Last Friday, Ann Curry, on NBC Nightly News, reported that drought-stricken Georgia's Lake Lanier, that provides water for five million people, will not last more than 79 more days at current water consumption. "What does Lake Lanier need?" she asked the reporter standing by the lake. "Lots of rain…about four months of rain," the reporter said.
If Georgia stands in the cross-hairs of a water crisis today at 9,363,000 people, what will be its fate be by 2050 – when its predicted population reaches 16,966,000 people?
What factor facing the United States stands immune from public, political and religious discussion? Short answer: runaway overpopulation – as we add more than three million people to the USA annually!
With signs pointing to horrific future consequences, our presidential leaders, citizens and religious elite continue on a path of population growth without responsibility, without limits and without end. They continue in denial, refutation and negation.
Let's see where that path leads us.
- The 44 trends tracked in Vital Signs illustrate the urgent need to check consumption of energy and other resources that are contributing to the climate crisis.
According to Erik Assadourian, Vital Signs Project Director, "The world is running out of time to head off catastrophic climate change, and it is essential that Europe and the rest of the international community bring pressure to bear on U.S. policy makers to address the crisis."
This summer, the European Union became a showcase for environmental devastation including tragic fires in Greece and the Canary Islands, dramatic floods in England and heat waves across the Continent.
- In 2006, the world used 3.9 billion tons of oil. World oil consumption burns 84 million barrels daily. Fossil fuel usage in 2005 produced 7.6 billion tons of carbon emissions, and atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide reached 380 parts per million.
- More wood was removed from forests in 2005 than ever before.
- Steel production grew 10 percent to a record 1.24 billion tons in 2006, while primary aluminum output increased to a record 33 million tons.
- Meat production hit a record 276 million tons (43 kg per person) in 2006.
- Meat consumption is one of several factors driving soybean demand. Rapid South American expansion of soybean plantations could displace 22 million hectares of tropical forest and savanna in the next 20 years.
- The rise in global seafood consumption comes even as many fish species become scarcer.
- The warming climate is undermining biodiversity by accelerating habitat loss, altering the timing of animal migrations and plant flowerings, and shifting some species towards the poles and to higher altitudes.
- The oceans have absorbed about half of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans in the last 200 years. Climate change is altering fish migration routes, pushing up sea levels, intensifying coastal erosion, raising ocean acidity, and interfering with currents that move vital nutrients upward from the deep sea.
- 2,500 plants and animals in the continental United States suffer extinction every decade via habitat loss from human expansion.
- Despite a relatively calm hurricane season in the U.S. in 2006, the world experienced more weather-related disasters than in any of the previous three years. Nearly 100 million people were affected.
"The only hope for reducing the world's carbon emissions is for the U.S. to begin reducing its emissions and cooperating with other nations immediately," said Assadourian.
Earlier this year, Bush promised to decrease oil consumption by 20 percent in the United States within ten years. "We'll reduce oil consumption by use of hybrid cars, conservation and ethanol," he said.
He failed to mention that via endless, unrelenting immigration, the U.S. expects to add 30 million people by 2017. Most Americans fail to realize this nation will add 100 million people within 35 years. While the U.S. Census Bureau tells us our population is now "only 302 million," Vanderbilt University is telling us that number is really 333 million today. Would our government lie to us? What does all of that mean?
It means "full speed ahead" – just like the Titanic. Everything we're doing proves to be window dressing, cotton candy and pointless – unless we deal with population stability.
What should our presidential candidates, religious leaders and average citizens be promoting?
- We must implement a National Population Policy – whereby we balance our population to fit our carrying capacity so that every American today and 100 years from now enjoys a quality of life and reasonable standard of living while living in a sustainable and viable civilization.
- We must address a National Carrying Capacity Policy – whereby we define how many people can live in each state with enough water, land and food.
- We need a National Environmental Impact Policy – whereby animals and plants maintain their habitat in order to co-exist with humanity in a balance.
- We need a National Water Policy – whereby our human numbers remain in balance with available water supplies so a crisis like Lake Lanier in Georgia can't occur.
- We must promote an International Population and Family Planning Policy to help overloaded nations come to terms with and move toward stable populations. This would prevent massive, unrelenting and unending immigration toward viable countries.
For example, Bangladesh suffers 144 million people in a landmass less than the size of Iowa. They expect to double to 290 million people in 35 years! That's like shoving all but 10 million of America's 300 million into Iowa! No wonder they flee their countries by the millions – and run to Europe and the United States!
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