Posted on 02/19/2007 1:34:22 PM PST by Coleus
Global warming is "unequivocal," according to the just-released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The most likely culprits are people - all of us. Yet, apart from insightful comments by former Vice President Al Gore, there has never been much public discussion about the role of human population growth in global warming. Professor Tim Dyson of the London School of Economics indicates that a 40 percent cut by 2050 in per capita carbon emissions in the developed world could be completely cancelled by global population growth. It's time to open a "second front" in the battle against global warming by stressing the need for population stabilization - sooner rather than later.
Scientists warn that temperatures will continue to rise unless we stabilize greenhouse gas levels. Global warming will be accompanied by increased sea levels resulting in massive flooding of homes and destruction of fragile wetland habitats. To slow down this process, experts estimate that global CO2 emissions must be slashed. Yet the United Nations projects that world population will rise 40 percent-- reaching 9.1 billion--by 2050. And even if we change our ways, the environmental footprint of each human being will never reach zero. As population increases, the challenge of slowing climate change becomes ever more difficult.
After all, it is people, not birds or bears, who drive Hummers and hybrids and who heat and cool homes and offices. Although the vast majority of population growth occurs in the least-developed nations, the people there, too, are using more fossil fuels every day as they seek better lives.
What can we do? We know that family planning works everywhere. When women and couples are free to make their own informed choices, they choose to have smaller families. Thirty years ago, for example, Mexican women had almost seven children each. Today, thanks to education and the availability of family planning, they have an average of 2.4 children. Globally, at least 350 million couples lack family planning services. Here in the United States, one-third of all births are unplanned. And the Bush Administration's family planning failures, from its Global Gag Rule to ideologically driven abstinence-only programs, contribute directly to millions of unwanted and unplanned births.
If we could cut in half the number of unwanted births in the United States alone, we'd have about 5 million fewer births over 20 years. Family planning makes sense for people – and for our fragile planet. It's vital to focus on thorny technical issues such as tax credits, energy alternatives and emissions trading programs. These efforts are especially important here in the United States, where less than five percent of the world's population produces about one quarter of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. But cutting energy consumption must be coupled with stabilizing population. More people use more energy. If we had zero population growth, part of the global warming problem would, well, melt away. Global warming is too big a problem to be solved by energy experts alone. It's about people. It's about how many of us there are and how we choose to live our modern lives.
We can start by supporting the notion that every woman and every couple should have the resources and power to control their own reproductive lives. If every child is planned, we'll go a long way toward solving global warming and making a less-crowded and healthier world. John Seager is national president of Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth), the national grassroots population organization, based in Washington.
Roe v. Wade and the Endangered Species Act were both decided and passed in 1973, the SCOTUS decided that it was OK to Murder Babies in and out of the womb and the US Congress voted to not pass any pro-life legislation and passed the endangered species act which make it a crime for us to hunt certain animals; therefore, hunting or killing certain trees, birds, turtle eggs and insects became a criminal offence and killing babies became legal. The bottom line is that democrats want humans to die or not be born and allow the animals to live and multiply.
And the Bush Administration's family planning failures, from its Global Gag Rule to ideologically driven abstinence-only programs, contribute directly to millions of unwanted and unplanned births. >>>
Actually, the sometimes-pro-life, Bush/Hastert/Frist administration approved and spent more on Title X family planning (written in 1969 by Rep. GHW Bush) than the Clinton administration.
Smells like eugenics.
All of the people who believe in population control are obligated to be first off of the cliff!
Jane!
Ted!
Front of the line!
I remember well this zero population growth movement - it's probably responsible for the decline in Europe and the takeover by the Muslim immigrants. We should have more children, not less!
Remember the "Population Bomb" and all the other malthusian doomsaying in the 70s, driven by Paul Ehrlich and his ilk? It was out of vogue for a while, but you know how these pseudo-scientific fads are...
Global warming = hatred of humanity = liberals.
There, fixed that title for ya.
Give Alglare the power and he'll shine before men!" A nuclear winter and survival of the chosen are his answers to the issue.
He will sit on high and select, kinda like Hitler.
Smells like Genocide.
Good God, I've getting tired of socialists offering fixes to the non-existant global warming problem. I suppose this newest population control twist will take the form of more abortions, euthanasia of the old, infirm and mentally ill, and will be controlled by some socialist governing body.
The problem with global warming is socialism. Get rid of socialists and the problem goes away.
No need to stop having children. The problems caused by global warming will start killing us all off soon enough. We just need to wait and all will be right again. (sarcasm for the sarcastically impaired)
Please !
Where's the "barf alert"?
ML/NJ
The eventual outcome.
Seems like it is possible to piggyback every old, tired issue on the new workhorse. Global Warming should be around for a long time, at least as long as gov't has the power of taxation.
I'll never ever buy this!!
If this country is seriously worried about over population then they FIRST need to seal the borders and quit allowing the immigrants to come in, legal or not.
Then I MAY listen to their crap!
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