Many thanks to Joe Bish for this submission.
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When Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research recently reported that the Sunshine State had experienced a de-facto population stabilization during the last year, it did not take long for a chorus of sustainability ignoramuses to yelp and bray that the sky was falling.

But to those concerned with how the United States and the international community are going to adopt sustainable economic models, Florida’s situation offers the rarest – and most critical – of opportunities. If sustainability activists (of all stripes, expertise and areas of focus) do not bravely and boisterously explain why Florida’s population stabilization is the most wonderful moment in history of sustainable development, they can expect to see their cause suffer badly.
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Thanks to Diana Hull and congratulations to Ben Zuckerman for this piece by Lou Dobbs on the overpopulation and climate change.

You can view the piece on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nynmAw4MaU

Thanks to John Tanton for sending the transcript of the show.
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Unchecked population growth is speeding climate change, damaging life-nurturing ecosystems and dooming many countries to poverty, experts concluded in a conference report released Monday.

Unless birth rates are lowered sharply through voluntary family-planning programmes and easy access to contraceptives, the tally of humans on Earth could swell to an unsustainable 11 billion by 2050, they warned.

The UN currently projects that global population will rise from 6.8 billion today to between 8.0 and 10.5 billion by mid-century.

For full article, visit:
http://www.google.com/hostednews

Thanks to Mark O’Connor for this link to the September 21, 2009 online edition of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The Royal Society will be submitting this as background reading for all the 2000 delegates attending the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference
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The experts writing in this volume conclude slowing population growth is essential if the world’s poor are to be lifted out of poverty, and if the next generations are to live in a biologically sustainable economy. Coming from many disciplines, the writers emphasize how the size, rate of growth and age structure of the human population interact with many other key factors, from environmental change including atmospheric pollution to conflict and the breakdown of governance.
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Forty-five nations face a population “bust” that has some leaders wringing their hands. They worry about the costs of supporting an aging society and the loss of national and economic power.
When US Vice President Joe Biden spoke of Russia’s “withering” population last month, Russian leaders bristled.

But notions that population growth is a boon for prosperity – or that national political success depends on it – are “Ponzi demography,” says Joseph Chamie, former director of the population division of the United Nations.

For full article, visit:
http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/08/17

Many thanks to Bob Walker for sending this article by Joseph Chamie, former Director of the UN’s Population Division.
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Demographic trends, often ignored by policymakers, are clearly linked with the US’ immigration policy. If Congress and the Obama administration plan to implement an effective immigration policy, they need to understand how over time it will affect the country’s population figure. As demographer Joseph Chamie notes, policy makers should start by asking how large should the US’ population be. Answering this question will determine what should be the rate of immigration since immigration has a significant multiplier effect on population growth. The US is currently the most populous developed nation in the world and at current rates, it could overtake the European Union by the end of the century. Indeed, immigration policy affects not only domestic issues like social security and health care, which can have international implications as a result of government debt levels, but also affects the use of resources and carbon emission linked with global climate change. Imagine how high the US’ emissions could grow if its population were to double while retaining the current per capita carbon footprint? Until such questions are answered, immigration is unlikely to abate. – YaleGlobal

For full article, visit:
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/us-immigration-policy-likely-boost-population

You can bet that in the next few months someone will chastise you for not being “green” enough. It is the current day equivalent of the anti-littering campaign that succeeded in stopping most Americans from throwing their trash out of the car windows while driving…at least when anyone was looking, except in Los Angeles.

Car companies are going “green” and so are refineries, builders, and just about every other industry with any exposure to the public. As a matter of fact, even manufacturers of ammunition are producing “green” bullets. These would be particularly appropriate, I suppose, for shooting environmental activists. So, what is this “green?” Is it new? Where did it come from and, why now? Most of the good “green” stuff is already gone, isn’t it?

For full article, visit:
http://rismedia.com/2009-03-16

Many thanks to Tim Murray for this article.
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Would any sane person think dumpster diving would have stopped Hitler, or that composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight-hour workday, or that chopping wood and carrying water would have gotten people out of Tsarist prisons, or that dancing naked around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal “solutions”?

For full article, visit:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4801

On August 5, Lou Dobbs ran a story on how overpopulation is a major contributor to greenhouse gas production and the finding by researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) that having one less child in America produces a much bigger savings in CO2 emissions than things like changing light bulbs and driving more efficient automobiles. See the Dobbs interview with Prof. Paul Murtaugh and Ben Zuckerman of UCLA and CAPS at http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/08/05/wian.population.v.environment.cnn?iref=videosearch or read the transcript attached. To send a comment to Lou Dobbs, visit http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html

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Thanks to Bob Walker and Emily Pontarelli for this article from the Wall Street Journal on Norman Borlaug. He was a friend of the population cause. He served on the International Advisory Committee of the Population Institute and the Program Advisory Board of Population Media Center. The article claims that Norman Borlaug defused the population bomb through being the father of the Green Revolution. Borlaug, himself, recognized that the Green Revolution only bought a few decades of time for humanity to stop population growth, or hunger would return on a massive basis. Now with over 1 billion people malnourished, it is clear that the population bomb is still a major worry for humanity. Let the Wall Street Journal know your opinion. Following the article are instructions for sending a letter to the Wall Street Journal, a copy of the letter I sent, and quotes from Norman Borlaug’s statements about population.
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