THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER
A Message from NPG President, Donald Mann
I want to take this opportunity to express my special thanks to all NPG members for their continued dedication and support in 2003 of our paramount mission to halt and eventually reverse America's out-of-control population growth. As we move into 2004 we are stronger than ever. Our numbers are increasing as we find new and varied ways to reach the American public. Each month, we are recording more than 30,000 visits to our enhanced website and our increased activity in distributing NPG's publications to thousands of people and libraries ensures that we will continue to serve as the leading voice of America's population awareness movement.
In looking back on 2003, I think we can all take pride in NPG's accomplishments.
We took a significant cost-saving step back in March when we moved out of our downtown office in Washington, D.C. and relocated like many other national non-profits across the Potomac to Alexandria, VA. The purchase of our new headquarters - a small but very functional office suite - will save us valuable funds and is sure to prove a solid investment.
NPG's most important project this year was commissioning and distributing to the media a nationwide opinion poll conducted by Roper ASW on population and immigration issues - it had been seven years since the last one. Our poll results reinforced the fact that the vast majority of Americans endorse our efforts to pressure Congress to halt illegal immigration completely, reduce to near-zero the number of illegal immigrants currently in the U.S, and strictly enforce present laws calling for criminal penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants. And the question that scored the highest in the poll proved that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of those applying for a driver's license to show proof of citizenship or lawful presence.
The good news is that we have seen very positive developments on two of these issues in recent months. In the California gubernatorial recall election, exit polls showed that the issue of granting drivers licenses to illegal aliens was instrumental in the defeat of Gray
Davis (he endorsed it). The electoral impact on that single issue sent a clear signal to politicians at all levels that immigration issues are emerging as major topics of debate in the 2004 campaigns.
And in late October, the Justice Department sent a shockwave across the country when they carried out predawn raids at dozens of WalMarts and arrested hundreds of workers who were illegal. That action exposed the charade of employers who outwardly project the patriotic, all-American image while surreptitiously paying illegal workers who steal jobs from Americans. The follow-up on this government action is going to be a very important indicator as to where our nation is headed on this issue.
Another successful 2003 NPG project enlisted thousands of members to petition their Governors to address explosive population growth and out-of-control immigration as they issued their Earth Day Proclamations. These are some of the key problems fueling their state budget crisis. Through grassroots efforts like this, you and other members can force our elected leaders to take action in the war on immigration-driven population growth. It's shameful that so many of our nation's leaders put politics first - and find it in their best interests to ignore the immigration and population issues despite the hardships these problems inflict on the American public.
In 2003 we continued to use print ads to carry out our hard-hitting public awareness campaign to draw much needed attention to the dangers of overpopulation. We distributed more than 100,000 of our publications to supporters as well as to schools and libraries. And we continued to expand our grassroots efforts to mobilize more Americans on population issues.
After all, somebody needs to keep the pressure on - and that's why you and NPG make such a great team! Together, we stand as the sentinels for the future. And by continuing and expanding our efforts to alert and educate millions more Americans to our population and immigration crisis, we move one step closer to our goal of a smaller, sustainable U.S. population.
With your continued help, our fragile, still-beautiful country and planet can and will be saved! Thank you again for all you do in support of NPG. Have a great 2004!
"IT'S THE NUMBERS, STUPID" AND OTHER NPG FORUM PAPERS
We received such an enthusiastic response from NPG members to our Forum Paper "It's The Numbers, Stupid" (September 2003) that we encourage members who have yet to read it to go to our website - www.npg.org - to review it and forward copies to friends.
In less than four pages, author Lindsey Grant clearly and succinctly explains how so many of America's current - and future - problems can be tied directly to population growth, especially the impact of immigrants and their descendants. He then continues to summarily explain how political and economic forces that actually benefit from these problems are pressuring Congress to work against the American people's best interests in finding commonsense solutions to this ever-expanding crisis.
If you would like a printed version of "It's The Numbers, Stupid" or any back issue of another informative NPG Forum Paper, Special Report or Position Paper, we encourage you to review the "NPG List of Publications" enclosed with this newsletter and order those of interest. Please place the identification number(s) of the publication(s) you request on the enclosed response and return it in the accompanying envelope. Please note that your current 2004 membership in NPG entitles you to receive five publications free of charge.
GOODBYE TO A TRUE PIONEER
Decades ago, when the vision and leadership of a few individuals focused the world's attention on overpopulation problems and led to the creation of NPG, few individuals stood out more than Garrett James Hardin. While a professor emeritus at University of California Santa Barbara, his groundbreaking essay "The Tragedy of the Commons" put forth the notion that human misery would increase greatly without the recognition that livable space on Earth is finite. Sadly in September, Hardin who spent more than three decades teaching at UCSB, and his wife, Jane, both passed away. They were eulogized by many for their lifelong dedication to our cause. Rupert Cutler, former executive director of Population-Environment Balance, which Mr. Hardin played a key role in founding, called him the "best spokesman for the idea that continued growth of the human population would destroy the very environment on which humans depend for their survival." We at NPG would like to extend our sympathy to their family and friends.
WILL YOUR EMPLOYER MATCH YOUR GIFT TO NPG?
It's quite commonplace these days for employers to match donations their employees make to non-profit organizations such as NPG. In some companies this is a well-publicized policy, yet in others it is not. If you are unsure whether or not your company has a matching gift program, we urge you to contact your human resources department so that you can complete the proper forms.
STAYING ON MESSAGE
In recent months, NPG has received extensive media exposure from the release of our Roper ASW national poll. Columnists and news writers across the country have cited our landmark poll and its conclusive findings. The fact that more than 87% of Americans agree that employers should be held accountable for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants was important enough to be referenced in a story in Nation's Restaurant News. On the radio, Dave Simcox, the "voice of NPG", spent recent months spreading our message on WHHO, Rochester, NY; KOA, Denver, CO; KOMA, Oklahoma City, OK; KSCJ, Sioux City, IA; WNWS, Jackson, TN; KXRA, Alexandria, MN and KRMS, Osage Beach,MO.
SIERRA CLUB'S 2004 VOTE
NPG is always pleased to work with organizations that share our goals - especially when we also share so many members. That is why we are pleased to alert our members who also belong to the Sierra Club to watch the mail for their Board Member ballots in the coming months. We urge you to vote for strong conservationists who will redirect this vital organization toward genuine environmental stewardship, which must include U.S. population stabilization. A final list of Sierra Club Board Member nominees is not yet available but when it is we will post the names of those who have NPG's endorsement on our website.
POPULATION EDUCATION
NPG'S 2004 LIBRARY PROJECT
In the closing months of 2003, NPG started the ball rolling on a new project that is going to become one of our core activities in 2004. Our POPULATION EDUCATION PROJECT is geared toward getting a diverse group of population-related books such as Too Many People and Elephants in the Volkswagen, as well as a full complement of NPG Position Papers, Special Reports and Forum Papers into as many local, school and college libraries as possible. As population and immigration issues continue to move into the forefront of public debate it is especially important that as many people as possible - especially students who will shape the next generation - have access to the wealth of research and information that NPG has fostered during our more than 30 years.
To date, we have sent our POPULATION EDUCATION PROJECT mailings to more than 1,000 libraries (some received as many as three books) and received many heartfelt letters of thanks. Sharon Johnson from the University of Maine Fort Kent stated: "We are most pleased to add these items to our collection where they will benefit many students, faculty members, staff and people of the community for years to come."
To expand our POPULATION EDUCATION PROJECT to its full potential we are going to get as many NPG members as possible involved in the coming months. Watch for letters on how you can help this worthwhile project and target this valuable information for a library in your local community.
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
"As you approach Los Angeles by air, you see less and less evidence of the hand of God and more and more evidence of the footprint of man." Audubon CEO, Bob Perciasepe
HOUSTONIANS SAY "YES"
With city officials warning that an estimated 2,000,000 more people will be pouring into the area in the next two decades, Houston voters went to the polls in November and approved a multi-billion dollar mass transit plan by a very narrow 52% to 48% vote. The close vote was a result of a heady campaign that saw business leaders and developers who supported more roads lose the fight against local citizens demanding better public transportation because they are fed-up with long commutes, clogged freeways, polluted skies, endless road construction, and practically non-existent mass transit. Those who monitored the pre-election debate in this hard-fought campaign found it very instructive in providing a valuable insight into how money, politics and disinformation can actually be used against common-sense arguments for a plan designed specifically to avert a future disaster.
SAVING CALIFORNIA LAND
(AT LEAST SOME)
A November Los Angeles Times article reports that the respected Packard Foundation recently issued a report that concluded "Since 1990, 40,000 acres of California farmlands and ranchlands have been lost each year to development - an area 30 times bigger than the city of San Francisco." In response, the Packard Foundation leveraged $175 million in funds into nearly $1 billion in private and public land preservation. Sadly, some experts have estimated that the state would need to spend $12 billion to preserve 5.4 million acres of critical habitat in California. That is not likely to happen in a state that is in such financial trouble.
ARIZONA VOTE ON ILLEGALS
With too many politicians hesitant to step up to the plate and address the immigration influx issue head-on, fed-up Arizona residents are trying to put an initiative on next year's ballot to deny illegal immigrants access to state services and voting rights. The initiative would require new voters to present positive proof of U.S. citizenship before registering, and would require state and local officials to verify U.S. citizenship before allowing someone to use state-funded health care or other state services. Education, police and fire services provided by the federal government would not be affected. Backers say the current law which requires voters and users of state services to be citizens isn't enforced seriously. Response to the petition drive has been strong and if backers can obtain 122,612 signatures by next July, the measure will go to the voters on the November 2004 ballot.
FOX LOBBIES BORDER STATES
Ever determined to open the doors for sweeping changes to U.S. immigration laws, Mexico's President Vicente Fox recently visited three U.S. border states. Fox met with officials in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to press his campaign for broad changes to legalize the status of millions of Mexicans already living in the United States. In recent years, ever since his hopes for sweeping changes - and perhaps even amnesty for Mexican illegals - collapsed with the September 11 terrorist attacks, Fox has been very active in traveling in the U.S., interfering in our politics. Many say he has been a bit too aggressive in working with special interest groups such as LaRaza, the powerful Hispanic political lobby here in the U.S., to win over governors, state legislators and members of Congress to build support for his ideas.
PA/MD/DC and VA - THE NEVER-ENDING COMMUTE
Residents of Liberty Township in Pennsylvania always thought that Washington, D.C. was a good ways away. That is until this past July when a major development company filed plans to build more than 1,100 houses and add 2,000 residents to this idyllic town which sits more than 80 miles north of the Washington beltway. The concerns of the shocked 1,200 town residents ranged from "Who's going to buy $300,000+ homes?" to "How are our limited facilities going to handle such a large number of people?" The explosion of growth in the farout Washington/Baltimore region is actually attributable to closer-in counties in Maryland and Virginia clamping down on new housing permits and limiting land-use. Those with D.C. area jobs opting for the rural life in Pennsylvania will face commutes of more than two hours each way. The closest commuter rail station with parking is a 45 minute drive and an hour commute. Liberty residents have raised $30,000 to oppose the plan. Their odds of defeating the deep-pocket developers are not good.
NEW TO NPG'S WEBSITE
www.npg.org
The internet is proving invaluable both in keeping NPG members updated on issues and facts and in providing a treasure of information for those doing research on the problems caused by population growth. And while we are pleased that we are averaging more than 30,000 web visits a month, we're still constantly developing new content and enhancing functionality.
Our newest and most useful addition is the option to input your zip code to write a letter to your Congressman. We hope that this new feature encourages more NPG members to "sound off" - especially as immigration becomes a hotly-debated issue in the 2004 campaigns.
Also, we have added the option to request electronic and/or printed copies of the latest forum papers (appears as a scrolling text bar at the top of the homepage); updated our state news in the "Overpopulation in Your State" section; posted the latest editions of our newsletters as well as the final two chapters of "Too Many People" by Lindsey Grant.
Finally, we have included information on the provisions and status of H.R. 2671 a bill now pending in Congress that NPG backs 100%. The Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act (CLEAR ACT) provides state and local law enforcement agencies with the authority and funding necessary to detain criminal and illegal aliens in the course of their regular duties.
If you would like to tell your Congressman you endorse this legislation go to www.npg.org, click on the CLEAR ACT information, then go to "Write to Congress" to get your Congressman's web or mail address.
THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
Letters to the Editor
Population growth came under intense scrutiny in recent months by Lou Dobbs on CNN. He devoted a number of shows to the population and immigration issues and on his 10/17 telecast put a QUICKVOTE question to his audience that asked "How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community?" The internet poll garnered a result of: 70% Very concerned; 12% Somewhat concerned; and 18% Not at all concerned.
That's good news for NPG. It shows that we have a solid broad-based constituency in communities all across America ready to back our agenda. Now, the goal is to give our members and others who support our mission the means to make their voices heard on key population-related issues.
That's why NPG has added a new "Letters to the Editor" section to our website. Journalism studies consistently show that "Letters to the Editor" are among the most widely-read sections of any newspaper. It's a great forum to rally a community to action because political leaders know that one voter who takes the time to write a letter more often than not reflects the sentiments of dozens of other like-minded voters.
From overcrowded schools and roads, to soaring taxes and out-of-control immigration, your writing a "Letter to the Editor" to a local or national newspaper or magazine can help spread our overpopulation message to thousands or even hundreds of thousands of readers. To make it even easier for you to raise your voice, many publications now accept letters via the internet.
So next time you see a population-related news article that gets your blood boiling log on to www.npg.org to access this valuable information.We've posted a number of sample "Letters to the Editor" that give you an idea of how to present your arguments in forceful, concise language. If your letter gets printed, send us a copy. That way we can post it on our website and give you widespread recognition for your activism.
WHERE THERE'S A WILL...
Many of our friends and supporters ask us each year how they can include a gift for NPG in their estate planning. It's actually a very simple process. And to assist our members,we are offering or a second time a copy of a very beneficial 24-page booklet entitled Making Your Will: What You Should Know Before You See Your Lawyer. To obtain this useful and informative guide, simply check the box on the enclosed reply.
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