The Tipping Point
4/19/11 Overpopulation is the “elephant in the living room”. Meria discusses this with Mark Powell, spokesperson for Vermonters for Sustainable Population; legal or illegal, immigration is out of control; twice as many legal immigrants as illegals (who counts illegals by the way?); resource drain; the carbon footprint of the USA; jobs? oversupply of unskilled workers; the Census of 2010 – can you trust it? Unemployment and growth; the millennial boom bigger than the baby boom of 1945; education and housing pressure; the politics of US population growth; Profiteers (who benefits); Japan’s population and disaster; China’s 1.3 billion wanting the American lifestyle; the Republicans vs. Planned Parenthood – what’s that really about? Our oceans are full, where does the carbon go now? abstinence only programs; pop culture and babies; solutions!
I’m glad you did this show because again, it’s an elephant in the room and when talking about this taboo subject a person can somehow come off as an instant racist. In Maine where I have lived on and off for years, there are an inordinate amount of refugees from countries like the Sudan, The Congo, Somalia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Iraq, Central America etc.Yeah, you know where this is going – everywhere we bomb and rape resources with our militaristic dehumanizing ‘aid’ we bring back a whole bunch of new citizens. I grew up in Los Angeles, so being prejudice would mean no friends to play with. When I first moved to Maine, it was 99% white – monochrome. People of color were on TV only. Now in Portland – the state’s largest city – there is a huge backlash to absorbing this massive influx of multi-cultural people. Social Services are overwhelmed and the hard-working poor are enraged at the fact that so many ‘freebies’ are handed out. The crazy thing is,the majority of the refugees are Muslim ! I believe that Religion is the Original Weapon of Mass Destruction, but post 9/11, quite ironic.
About a year and a half ago Science Daily noted that overpopulation was the biggest threat to our world. Global warming was second. Obviously overpopulation increases the use of the irreplaceable natural resources; increases the waste and pollutants that affect our air, water and land; reduces the amount of water for drinking and farming; reduces the amount of arable land available for each person; increases famines and poverty; and increases illegal immigration to escape these problems. Uninformed people criticize Malthus, but what he said is true. His Britain is a net importer of food today. For skeptics, rather than saying that the facts are not true and hoping you are right, it would be wise to look at the evidence and criticize it with evidence rather than with hope. I suggest that you read Book 1, especially the sections on skeptics, in “In Search of Utopia” at http://andgulliverreturns.info. It is authoritative, documented, and free.