Recent Wall Street Journal article
My Dad (again) brought home a Wall Street Journal article talking about population. It really is amazing, isn't it, how wrong the liberals are about population? Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, has certainly proven himself a false prophet on... nearly every count.
One of Ehrlich's ideas was that the population would outgrow our resources. This has proven laughably false. According to the article, a birth rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to maintain the status quo, not even to increase or decrease. The American birth rate is currently about 2.07, and shows every sign of declining, except in red states. Interestingly, Kerry won the 16 states with the lowest birth rate, and Bush won 25 out of 26 states with the highest birth rate. This is known as the Roe effect, or also conquest by the cradle.
At this point, I am nearly convinced that if a couple is capable of having more than two children, and they decide not to, they are disobeying the Dominion Mandate in Gen. 1:28. God didn't happen to say whether the resources would be enough. He said to go and do this.
Another interesting point the article made was about Western culture. It's not that Italians (about the lowest birth rate in the world: about 1.1. They're halving their population rapidly.) will run out of food; food is going to run out of Italians.
In my opinion, the real reason the population bomb idea is a myth is that while it's true more people require more resources, it's much more true that more people can invent new ways of more efficiently managing the resources they have such that resources actually increase. I mean, imagine if fusion power ever got off the ground!
In Christ.
One of Ehrlich's ideas was that the population would outgrow our resources. This has proven laughably false. According to the article, a birth rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to maintain the status quo, not even to increase or decrease. The American birth rate is currently about 2.07, and shows every sign of declining, except in red states. Interestingly, Kerry won the 16 states with the lowest birth rate, and Bush won 25 out of 26 states with the highest birth rate. This is known as the Roe effect, or also conquest by the cradle.
At this point, I am nearly convinced that if a couple is capable of having more than two children, and they decide not to, they are disobeying the Dominion Mandate in Gen. 1:28. God didn't happen to say whether the resources would be enough. He said to go and do this.
Another interesting point the article made was about Western culture. It's not that Italians (about the lowest birth rate in the world: about 1.1. They're halving their population rapidly.) will run out of food; food is going to run out of Italians.
In my opinion, the real reason the population bomb idea is a myth is that while it's true more people require more resources, it's much more true that more people can invent new ways of more efficiently managing the resources they have such that resources actually increase. I mean, imagine if fusion power ever got off the ground!
In Christ.
posted by Adrian C. Keister @ 8:40 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Ah, a subject near and dear to my heart. Ladies Against Feminism has had some good articles on the myth of overpopulation.
I liked Matt Chancey's post just before Thanksgiving:
http://mattchancey.blogspot.com/2005/11/open-letter-to-population-connection.html
They recently found out that the 6th child they are expecting will be accompanied by a 7th as well - twins!
Cool. Lane and I are twins. I liked Chancey's blog. Some good stuff. He is evidently an Austen admirer; can't go wrong there!
In Christ.
Yes, his wife runs Sense and Sensibility patterns as well as Ladies Against Feminism. I identify instantly with anyone who admires Jane Austen ;).
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