PHILOSOPHIES & ETHICS OF OVERPOPULATION

1. PHILOSOPHIES & ETHICS OFOVERPOPULATION By Ann TeNyenhuis

2. The Malthusian Philosophy • Thomas Malthus - “An essay on the Principle of Overpopulation” written in 1798 • Overpopulation would eventually lead to war, famine, and disease. • Human population increases geometrically (1,2,4,8…) while subsistence increases arithmetically (1,2,3…) • What about technology?-the green revolution

3. Cornucopian Philosophy • “the anti-Malthusians” • The Earth is not finite • Limits to growth only exist when science and technology fail us • Technology creates resources

4. Neo-Malthusian Philosophy • Unless at or below subsistence a population’s fertility will tend to move upward • Hyperexponential growth in LDC’s = pro-fertility and genetic pro-fertility • Pro-fertility leads to the outstripping of economic production

5. The Ethical Issues of Controlling Population Growth • How do we solve this problem ethically? • Hardin “The Tragedy of the Commons” –the choice should not be our own. Gov’t must enforce laws and regulations. Supports China’s One Child Policy • Does the government have the right to regulate birth rates? (i.e. abortions, forced sterilization, and contraceptives) • Is religion holding us back?

6. China’s One Child Policy"arguably the greatest bioethical atrocity on the globe"(society for the protection of unborn children) • Adopted in 1979 • Less than 1/5 married couples signed • Policy rewards and benefits • 1971 and 1985 estimated 100 million coercive birth-control "operations" in China Problems: • How do you enforce this policy? not a law! • Couples still wanted larger families • Female infanticide and female births not reported • Punishments for “extra” policy children

7. Solving for Overpopulation • Female empowerment • Education • Family planning • Contraceptives • Environmental Awareness

8. What has the U.S. Gov’t Allowed?

9. Immigration Policies • The U.S. currently has a defacto population policy of increasing our population very rapidly. • Legal immigration of over 1 million a year is promoted by big business because it provides cheap labor. • American attitudes reflect a great deal of ambivalence. Many see economic & population growth as good business with more consumers, workers, & prosperity. * Our government has no national policy on overpopulation prevention!

10. Because of high immigration U.S. population grew more in the last decadethan in any previous decade. The 13.3 million immigrants from 1990-2000 and their children accounted for 70% of U.S. population growth in that decade.

11. Current Immigration Statistics • About 2,200 daily arrivals are immigrants or refugees who have been invited to become permanent residents of the United States. • About 5,000 foreigners make unauthorized entries each day. 4,000 of them are apprehended , but nearly 1,000 elude detection. • A future of high immigration will ensure problems of inner cities, minorities, financial inequities and health care.

12. The Truth • Once the numbers are here we’ll have over crowding conflicts, over 100 foreign languages, accelerating diseases, cultural conflict & severe limits to our freedoms. • * Each year, 1.3 million new cancers are detected in our US citizens--an epidemic of our own making. • If current immigration policy is not changed, the population of our country will double within the lifetime of the average American child - U.S. Census Bureau.

13. 1892 The Sierra Club – advocate safer energy use practices and campaign against sprawl. 1994 California Coalition for Immigration Reform (Prop.187) to deny public benefits to illegal aliens in California. Later overturned. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)- advocate for a cleaner environment. The Green Umbrella Campaign for Family Planning - help promote international family planning. The growing popularity of the illegal alien government hotline has immigrants and their advocates worried about racial stereotyping and targeting of immigrant communities. (866) 347-2423 I'm against vigilantes in the United States of America. I'm for enforcing the law in a rational way." – Pres. Bush? Two Sides of Responsibility? Fighting Overpopulation Policy Fighting Overpopulation

14. The Web of Creation, a faith-based sustainability organization points out that the world population in 2100 could bea) 1 billion with one-child families  b) 9 billion with two-child families  c) 25 billion if the growth rate of 1995 continues Grinning Planet - establish and maintain a fertility rate of 1.8 children per woman, we would soon stabilize our population—even with a net immigration of 1 million per year. Germanyis is 1.3. New traffic infrastructures will yeild more congestion and pollution - British government studies concluded that new roads do not reduce traffic congestion long term. All of Britain’s towns are required by law to reduce their own traffic. (a clue, a clue) Two Sides of Responsibility? Fighting Overpopulation Policy? Fighting Overpopulation

15. BALANCE (Population-Environment Balance )   Educating the American public and policymakers on the adverse impact of population growth on America's natural and social environment     Achieving a national and Congressional commitment to population stabilization. relies on grassroots membership support to fund and implement its initiatives and other activities. President Bush has threatened a veto if the final version of a bill, the Boxer Amendment, which has the potential to help ensure that women and families around the world have access to crucial family planning education and services, ultimately reducing stress on the planet's natural resources. Cont…

16. Courts could play a key role in upholding vital environmental protection. Already, the laws that guarantee clean air and clean water are under attack buy our expanding industry and transportation systems. 10 out of 205 Senate judicial nominees whose records raised concerns about threats to environmental protection Bush had filibustered out. We need immigration reform and reduction to less than 175,000 people annually. Were looking at a population momentum which will add 200 million Americans and an unsustainable society. (4 mil per state in 50 yrs!) Our Gov’t’s Responsibility

17. "The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.” -Albert Einstein "The health of our country does not depend on population growth, nor does the vitality of business, nor the welfare of the average person.”- Rockefeller Commission 1972 Report We Saw this Coming

18. Cont… • "Unlike the plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases, which we do not understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have discovered and with resources we possess. What is lacking is not sufficient knowledge of the solution, but universal consciousness of the gravity of the problem and the education of billions of people who are its victims." - Dr. Martin Luther King • This is unfair, and we should no longer sanction the dogma of "profits before people". The immense wealth of greedy, globalist corporations must not be permitted to corrupt our political process to the point where we jeopardize the environment and the future of the most vulnerable Americans of all -- the young and future generations. - Craig NelsenProject USA

19. Overpopulation on the West Coast: California

20. CAPS • Californians for Population Stabilization • works to formulate and advance policies and programs designed to stabilize the population of California at a level which will preserve a good quality of life for all Californians • was organized in 1986 • split off from ZPG (Zero Population Growth)

21. CAPS Projects • Overpopulation Awareness Media Campaign • This program expands the Immigration Education Project, particularly its focus on advertising • Demographic Data Analysis Project • analyze, summarize and simplify the information CAPS needs to better educate the public about the issues that concern us • Open Dialogue Program • Activists and board members are trained on specific skills, and to educate the public • Work with the State Legislature, Congress and Local Governments • CAPS engages in lobbying, education, and advocacy programs designed to influence elected officials in California as well as at the federal level

22. Issues being addressed by CAPS • Schools • California once led the nation in education , but today the system is deteriorating • Non-English speaking students • Packed classrooms • Average school is 30 yrs old and falling apart • Traffic Problems • Not enough money or time to build the amount of needed roads and highways • Too many cars, because there are too many people, and California has too many people because of runaway immigration • Environment • Smog • Air pollution • Degradation of ground water • Destruction of forests and natural habitats • Wild fires and forest fires

23. Issues being addressed by CAPS • Health Care • Problems recruiting physicians to the state • Financial pressures and competition are impacting the supply of doctors, nurses, clinics and hospitals • Two thirds of hospitals are losing money • Patients are often uninsured • Crime • Continues to increase in California cities • growing population densities in cities and increasing poverty and unemployment brought on by an irresponsible immigration policy that continues • Water Supply • Beginning of a major water crisis • Farmers have had to cut back on water for crops

24. Issues being addressed by CAPS • Taxes • Constant tax increases • Legal and illegal immigration support • Welfare, education, health care, and unemployment are just a few of the many services Californians provide, often unknowingly • Jobs • More and more native-born Californians are being displaced by lower cost legal and illegal immigrant workers • Energy Crisis • Still recovering from the crisis of 2001 • Businesses are looking at California as a poor place to locate

25. Major Overpopulation Causes in the US • Fertility • The U.S. average fertility rate is currently 2.4 births per woman • Highest since 1971 • United Kingdom's fertility rate is 1.7 • Canada's is 1.5 • Germany's is 1.3 • Immigration • Legal and illegal immigration contribute over one and a half million people to the U.S. population annually • The total foreign-born population in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census, is now 34.2 million, a record 72 percent increase since 1990 • An estimated 18-20 million of those are here illegally

26. US Population Facts • The United States is the third most populous country on Earth • According to 2004 census • Behind China and India • During the 2005-2050 the United States along with seven other countries (India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bangladesh, and Uganda) are expected to account for half of the world's projected population increase from 6.5 billion to 9.1 billion • From 1990 to 2000, the U.S. population increased by 13% compared with 2.5% for other developed countries combined • About 10 million more people entered the United States between 1990-2000 than left the country

27. Florida

28. Implications of Population Growth • Overcrowded Schools • Polluting traffic jams • Urban sprawl • Environmental Impact

29. Environmental Impact • Housing developments have invaded the wetlands • Natural habitats for many species have been destroyed • Entire animal populations, including the Florida panther and manatee, are disappearing

30. Environmental Impact • Pollution and disruption of the natural water flows have: • Dramatically reduced populations of wading birds and other species • Damaged the Florida Keys reef system • Degraded fisheries in Florida Bay

31. Population-Environment Balance • BALANCE is dedicated to: • Educating the American public and policymakers on the adverse impact of population growth on America's natural and social environment • Achieving a national and Congressional commitment to population stabilization

32. Adverse effects Balance focuses on: • environmental degradation • air and land traffic congestion • pollution of all kinds • water shortages • soaring urban housing costs • increased crowding • loss of prime agricultural land • social stress.

33. Facts and Figures • More than 1/3 of the world’s people already live in areas that are suffering from chronic water shortages • Unclean water and poor sanitation kills more than 12 million people/year • Population is growing faster than food supply • Each year, some 40 million acres of tropical forest disappear as trees are cleared for crops, human settlements and fuel wood

34. How we can help the problem • Limit your family size to two or fewer natural children (if you want more you can ADOPT a child) • One-child-world pledge • Defer childbearing until you are in your 30’s • Learn about overpopulation – share your information with others • Contribute financially and/or volunteer your support to population organizations