>
> On Sat, 6 May 2006, Marta Russell wrote:
> > If one cannot see the need for population control after reading this, well
> > its hopeless LBOsters.
> That's a non sequitur, Martha. If population leveled tomorrow, but we left
> our energy patterns unchanged, we'd still boil in our own juice.
> Conversely, if we do nothing about population growth (which on current
> trends is projected to level off at 9 in 2050 IIRC) but drastically change
> our energy patterns, we'll be okay. Global warming is scary and might be
> literally apocalyptic but it's got nothing to do with the 1970s fears of
> "population bombs."
>
> Have you been hanging out with a group of environmental Malthusians lately?
> This seems to oddly mesh with your recent thoughts on immigration.
>
> For a more left environmentalist take on global warming, you might consider
> browsing Tom Athanasiou & Paul Baer's small book _Dead Heat: Global Justice
> and Global Warming_.
>
> Michael
Where do you get the idea that:
"if we do nothing about population growth (which on current trends is projected to level off at 9 in 2050 IIRC) but drastically change our energy patterns, we'll be okay."
I'm a fan of Athanasious but I don't ever remember him making this claim or even something similar. The effects of anthropomorphic climate change will continue to worsen even if we change our consumption patterns tomorrow. Even if massive corrections began being made today we won't see a return to normal CO2 levels until 2150 at the earliest.
Population reduction needs to be part of the solution unless you want to not just alter consumption patterns but drastically curtail them. By drastically I mean something on the order of A/C only in public buildings and severe water and power shortages with probable rationing. Either that or we grossly exaggerate the lopsided "have vs. have not" situation we currently enjoy. It is a physical impossibility for the majority of this planet to enjoy a typical US style life even if we could do so using just 20% of the energy and materials we now consume. This planet cannot support 9.25 (the projection of the International Programs Center of the US Census Bureau) at anything like what we in the US, Europe or even Japan currently enjoy. No way, that's the science fiction of Amory Lovins talking.
The poor of our world are deeply fucked already. I don't think the future will look like Soylient Green but it isn't going to be The Jetson's either.
Unfortunately many/most population control fans tend to be racists who mostly fear a great brown horde. These people are idiots who should be ignored but that doesn't mean the idea can be dismissed with them. The problem is real and is going to be unpleasant in the extreme to deal with.
John Thornton