Terrific New Book on the Population / Environment Connection
July 22, 2011
Philip Cafaro
Those of us concerned about the environmental costs of continued population growth, both worldwide and in the United States, have a powerful advocate in Dave Foreman: former lobbyist for the Wilderness Society, founder of Earth First! and a dedicated eco-warrior. Dave’s new book “Manswarm” is terrific: a hard-hitting, eloquent plea for people everywhere to get their demographic houses in order and leave some room for our wild co-inhabitants of Earth.
Followers of this blog will be particularly interested in Dave’s inside story of how the Sierra Club has punted on population issues, putting political correctness over founder John Muir’s goal of protecting nature from the depredations of “Lord Man.”
If you only read one environmental book this year, this should be the one! And don’t forget to take the “Conservationist’s Overpopulation Pledge,” reproduced below.
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The world’s biggest problem? Too many people
July 21, 2011
The Los Angeles Times
Our unsustainable population levels are depleting resources and denying a decent future to our descendants. We must stop the denial. Read more »
This Heaving Planet
July 21, 2011
Philip Cafaro
David Attenborough, one of the world’s leading environmentalists, has been making nature documentaries for over half a century. Here, in a recent article in Britains New Statesman, Attenborough makes a plea for environmentalists to break the “taboo” on discussing population issues. We need to face up to the need to limit human numbers, says Sir David, if we hope to preserve other species and secure the resources needed for all human beings to live in dignity and security. Read more »
Making Illegal Migrants Legal Won’t Increase Revenues
July 20, 2011
The Wall Street Journal
Rep. Jared Polis gets the facts wrong in his “Raise Revenues, Not Taxes” (op-ed, July 13). He recommends we give amnesty to the 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S., claiming that it will increase tax payments and result in illegal immigrants paying their fair share. But this is not true. Read more »
Our Profound Choice: 7 Billion Reasons to Invest in Family Planning
July 19, 2011
Martha Campbell and Malcolm Potts
As the global human population reaches 7 billion later this year for the first time in world history, there are several simple things we can (and should) be doing to slow population growth and get on a path toward stabilizing our numbers at 8 billion.
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Obama administration’s attempt to implement a backdoor amnesty must be stopped
July 19, 2011
The Hill
Grace Meng gets it wrong in her recent op-ed, “Put a stop to the HALT Act.” What really needs to be stopped is the Obama administration’s attempt to implement a backdoor amnesty. Read more »
Letter: Just enforce current immigration law
July 18, 2011
The Columbian
Our immigration laws are fair and serve a purpose and it’s time something is done to all those who have broken those laws. Read more »
How many illegal aliens are actually in the United States?
July 18, 2011
The Examiner
For many years, the federal government told us that there were 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States. However, the actual number is more than likely, three to four times as high. Read more »
Four steps to solve the immigration problem
July 17, 2011
Sun Sentinal
Regarding the recent Sun Sentinel immigration column by Mary Sanchez: She says we should turn our heads on the 11 million illegal immigrants in this country and let them stay. What kind of message does this thinking send? What does she think we should do with the next 11 million illegal immigrants and the next 11 million after that? Read more »
WA counties deciding fate of immigration program
July 17, 2011
Seattle Post Intelligencer
When the governor’s office declined last year to make a unilateral decision on behalf of all the state’s sheriffs, it fell to each individually to activate a federal program that uses fingerprint analysis to identify illegal immigrants in county jails, the so-called Secure Communities initiative. Now, as more than a dozen of Washington’s 39 counties are participating, the state’s largest immigrant advocacy group and its allies are lobbying against the program statewide. Read more »
US is still the world’s leading destination for immigrants
America now has 43 million foreign nationals, more than any other country, with a million more arriving every year. Read more »
High court ruling on Arizona act could shape immigration law
President Obama once favored a “crackdown on employers” who hired illegal immigrants, and as a candidate called for “much tougher enforcement standards” for companies that employed illegal workers. But this week, Obama’s top courtroom lawyer will join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in urging the Supreme Court to strike down an Arizona law that goes after employers who hire illegal workers.
