From donchism@io.org Sat Sep 9 07:06:45 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Sep 1995 09:03:31 -0400 To: sharon@artsci.lan.mcgill.ca, ibauch@gbrownc.on.ca, tiellis@delphi.com, jdougan@ccshst02.cs.uoguelph.ca, leacy.freeman@matrox.com, ghan@renzland.org, SHAKTI7@aol.com, ad642@freenet.carlton.ca, ckillan@hucap.minet.com, kdosemetzky@oise.on.ca, davek@astral.magic.ca, kruchio@epas.utoronto.ca, sustain@web.apc.org, dohara@epas.utoronto.ca, dp18@cornell.edu, hm@io.org, milbrath@acsu.buffalo.edu, ibauch@gbrownc.on.ca, d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu, sandilands@hg.uleth.ca, paulseto@idirect.com, atough@oise.on.ca, mal@io.org, wwright@ccs.carleton.ca, suzan@thomsoft.com, dirk.deeburg@asu.edu, sbcir@crl.com, carrigan@rasto.colorado.edu, gimenez@csf.colorado.edu, ppn@csf.colorado.edu, www5@netcom.com, howard@iti.com From: donchism@io.org (Don Chisholm) Subject: Gaia Preservation Coalition (GPC) Memo September 9, 1995 Fax of email message to The following memo was sent out to participants of the 1995 Colloquium at a Port Burwell Ontario, on Lake Erie. The Colloquium is sponsored by The Edgar Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology of the Faculty of Theology, University of St.Michael's College, part of U of Toronto. For the past many years, Thomas Berry has been a feature speaker and leader of the conference. Berry is a priest and member of the Passionat Order, religious researcher, author of Dream of the Earth and co-author, with Brian Swim, of The Universe Story. Thomas Berry is an Honourary GPC member and has accepted a position on our Advisory Panel. Since this year's theme was Great Lakes - Great Dreams, Great Deeds, also leading in this years meeting was David Crombie, ex mayor of Toronto, ex Federal Cabinet Minister, leader of a Royal Commission on the Great lakes. ************************************* MEMO (sent by smail along with the GPC August News and a brocure) To: Attendees of the 95 Colloquium with Thomas Berry From: Don Chisholm President, Gaia Preservation Coalition Date: September 10, 1995 Subject: Gaia & Gaiacide (see beige hand-out, enclosed) Enclosed is a little information about the Gaia Preservation Coalition (GPC), a Toronto based NGO. A few of our members were participants of the colloquium; I was able to attend only the Toronto opening talks by Thomas Berry and David Crombie. The concept for our organisation came about while I was gathering data for a manuscript called A 21st Century Steward's Handbook, which attempts to define what is sometimes referred to as, `The Human Predicament'. Unless a recovery from our predicament could be visualised, there seemed to be no point in writing the manuscript. The GPC was visualised as a grass roots organisation to help individuals recognise the need for significant social change, which, necessarily, involves prerequisite personal change. One purpose of the GPC is to explore ways for individuals to deal with the big-picture issues of the day, issues which affect our personal health, our planetary atmosphere, other planetary species - issues which tend to be ignored by many organisations, probably because they appear too big to deal with. We refer to this total phenomenon as Gaiacide; Thomas Berry refers to the big issues when he says: "This is a vast biological catastrophe that we're into. We are terminating 65 million years of the biosystems of the planet. Nothing like this has a parallel in human history. The collapse of the Roman Empire is trivial compared to this, or the change from the pre-biblical world to the biblical world. There isn't anything we have experienced so far that gives us any idea of how to deal with it." (re-quote from NOW, Aug 10/95 by Alice Kline) The apocalyptic view expressed above is not uncommon among those who have taken an open mind honest look at the changes and the imbalances occurring within the Gaian system. But on the more optimistic side, if everyone could/would accept that the above picture was accurate, we could likely be motivated (by nature's prime motivator - fear) toward making whatever personal and societal changes were necessary to modify today's glum forecast. Survival of our species, it seems, depends on personal acceptance of, or belief in, what the scientific community tell us. And after all, we live in a democratic society and we the voters should be able to decide whether to continue to measure human progress by economic/industrial growth or to create a survival paradigm which considers Gaian well-being - our well-being. Our evolved culture places a great deal of importance in teaching children about the three `R's', but we make little or no effort to teach ourselves about human nature. One quirk of human nature enables us individually and collectively to avoid or ignore apparent facts which don't fit our cultural paradigm. Although psychologists have recognised this foible for years, it was a stark surprise to me when first noticed, a few years ago, while reading Our Common Future, the UN's Brundtland Commission - where the famous/infamous term, Sustainable Development, was first coined. The book accurately points out the accelerating declines in many of Earth's life sustaining resources - apparently heading toward virtual depletion at some future point, with time being measured in decades. I found the chapter on energy particularly chilling. Except for original aboriginal life-styles, all aspects of societal order and well being depend on a flow of energy to accommodate today's high level of human activity in agriculture, transportation, industry, home requirements, etc. But that energy flow is unsustainable. 82% of our energy comes from burning Gaian reserves of fossil fuel, (oil, gas, coal) while only 5% is of a renewable nature (hydro, wind, geothermal, etc.). Oil extraction and processing is forecast to be non viable in less than 35 years (gas & coal could last longer). We might be able to double or even triple renewable energy flow, but that would not be enough to sustain our population levels. This data alone appears to be a societal show stopper. This data was handled in Our Common Future in the following statement at the end of the energy chapter: "The period ahead must be regarded as transitional from an era in which energy has been used in an unsustainable manner. A generally acceptable pathway to a safe and sustainable energy future has not yet been found. We do not believe that these dilemmas have yet been addressed by the international community with a sufficient sense of urgency and in a global perspective." But the problem has not been addressed, and it didn't go away - just out of mind while the concept of sustainable development evolved. This concept has been embraced by many governments as a pillar of their green agenda, even though few people agree on its definition. The above few paragraphs indicate that we cannot count on the UN or big governments to prevent the apocalyptic forecast of Thomas Berry, and so many others who monitor the past and make an honest assessment of where current trends lead. If the human destiny forecast is to be changed, it will most likely be through the efforts of individuals and grass roots groups. Throughout the world there are thousands of individuals and organisations working at bringing about environmental awareness, to save forests, and gravely endangered species (we too are endangered), to fully emancipate women, to reduce population, and many many other worthy pursuits. But these pursuits are not enough. In the GPC letterhead, our slogan is Survival Through Conscious Evolution, an expression by psychologist B. F. Skinner, spoken with reference to the human predicament. It all seems very simple. An individual's conscious evolution would take away their inhibitions against acknowledging the fragility of humanity as a viable earthly species, it would ease their resistance to knowing that the expression `overgrowth and die-off' can apply to us, and it would make him/her recongize that pronatalism from one source or another has gone too far. They would recognise that excess human activity results in Gaiacide and that human activity is the product of both population growth and industrial/economic growth. And that the only serious political options available to us today both encourage and measure their success by industrial/economic growth. And that Global trade accelerates and exacerbates the process of full depletion of Gaian reserves. Gaia reserves represent Gaian stability. It becomes apparent that we must stop and reverse both cycles of growth. It's a matter of survival. The Gaia Preservation Coalition is still a relatively new organisation with 38 members to date, so at the moment we are not a threat to existing world order. But we hope to change that - faint hope perhaps, yet hope. The approach of our organisation has been endorsed by Alexander King, co-founder of the Club of Rome. (Mr King was occasional confidant to Mikhail Gorbechev during the later cold war years.) Evidence that we are gaining credibility is that our membership includes: >James Lovelock, British scientist, founder of the Gaia hypothesis; >Allen Tough, professor of Future studies at U of T's OISE - Allen chaired a conference on Future Generations in Kyoto Japan last November; >One of our directors is Dr Dick Richardson professor, biological researcher with the University of Texas at Austin, co-author of Modern Genetics (we communicate via internet); >Professor of Psychology Dr Mark Sandilands of the U of Lethbridge - Mark is active in the field of Environmental Psychology; >Other members range from Raging Grannies to office workers. Advisory Panel Members: > Dr Dave Pimentel, of Cornell University - in May 95 Dr Pimentel made a presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science called Food, Land, Population and the U.S. Economy - highlights were mentioned in the local press. The primary message - global population is about 3 to 6 times beyond that which could be sustained; >Anodea Judith, educator, speaker, theologian, author, Sican of the Church of All Worlds. >Thomas Berry, author, religious researcher, lecturer, theologian, Monk. >>About a year ago Berry sent me a letter of accreditation regarding my manuscript. On September 1, 1995 he accepted an honorary GPC membership and the position of Advisor<< There comes a time when gut feeling and new ideas must get together and change the way we do things. The goals of the GPC have been labelled polemic by some. But that's not too bad, because the problem we are dealing with has been labelled insidious by some others. Daniel Quinn, through the eyes of his educational gorilla, Ishemil (Ishemil - Best seller for several years, winner of the Turner award) explains that humans are entrapped by their acquired culture, and the false value we place on ourselves. In 1995 the comfortable status quo is changing: The incidence of breast cancer is increasing in industrialised countries; 40% of the wells in Southern Ontario produce water with excessive bacterial count; Automation/Global competition degrade human lifestyles through either excessive working hours or unemployment. And on and on. We hope that the sapience (intelligence) part of homo sapiense can begin to guide the change we observe, rather that just react to it. We hope you will support the GPC. We do not presume to know the best method of breaking the deadly portions of our cultural bonds, but our effort is the only one we know. We seek and discuss new ideas among others who can allow themselves to acknowledge the personal implications of the human predicament. If we agree that the democratic process should be the basis of our governance, then individuals in any sovereign state, such as Canada, could vote ourselves into becoming a global example of a truly sustainable society - and we can hope that others may follow. Come out to our next public meeting. On Sept. 21, Chris Lea, Leader of the Federal Green party has agreed to tell us about their policies and policy changes. We have open meetings on the third Thursday of alternate months at: 3300 Yonge St., office # 204 @ 7.30 pm. (a few block walk North of the Lawrence subway) We have a fax/voice message phone at 416 484 0841, or you can call me at 416 484 6225. ***************8 Don Chisholm **** Fran Donaldson & Don Chisholm & GPC **** 416 484 6225 of fax 484 0841 **** donchism@io.org **** From rcincotta@usaid.gov Tue Sep 12 09:57:34 1995 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 95 11:37:17 EDT To: From: "Rebecca Lopez" Subject: Update from Beijing Forwarded to: Internet[ppn@csf.colorado.edu] cc: Comments by: Richard Cincotta@G.PHN.POP@AIDW re: PRESS CLIPS ON THE 4TH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, BEIJING -------------------------- [Original Message] ------------------------- Here are today's newsclips from the Women's Conference. Please take special notice that our own ASHLEY MADDOX is quoted in the first article!!! POPULATION DATA SPOTLIGHTS NEED TO AID GIRLS By MARILYN GEEWAX c. 1995 Cox News Service BEIJING - The U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women paused Monday to remind the world that a huge number of females are not women, they're girls. More than 50 percent of the world's population is under the age of 25 and, by the year 2000, more than half will be under the age of 20. "Frankly, when you're talking about the world's women, you're mostly talking about the world's girls," said Ashley Maddox, 22, a youth representative in the U.S. delegation. To spotlight the needs of girls and young women, the United Nations designated Monday as Youth Day. Of the 184 countries represented, 63 sent a youth delegate. Few would dispute that the world's problems often fall most heavily on girls. For example, half of all people carrying the virus that causes AIDS are under age 25, with at least 6 million youths now infected. Proportionately, more teenagers and women in their early 20s are becoming infected than women in any other age group. Youth delegates say they want governments to do more to prevent AIDS and help curb teen pregnancies. Also high on their list of priorities: improved medical care; better educational opportunities for girls; expanded job opportunities for young women and an end to domestic violence and sexual exploitation. Maddox said youth delegates believe they are playing a serious role in the United Nations' effort to draw up a "Platform for Action," a document intended to push governments to help women. One young American said the conference has changed the way she views life. Mavis Gruver, 15, of Duluth, Minn., has been in China for two weeks working as a reporter for New Moon, a magazine aimed at girls ages 8 to 14. After seeing how poor some Chinese women are, she has a better appreciation for economic opportunities in the United States. "I realize that my life is a lot easier," Gruver said. "I feel more grateful for what I have." On Youth Day, the U.S. delegation held a reception to honor young women and girls. The main adult speaker was Atlanta businesswoman Veronica Biggins, one of the delegation's leaders. The mother of two girls, she said she was "just sorry my daughters aren't here." She urged the young women to get involved to make sure their problems are addressed by governments. "It's up to us to get involved in the political process. Life is not a dress rehearsal." (Marilyn Geewax writes for The Atlanta Journal- Constitution.) . BELLA ROLLS INTO CONFERENCE, ON WHEELCHAIR TILTING LEFT By SETH FAISON c.1995 N.Y. Times News Service BEIJING - In a plush hotel ballroom on Monday morning, far from the conference site where thousands of women were caucusing over how best to achieve equal rights, former President George Bush addressed a gathering of food production executives in his famously rambling, half- sentence style. The subject inevitably came around to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women under way here, and Bush singled out a favorite Republican target at a conference he described as damaging to his old friends in the Chinese government: Bella Abzug. "I feel somewhat sorry for the Chinese, having Bella Abzug running around in China," said Bush, who was the U.S. envoy to China in 1974-1975. "Bella Abzug is one who has always represented the extremes of the women's movement." To Ms. Abzug, who chuckled when first told of the remark, it was more than another example of Bush's uncanny ability to misspeak. "If he knew what he was talking about, he wouldn't have said `running around,' " she said, gesturing at the wheelchair she uses because of a bad leg. "He was addressing a fertilizer group? That's appropriate." Then she frowned. "This is part of a right-wing effort to diminish what we're doing here," she said in her gravelly Bronx, N.Y., accent. "The right wing wants to pretend that women are happy the way they are, with violence in the home and discrimination on the job. It's just silly." Ms. Abzug, now 75, who serve three terms in Codngress and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate and for mayor of New York in the 1970s, seems very much in the mainstream of the women's movement on display here. Always wearing her trademark wide-brimmed hat, and never known to shy away from attention, Ms. Abzug calls herself one of the principle architects of the methods with which non-governmental organizations lobby government delegates at international conferences, now an integral part of the caucusing occupying thousands of women here. She does not bristle at being called an extremist, but points out that her own non-governmental organization is at the center of efforts to negotiate a U.N. "Platform for Action" entirely through consensus. "We're in the middle ground, in that we're building consensus all the time," she said. "You don't have to agree with me on an issue, but don't tell me we're not doing this together." Yet her forceful personality and direct manner have made her a lightning rod of criticism by those who opposed the idea of holding a women's conference at all this year. After Bob Dole, the Senate majority leader, said he could not imagine why anyone "would want to attend a conference co-chaired by Bella Abzug," she responded that she was not chairing the meeting but simply participating in it along with more than 30,000 other women. Not that she is any ordinary participant. Moving about in her wheelchair at the U.N. conference in Beijing, Mrs. Abzug can barely get across a hallway without being stopped by women from different parts of the world who wish her well and tell her various ways she has inspired them, admiration that she relishes. "I love being here," she said, after a young Indian woman shook her hand and murmured her appreciation. "The presence of so many women, and the emotions going on here and at the forum, it's great." With the group she founded, the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WE DO) as one of the main coordinators of the non-governmental forum held in tandem with the U.N. conference here, Ms. Abzug has tried to focus the efforts of dozens of smaller groups on obtaining commitments from government delegations to implement promises that will be made in the conference declaration. "We've had the words, now we need the music," she said. One of the most useful tools for keeping track of the incremental changes made in the United Nations' platform is a document that Ms. Abzug and her staff produced, specifying existing and proposed wording of every provision. Yet even though she spends nearly all her working time on WE DO and other projects, Ms. Abzug does not receive a salary. "I've always thought that if you really believe in something, you should do it for free," she said, explaining that she supports herself with occasional legal work. "My children support me? Hah! I'm lucky that I don't have to support them anymore." Ms. Abzug, who has lived in New York City's Greenwich Village for decades, has two daughters. Her husband, Martin, died in 1986. "He was a lovely man," Ms. Abzug said. "I haven't been entirely the same since he died." Although she suffers from heart disease and was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, and now has difficulty walking, Ms. Abzug generally does not complain about her health. "She's a woman of phenomenal energy, and doesn't go through a day without great physical pain," said Mim Kelber, a long-time associate whose friendship with Ms. Abzug began at Hunter High School nearly 60 years ago. "When we're sick, most of us would go to bed, but she just goes to another meeting." What drives her so hard? "I was a second child," Ms. Abzug said succinctly. "I had to work hard to get attention." Why the hats? "Now there's a story," she said. "When I was a young lawyer, I would go to people's offices and they would always say, `Sit here. We'll wait for the lawyer.' Working women wore hats. It was the only way they would take you seriously. "After a while, I started liking them. When I got to Congress, they made a big thing of it. So I was watching - did they want me to wear it or not? They didn't want me to wear it, so I did." For all the growth she has witnessed in the women's movement in recent decades, Ms. Abzug said she feels no urge to rest. "I still feel like a daughter of the movement, never a mother of it," she said. "I'm never going to stop working. I want to see a woman as secretary-general of the U.N., I want to see women as presidents of the United States. I have a feeling in my bones that we're going to see some big change." SURPRISING HARMONY AT BEIJING SUMMIT By PAMELA BURDMAN c.1995 San Francisco Chronicle BEIJING - With four days to go before the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women, government negotiators appear surprisingly close to agreement on a wide range of issues affecting women. The pace, as well as the peaceful tenor of the talks has been a pleasant surprise for many delegates, particularly those who recall the divisiveness of last year's population conference in Cairo and women's summits in Copenhagen and Nairobi in the 1980s. "All of us were braced for a very challenging negotiation," said Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, a former congresswoman and a leader of the U.S. delegation. "It's gone more smoothly than we thought." Delegates came to Beijing with some 20 percent of the agreement, called the Platform for Action, still in dispute. Already, some of the most controversial issues have been worked out in specialized committees: -A move to narrow the scope of human rights by referring to "universally recognized" human rights was rejected. -In a compromise between the Vatican and its allies and the majority of other countries, delegates agreed to retain language from Cairo saying that abortion should not be promoted as a means of family planning. But they advanced the Cairo agreement by adding a new provision that urges countries to review punitive measures against women who have illegal abortions. -Delegates also agreed to balance parents' rights to provide "direction and guidance" with the rights of children, including access to information and confidentiality. -A controversial part of the health section was settled by eliminating mention of "sexual rights" in favor of a description of women's right to make decisions about sexuality free of coercion, discrimination, or violence. These agreements were preliminary and final approval is pending, but many delegates say it appears certain. "I am quite confident the conference is going to end very successfully," said conference secretary-general Gertrude Mongella. By contrast, negotiators at the 1980 women's conference in Copenhagen worked until midnight on the final night of the meeting without reaching agreement. Five years later in Nairobi, it took until 4 a.m. on the last night for delegates to achieve consensus. One of the most striking differences this time around, delegates say, is the the prevalence of women negotiators. "There was a lot of solidarity among the women. I think that's why we got the agreement," said Esther Endale, a delegate from Cameroon, as she emerged from talks about parental rights. "There's no question it's because women are doing the negotiating," said Felice Gaer, director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights in New York and a member of the U.S. delegation. Only a few national delegations - including those from Iran, Sudan and the Vatican - are dominated by men, and in many cases they are the countries that are standing in the way of consensus. This has served to isolate the Vatican and its allies, some say, making it hard for them to put up a fight. "The things men will say against women's human rights, most women won't say," said Rhonda Copelon, a law professor from City University of New York. The Vatican opposes parts of the platform, including what it sees as efforts to open the door for legalizing abortion. The delegation also takes exception to frequent mentions of sex and sexuality. "It is a Platform for Action that is obsessed with pelvic issues," said Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard professor leading the Vatican delegation. But this time, the Vatican has not tried to block deliberations at the committee level. U.S. negotiators say talks in Beijing have been easier than in Cairo partly because U.S. officials have reached out to the Vatican in an attempt to increase understanding. And interaction has extended beyond the negotiating tables - on Sunday, former Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro said mass with Vatican delegates. Nonetheless, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Vals refused last night to rule out the possibility of re-opening some of the issues when the full committee meets later this week. Another difference, delegates say, is that earlier conferences got sidetracked by controversies that had nothing to do with women, such as the whether to condemn Zionism. But not all of the issues in Beijing have been resolved. Among those remaining are the question of how to measure the value of women's unpaid work, whether countries will commit new resources to advancing women's role in society, and the highly contentious issue of mentioning that lesbians face discrimination because of their sexual orientation. On Monday, a group of lesbians clashed with conservatives after lawyer Gwen Landholt told a panel discussion that "sexual orientation" could be interpreted to mean "sex with children" and "sex with animals." Lesbian activists booed and called her comments "lies, all lies." In other disputes Monday, Chinese security tried to break up a news conference by exiled Tibetan women. Later, they shooed away a group of exiled Iranian women protesters. From heimlich@iti.com Wed Sep 13 22:59:59 1995 Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 22:04:21 -0700 (PDT) From: KZPG -Broadcasting population news & views Subject: KZPG-US-Front: Press release To: demographic-list@coombs.anu.edu.au, POPENV-L@info.usaid.gov, PPN@csf.colorado.edu, cisnews@ns.us.net, appleton@lotka.Princeton.EDU, immi@prc.utexas.edu [Can any of you help me get this press release sent out to any lists you subscribe to. I've been working on this release for quite awhile and am very excited about being able to finally get it out - in time for the presidential campaigns, i.e. "IT'S OVERPOPULATION STUPID!". I think it has a chance to crack the issue for us. - Thanks in advance. Howard] Contact: KZPG population news service For immediate release Howard Johnson, 408-255-2422 Please distribute --- OVERPOPULATION LINKED TO U.S. PROSPERITY DECLINE --- CUPERTINO Sept 13, 1995 -- The American dream is fading due to U.S. population growth. That's what a new analysis of census data shows which compares human density and housing affordability. At first glance there's no apparent correlation between the 10% population density increase and the 22% home affordability decline which occurred during the 80's. But when compared on a state by state basis, a trend emerges: higher population densities strongly correlate with bigger housing affordability gaps. "What this means is that people are finding it much harder to afford homes because of population growth," says Howard Johnson, editor of KZPG (an internet based population news and discussion service). He asks, "Could this link between population and declining real prosperity be the smoking gun of the overpopulation issue, and will it be the salient fact that will finally drive the population issue into the main stream of public debate?" Owning a home has been held as one of the cornerstones of the American Dream, and has generally been the single best investment a family could make. But home ownership in high density communities has long been known to be less affordable than in low density communities. From Johnson's analysis, it's clear that this widening affordability gap is occurring not just in high density communities, but all across the U.S. Professor Julian Simon and others have argued that as demand increases, markets will respond with sufficient increase in supply. But although there was clearly increased supply, it did not keep pace with increased demand. Rather, it appears the standard principle of scarcity prevailed: in a free market with limited resources and increasing demand, prices increased. Johnson says, "No other reasonable principle has been found to explain this correlation." But many say there's nothing that can be done about population growth. When asked if U.S. population control was possible or even feasible without discrimination or forced abortion, Johnson said, "It used to be good to have 3, 4, 5, or more children, but now it's hurting us. U.S. population growth is about half from large families and half from immigration. The way to lower family size is to simply talk to people about overpopulation. We must reaffirm that it is, and should be, every family's right to have as many children as they want, but at the same time we must explain that it's in everybody's best interest to help curb human populations by making responsible family size decisions." Johnson says he calls this "population education", rather than population control, because it's voluntary and based on people making informed decisions. Johnson also believes we need to ask our government for less immigration, both legal and illegal, "Otherwise," he says, "our small family gains will be in vain." --- Notes -------------------------------------------------------------- The data used was from the 1980 and 1990 U.S. Census data obtained from the Missouri State Census Data gopher, at world wide web address: gopher://gopher.coin.missouri.edu/11/reference/census/us/ The correlation factor found was .75 (on a scale of 0 to 1, with 1 being perfect correlation, and 0 being no correlation). Because this correlation relies on relative values which are averaged over many years it's independent of inflation and many other economic factors. -0- ______________________________________________________________________ *** This is "KZPG", broadcasting population related news and views *** Send news, commentary and subscription requests to KZPG@iti.com. Views broadcast don't necessarily represent the views of KZPG or its staff. Not affiliated with ZPG Inc. Equal time given for controversial issues. Voice: 408-255-2422 Fax: 408-255-2436 Web: http://www.iti.com/iti/kzpg/ Feedback appreciated. Editor: Howard Johnson -SJ CA From dhenwood@panix.com Thu Sep 14 12:29:08 1995 Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 14:33:49 -0400 To: heimlich@iti.com, PROGRESSIVE POPULATION NETWORK From: dhenwood@panix.com (Doug Henwood) Subject: Re: KZPG-US-Front: Press release Cease this Malthusian claptrap! Housing in the US was more affordable decades ago, when growth was faster. One problem with housing affordability in the US is that housing inflation is national policy - an increase in "home" prices is supposed to be good. A house is an investment vehicle - treated in the US national income accounts as a business; owner-occupiers are treated as paying imputed rent to themselves. Mortgage debt has increased much more rapidly than underlying value, which inflates prices. Doug -- Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax From tulja@bose.stanford.edu Fri Sep 15 09:17:42 1995 Date: Fri, 15 Sep 1995 08:27:22 -0700 From: tuljapurkar To: ppn@csf.colorado.edu Subject: ZPG Let me second this motion: Cease this Malthusian claptrap! Tulja From dummy@emf.net Fri Sep 15 11:08:04 1995 From: dummy@emf.net Date: Fri, 15 Sep 1995 10:12:18 -0700 In-Reply-To: tuljapurkar's message as of Sep 15, 8:27am To: tulja@BOSE.STANFORD.EDU, PROGRESSIVE POPULATION NETWORK Subject: Re: ZPG Old-from: robertb@barra.com > From: tuljapurkar > Date: Fri Sep 15, 8:27am > > > Let me second this motion: Cease this Malthusian claptrap! > > Tulja Well, really, the question is: has the rate of population growth increased over the last, say, 30 years? I think that the birth rate has fallen while the immigration rate has increased slightly. I suspect that the rate of population growth over the last 30 years has not increased substantially. In which case, Mr. Henwood is correct -- there are other reasons for high property values. Note that I am not arguing that population growth has no influence over such matters -- it's that, in the U.S., it's probably less of a factor. Also note that I am not arguing that dissemination of knowledge of the affect of population growth on the world should stop; I think it's important to convince people to not breed and instead try to adopt children. -- Internet: dummy@emf.net Home address: Robert Brown, * * * BARRA may or may not agree with 2331 Blake St., Apt. 204 the above nonsense * * * Berkeley, CA 94704 finger dummy@emf.net for PGP key (510) 464-4604 From heimlich@iti.com Fri Sep 15 12:09:49 1995 Date: Fri, 15 Sep 1995 11:14:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Howard Johnson Subject: Re: KZPG-US-Front: Press release To: PROGRESSIVE POPULATION NETWORK In-Reply-To: On Thu, 14 Sep 1995, Doug Henwood wrote: > Housing in the US was more affordable decades ago, when growth was > faster. Correct, BUT your argument only goes to prove my point because the population DENSITY (not growth - read my press release again) was not as great then. The relationship between growth and density is time. As you say "decades" have passed. The density is greater now. > One problem with housing affordability in the US is that housing > inflation is national policy - an increase in "home" prices is > supposed to be good. You could also say that our "national policy" is that houses should be cheap and wages high so people can afford homes. So this argument cuts both ways. Further you will have to show that what you call the national policy of housing inflation varies with population density to prove your point. I think a long shot at best. I want you to think about this a minute before you reply. I assume you are an educated person and so have a basic understanding of logic. If A correlates with B, then to show that the reason A correlates to B is because A is dependent on C means you must be able to show that C correlates to B as well. (And don't just tell me this is "claptrap" -your word-. Reality is reality regardless of your emotions.) > A house is an investment vehicle - treated in the US national income > accounts as a business; owner-occupiers are treated as paying imputed > rent to themselves. Mortgage debt has increased much more rapidly than > underlying value, which inflates prices. The only way you could prove that mortgage inflation is the culprit would be to show that it correlates with population density. While I'm sure it does to some small measure, the question is does it correlate to a strong measure? I'll keep an open mind, but just not open on both ends. Best Regards, Howard Johnson 408-255-2422 home/work ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sharing an account with my friend Alan Heimlich, so my return address will be `From: Howard Johnson '. (You can mail to me at Howard@iti.com or reply to me at heimlich@iti.com and I'll get it either way.) From rcincotta@usaid.gov Thu Sep 21 07:15:10 1995 Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 07:15:08 -0600 To: From: "debra" Subject: WCW: Women health activists in Beijing Forwarded to: Internet[ppn@csf.colorado.edu] cc: Comments by: Richard Cincotta@G.PHN.POP@AIDW ======================================================================= Forwarded to: RD.POP.PE Mail List@G.PHN.POP@AIDW cc: Comments by: Barbara Crane@G.PHN.POP@AIDW An interesting item on women's health activism post-Cairo and Beijing.... ======================================================================= Forwarded to: Barbara Crane@G.PHN.POP@AIDW Chloe OGara@G.PHN.POP@AIDW,DEIRDRE LAPIN@HPO@LAGOS cc: Comments by: Mari Clarke@G.WID@AIDW -------------------------- [Original Message] ------------------------- ## author : theearthtime@igc.apc.org ## date : 14.09.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Women health activists in Beijing By Jack Freeman Earth Times News Service BEIJING--They call themselves HERA, these women, acknowledging that they hope it will be powerful like a goddess, but the acronym really stands for Health, Empowerment, Rights and Accountability. The women--25 names are listed on HERA's brochure, ranging from Peggy Antrobus to Mona Zulficar--describe themselves as "an international group of women's health activists working together" to ensure implementation of the action program approved by the Cairo Population Conference. Actually, said Bene Madunagu of Nigeria, the group came into being long before Cairo, and had its origins in a panel on reproductive health held in the Women's Tent at the NGO Forum during the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. "We became aware that there was a lot of misunderstanding," said Gita Sen of India, "of what women need, what their concerns were. Women had for too long been the objects and not the subjects of reproductive health programs." The women who were to form the nucleus of HERA made sure that such concerns were introduced into the preparation process for Cairo. "We developed our own agenda," said Sen, "and pushed it with a lot of networking among women's health activists." At Cairo, she said, it was "the irresistible force and the immovable object"-- the pressure they were bringing for recognition of women's rights versus the population establishment's unwillingness to give up its numerical- target approach. "The irresistible force prevailed," Sen said. "The object moved. Now we women of HERA are trying to make sure it doesn't get stuck again." "The follow-up actions to Cairo must be accountable," said Mabel Bianco of Argentina. "We want to be sure that governments are going to do what they promised to do." She said that applies to local governments as well. Sen pointed out that the promises in Cairo were also made by international and bilateral agencies, including the agencies of the UN system, and by regional blocs as well. And they too will be held accountable, she said. "Our major objective," she said, "is that women remain at the policy table, in decision making roles, at all levels." Sen said the women of HERA came to Beijing determined not to allow any rollbacks from the Cairo action program. "But in some ways," she said, "we have moved ahead of Cairo." She cited the discussions of sexuality, coercion and violence, which were not addressed in Cairo. "The issues," said Bianco, "are all so interrelated that when we talk about women's rights we are talking about reproductive rights and sexuality. If we are talking about empowerment of women," she added, "reproductive rights are the key."