What to do about global warming? A good place to start is  
population--reduce the number of humans born each year. People should be  screaming their 
lungs out about the damage that over-population is doing to the  planet, but 
mostly we hear nothing. So I'm talking about it now.
 
When my father was born, in 1911, global population was about 1.7 billion.  
Now it's 7 billion, and growing. Think about those numbers. Problems like 
global  warming are much less serious if there are not so many people in the  
world.
 
The Catholic church should promote the use of artificial methods  of birth 
control, and the church should encourage couples to stop at two  children. 
I'm an ardent defender of Nature, but natural birth control--the  rhythm 
method, endorsed by the Vatican--isn't very effective.
 
Barry and Paul discuss population on a Sierra Club list, below.
 
While population control is a good place to start, we of course have to  
work on other issues as well, like stopping the Keystone pipeline. But the 
fact  remains irreducible that a finite planet cannot support infinite growth.
 
Tom
[Acronym translations: EV=electric vehicle; RE=renewable energy;  
TOD=transit oriented development, i.e., housing and businesses built near  mass 
transit, usually rail; ICE=internal combustion engine; VMT=vehicle miles  
traveled; TGV=French very high-speed train; SNCF=the French state-owned railroad  
company]
 ===========================================================================
=
Barry,

I started to get frustrated at your dissing of efficient EVs  and RE, and 
was saying to myself that this is actually population you're talking  about. 
Then you made that very point.

Thank you. I felt better  immediately.

I endowed three vasectomy funds through Planned Parenthood  offices in 
Eugene, OR, Pasadena and Los Angeles. I encourage those with money to  
contribute to do so. If you have the means, endow your own vasectomy fund with  your 
local PP office. Tell them to call the LA or Lane County OR offices for how  
to structure it. It's money well spent since about $200-$400 will prevent  
potentially several unwanted pregnancies. So much of our problems would be  
easier to manage if there were fewer of us.

Paul

On May 30, 2013,  at 7:47 PM, Schiller, Barry wrote:

> Thanks to all who contributed to  this interesting thread.
> 
> I commend Alan for presenting a vision  of how emphasizing energy 
efficient walkable transit rich communities can  contribute to carbon emission 
reduction.  As I see it, he is not suggesting  mass transit only or not to work 
on renewables or better vehicles, but  prioritizing the TOD concept as the 
best way to go to get meaningful  results.
> 
> What I think we should also like about Alan's vision  is that it also 
better serves other environmental interests besides carbon  reduction.  For 
example, super efficient/clean personal vehicles encourage  sprawl and the need 
to pave over green space for roads and parking, contribute  to roadkill, 
wildlife habitat loss, accidents, make it harder to walk or bicycle  on the 
roads about as much as ICE vehicles.  And "renewable" energy has  many 
problematic elements including placement in natural areas, transmission  line 
issues, birdkill, neighborhood nuisances, aesthetic issues, and more.   TOD 
intends to reduce energy and VMT demand which renewables/EVs do not do as  much 
if at all.  That is why I have also have advocated working on  population 
growth reduction strategies too.
> 
> As for our  differences with France, I think they have going for their 
CO2 reduction  strategy their use of nuclear power and lack of oil which 
incentivizes electric  transport such as the trams, TGV, the power of the small 
farmers and their  supporters who resist sprawl into farmland, a centralized 
government that can  make and implement policy of their party has a majority 
in Parliament   (except perhaps on the rare interludes of "cohabitation" 
when the President is  of another party) including legislating very high fuel 
taxes, and the strong  SNCF unions which were able to get subsidies and 
preserve a lot of services even  in the lowest point of rail travel.   Vive la 
SNCF!
> 
>  Barry Schiller, RI

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