Why Transition cannot succeed without stopping endless population growth

By Frosty Wooldridge

Dr. Paul Ehrlich said, “All causes are lost causes without limiting human population.”

Transition activists, www.transitionus.org  cannot succeed in the USA that is about to add 100 million, then 200 million and then 300 million to grow to 600 million people—90 percent caused by relentless immigration.  We don’t have the water, energy, resources or habitat left to allow ourselves to be flooded by the rest of the world. We need to be an example of responsible population stabilization. 

Since 1970 and the advent of birth control, America’s women averaged 2.03 children each.  We would have stabilized by 1990 if not for the late Teddy Kennedy pushing the  1965 Immigration Reform Act down America’s throat.

Since then, we added 115 million people on our way to 400 million by 2035—a scant 23 years from now.  To recite the anachronistic Emma Lazarus “Give me your poor, tired, huddled masses….” cannot work in the 21^st century as shown by this simple five minute video:

In a five minute astoundingly simple yet brilliant video, “Immigration, Poverty, and Gum Balls”, Roy Beck, director of www.numbersusa.ORG, graphically illustrates the impact of overpopulation.  Take five minutes to see for yourself:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE&feature=player_embedded

The United States cannot take on any percentage of the 80 million “poor, tired, huddled masses” added annually to the planet or any amount of that number if this country expects to survive the 21^st century.  It’s sheer lunacy and stupidity to think we can continue as the “sacrifice zone” for the world’s overpopulation crisis.

Reasons why:

1.     We are already in a water crisis for ourselves, our farm animals, irrigation, our ground water and our rivers.  California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Georgia and Florida already suffer water shortages.  Transition cannot succeed if there is not enough water to grow crops.  California at 38 million expects to hit 58 million within 30 years. It’s a fiasco nightmare brewing before our eyes.

2.     Our energy crisis is already beyond solving with 315 million people.  We import 7 of 10 barrels of oil in 2012. What will happen with 400 million people as to energy to warm ourselves, transport and live? 

3.     Resources deplete by the day.  Why do we want another 100 million people to deplete them further?  The book Scarcity by Chris Clugston shows that our civilization has drawn down three-quarters of the resources we need to keep maintaining this civilization.  We can expect resource wars.

4.     Ecological footprint destroys 25.4 acres per added person to the USA. With 100 million added, that’s 2.54 billion acres of habitat destroyed and arable land.  Who in their right mind would champion such destruction via mass immigration?  It’s not about the immigrant. It’s about the endless numbers of immigrants a shown in this 10 minute video.

5.     “Immigration by the numbers—off the chart” by Roy Beck

6.     This 10 minute demonstration shows Americans the results of unending mass immigration on the quality of life and sustainability for future generations: in a word “Mind boggling!”  www.NumbersUSA.org

7.     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muw22wTePqQ

8.     Quality of life—how many in Transition have visited India, Bangladesh or China?  I have and it’s no picnic.  Endless and entrenched poverty.  No way to escape it and no way to change it.  It will manifest in America if we keep immigrating the world’s poor to this country.  Example:  15 million unemployed in this country in 2012 with 46 million subsisting on food stamps. There is no way to solve our problems by adding 150,000 immigrants every 30 days.

9.     Standard of living.  As our numbers grow, our standard of living degrades as seen in Mexico, India, Bangladesh and any other overpopulated country.

10.            To harass population activists or live in denial is the height of intellectual backwardness on a scale that takes my breath away.

If we are to succeed as Transition Activists, we must engage the population issue or simply fail in our quest to transition into a viable civilization after Peak Oil.

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