a no-show. Nice folks but not in the game. I found this website for us http:/lwww.geohive.com! Very snazzy re: global population stats. From n ny cursory exam, it appears that the human population might be shrinking in a few choice s spots. But the real story is that the numbers Crrista Worthy, Pacific Palisades, CA LESS ENERGY...LESS PEOPLE Dear Editor, Ned Mudd is totally right-on in your most recent Zephyr. We don't need more energy. We need less people. This is the most pressing issue of our times and one that has followed Homo Sapiens like hungry crows from : the dawn of time, only the scale has changed. In the prehistoric age, if too many people lived in one small valley, they might just fall inexplicably sick. They didn't know how continue adding up. China, India, even the U.§ 5. (thanks to immigration). Africa. Japan is losing heads. Russia (maybe in part due to peo; ple leaving?). And there's no question thata reduction in popt wation in Ist world industrial giants will tilt their respective economies, especially where th e demographics favor an aging population. Who's gonna support us old bastards? Low tot fem pole Hispanic immigrants? And funky economic juju might skew 3rd world countrie sin who knows what directions? So we're likely to see a big time, see-saw, roustabout, jar n-up, Cluster fuck of a world soon enough. OK. The alternatives look grim as well: Crashi ng ecosystems; robot cultures a la George disease spread, but they did know that if they went wandering into another valley where, lo and behold, they were no longer crowded by their own excrement, they were happy and healthy again. In later years, Homo Sapiens discovered industry and turned their — settlements, places like 19th century London, into smoke-plagued hell-holes. Neither excrement nor coal-burning are, in and of themselves, bad things. We've got to excrete, no getting around it. And we've got to stay warm. But too much excrement and too much smoke isn't good for anybody. In our contemporary world, we have graduated from overpopulating the valley, the island, the city or nation as we once did. We have now taken our : excrement and smoke to a planetary scale. We have ramped up the impact of our existence from the local and transitory to the whole planet on an instant time scale that is nothing less than geologic. Orwell; etc. 'e, well fed, primates. SQ —= Jay A bay Sore No More! 1 OPEN 2 HOURS ° SELF SERVE 588 Kane Creek Bivd. “Bring Your Dirty La jundry.” ~e » nee 1 is ! oa Country Clean Laundromat & Car Wash Behind McDonalds, Next to the Cinema c na UG a Better to return to the basics and live like nic It worked for Sitting Bull. LIFE STYLES 2 Referring to the first portion of your current issue, the only recognizable public "group" of people who are looking ahead to what reality will be like if current numbers keep increasing is the same group who oppose not only illegal immigration but amnesty for same. In addition to all their other reasons for feeling that way, is the fact that more humans in America means a greater strain on all our resources, and that includes the loss of open space. i Last week it was all over the news that Mexican President Vicente Fox spent time in Utah, which has been quite friendly to Mexican immigrants. Utahns really need to start thinking globally (our borders) and acting locally (working together). Of course the current problem is greatly exacerbated by urbanites either moving to rural Western areas for retirement or just building second homes. Many people living in urban areas such. as Los Angeles (myself included) have also become frustrated at the overcrowding and want to escape. A formerly 15-minute commute now takes me one hour. Cities across this country have been flooded with poor immigrants trying to make a living. My gut instinct is to "escape" to a place like Moab, but I am very aware that I would simply contribute to the ruination of the place, by adding to your current problems. Bottom line: Too many people! I might refer all who are concerned with these problems to Terry Tempest Williams’ book The Open Space of Democracy, an excellent series of essays dealing with nature, open space, and our relationships with our government. Her local community, Castle Valley, just north of Moab, banded together to fight rampant development. 5 _ A quote: "We have made the mistake of confusing democracy with capitalism and have mistaken political engagement with a political machinery we all understand to be corrupt. It is time to resist the simplistic, utilitarian view that what is good for business is good for humanity in all its complex web of relationships. A spiritual democracy is inspired by our Natural Pain Relieving Gel Soothing & Penetrating Topical Analgesic Gel provides effective relief from ¢ Arthritis - Over-Exerted & Sore Muscles & Promotes Healing with All-Natural Ingredients! Available all over Moab, or Call OPEN 24 HOURS « SE -LF SERVE 588 Kane Creek Blvd. “Sling Your Mud Our Way.” 1-800-842-6622 sorenomore.com “Feel Your Soreness Melt Away.” |
