What's New Robert L. Park 07 Dec 2012

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Saturday, 7 Jan 2012   Washington, DC=20

1. ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE:  IT=92S PROPORTIONAL TO HUMAN POPULATION.
One by one, the great ocean fisheries are being destroyed by overfishing,=
=20
including the storied Grand Banks off Newfoundland.  Elsewhere, ocean gyr=
es=20
(circulations) have trapped gigantic "floating garbage patches," consisti=
ng=20
of barely-buoyant pieces of man-made plastics that threaten marine life. =
On=20
land, the Green Revolution saved billions of lives from starvation in the=
=20
20th century, but at the cost of lower groundwater levels over much of th=
e=20
globe and depleted reserves of phosphate rock. It would be impossible to=20
repeat the Green Revolution today.  Moreover, population growth pushes oi=
l=20
production ever closer to the dreaded Hubbert Peak, even as atmospheric=20
carbon from burning fossil fuel contributes to global warming and lowers=20
the pH of the oceans, with serious environmental consequences. The lesson=
=20
is clear: excessive population is damaging our environment at a rate that=
=20
far exceeds the natural recovery rate.  What then determines the populati=
on?

2. FERTILITY RATE:  IT=92S PROPORTIONAL TO HUMAN IGNORANCE.
World population reached 7 billion in November 2011 and is on track to a=20
disastrous 9 billion by mid-century.  This is generally taken to be=20
evidence of a powerful reproductive instinct.  There is, to be sure, a=20
nurturing instinct, but who thinks about that during foreplay? The Pill=20
will one day be recognized as the most important invention of the 20th=20
century; it permits us to plan our most essential function: reproduction.=
=20
Unfortunately, industry wants more consumers, generals want bigger armies=
,=20
priests want their souls.  Fertility in developed nations, however,=20
including all of Europe, is at or below the replacement rate, usually tak=
en=20
to be 2.1.  This is not the result of some policy consensus; it's simply=20
that access to the Pill now empowers women to develop to their full=20
potential. The lowest fertility rate is in China, where the current=20
economic miracle refutes the belief that a low fertility rate is bad for=20
business.  The highest fertility rate of any country is 7.0 in Afghanista=
n,=20
where the Sunni Muslim Taliban forbade girls to learn to read. =20

3. REPUBLICAN FERTILITY:  IS IT PROPORTIONAL TO POLITICAL SUCCESS?
In Rick Santorum=92s marriage, fertility follows the appalling rate of=20
Afghanistan.  A father of seven and a Catholic, Santorum described=20
contraception as "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counte=
r=20
to how things are supposed to be."  Uh, what sexual things is he talking=20
about and how should they be? With five children of his own, Mitt Romney,=
=20
barely edged out Santorum in the Iowa Republican Caucus but trails him=20
slightly in fertility, five being closer to that of Rwanda. The presumpti=
ve=20
Democratic presidential candidate has two children.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org
What's New is moving to a different listserver and our
subscription process has changed. To change your subscription
status please visit this link:
http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dbobparks-whatsnew&A=3D1