Opinion: California using up natural resources
By Joe Guzzardi, Lodi News-Sentinel
For decades, federal, state and municipal governments have ignored the consequences of population growth. Despite California’s ongoing battle against too little water, the Club for Growth and Wall Street want more, more, more.
The 2012 birth rate drop triggered a series of near-panic mainstream media stories that a demographic zero hour might be looming. Reporters speculated that too few children would eventually mean fewer workers, less productivity and too many retirees.
That gloomy prediction is baseless speculation. What we know for sure is that, according to the Census Bureau, last year California’s population added 332,000 residents, which brought the state total to 38.2 million. Higher population created a demand for more natural resources, including, most importantly, water.
Of those 38,000,000 in CA, how many are illegal immigrants?
Let’s start there to fixing our problem of taxing resources.
Ecologists have been widely advocating population control measures since the 1960’s – see for example Paul R. Ehrlich, The Population Bomb, (1968) reprinted in 1995. Malthus (who lived in the late 1700s) warned against the inevitable consequences of unchecked population growth. Yes technological advances have increased food supplies, but they have also exponentially increased the world’s population. And unlike rats in a cage, I gather most of us would subscribe to a quality of life position. Technological fixes will only take us so far, and the negative affects of some of those fixes on water quality or health limit their use as a cure all. It is interesting that someone commented that the problem is undocumented aliens.
Perhaps all the Mexicans in CA should go back to Mexico and take all the produce grown in Mexico and sold in Ca supermarkets back with them? In reality resources and over population are world problems, not a national ones. Indeed, if we dont balance the two peacefully on a global scale, we will reduce population growth through war….I would like to think we are a little smarter and a little more moral than rats in an overcrowded cage? but then again?
IJames : Good words, based on facts.
China has known about this problem before 1968. When China actually acted to prevent further population growth, they did it through law. Each couple was encouraged to have only one child. The law created consequences against a second or third child. Most people considered China’s decision as inhumane. But, in fact, China knew they had a serious problem, and had to deal with it. The U. S. cannot deal with the population growth problem without first changing economic policy. At present the U.S. government operates by depending upon population growth producing more and more tax revenue. While these economic policies are in place, we cannot deal with the over population problem without destroying the economy.
A.B is so incredibly short sighted it stuns me. The problem is not California’s, it is global.
I further have the feeling that A.B sees anyone with a complexion less than albino as an Illegal immigrant.
I have said it before on these pages, here it is again:
To have an economic system on which success is measured by a +/-3 percent annual growth is insane. It is bound to fail, as we live in a finite world.
The problem is caused, of course, by the growing number of people all trying to make a living from a steadily declining resource base.
Great point E. Morrow. We have a ponzie scheme that is dependent on continued growth. If financial policies were changed, how would you feel if the U.S adopted a one or two child per family policy? Do you think China was wrong ?
I think that the tea party attack on forcing women to carry unwanted pregnancies through and then denying the social systems to help these children lead a productive life is a big part of the problem. The churches that reap millions of dollars in tax breaks and are the catalist for persecution to women who would choose to have an abortion should be taking in all these unwanted children, or maybe the churches should be proactive and hand out conterceptives. Hummmm, go figure….
Come on AB. You know that we have sent home record numbers of undocumented workers. You don’t think that Hispanics are starting families?
Stupid article. California? Lets try the entire world. By the way, the only thing that will ever solve our increasing “global warming” problem will also be a reduction in population. Gas wars, water wars, food wars or some sort of plague. Take your pick. I simply believe global population control is not going to come about naturally. Consume and enjoy all the resources you can while you still can.
worldcycle,
I remember some people using those same arguments as an excuse for their selfish conspicuous consumption back in college some 40+ years ago. They belittled all the Hippies and their ideas about conservation, air and water quality and the dangers of relying completely on finite fossil fuels for all our energy needs. Many of these people have spent their entire lives ignoring what such piggish lifestyles have meant for the planet and its future inhabitants. But what the hell, they got wealthy and had a good time so who cares? Let’s start new generations of uncaring greedheads who claim impotence in the face of insurmountable problems, it’s not their problem, it’s inevitable right? Is that really an opinion to be proud of as an American, as a human being?
i agree with w. cycle that we might as well cash in all resources if there isn’t some sort of human population control put in place. It’s not likely that the current paradigm, nurtured by political, economic, and perhaps most menacing, religious doctrine, will allow this. probably will take a catastrophic event, natural or not…