COMMENTARY:  by NPG President Donald Mann

            It’s the middle of the summer and temperatures across America are spiking to record highs.  As we hear reports in the news about the heat, fortunately we are not hearing many stories about major drought conditions – but that doesn’t mean that many areas are not suffering. 
            A quick check of the maps produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska (www.drought.unl.edu) shows that “extreme” or “exceptional” and worrisome drought conditions currently exist only in northern Louisiana and western Hawaii, with “dry” or “moderate” conditions present in only a few states – mainly in the western and the Mid-Atlantic states.
            Right now, there are no national alarm bells ringing about a potential “catastrophic” drought and accompanying water crisis anywhere in the country.  That’s good.
            But we all know that the current weather cycle can change very quickly and while it can often take years for a major drought to develop, there’s not much man can do about it.  Most people have forgotten that Atlanta, GA (with the ninth largest metropolitan area in the U.S) came within a month of running out of water only a few years ago.
            As NPG members and regular NPG Journal readers know, NPG has spent decades highlighting the critical need to halt U.S. population growth especially in areas which have a long history of recurring drought.  Increased population and battles over water issues go hand-in-hand and have become increasingly prevalent – especially in western states. 
            The question stands:  Is our nation prepared for a major drought that will affect millions of people?  Too many people tend to forget that we are not just talking about scarcity of drinking water.  As a society we are greatly dependent on access to billions of gallons of water daily for business, agricultural, sanitation, and in some areas, energy needs.  The costs for a major drought can – and will – run into billions of dollars. 
            The article that follows contains good news and showcases some of the progress that is being made in trying to head off the inevitable crises that will result when our national and world water resources will prove to be too scarce to sustain an ever-expanding population.  
            However, part of the message NPG has worked hard to deliver throughout our 38 years is that those who put their hopes in technology to solve the population crisis are playing a very risky game.  The odds are not in their favor over the long term. 
            Think about it:  Can we truly expect an abundance of water-related technological breakthroughs in the next 40 years that may be able to sustain an extra 140 million people if our nation fails to halt population growth and ends up with a population of 450 million by mid-century?   That’s wishful thinking on a grand scale.
            For now, we can applaud the small steps we’re making in getting a grip on water scarcity.  But we must not lose sight of the fact that we must devote more energy to halting and eventually reversing population growth if we are going to have enough water for everyone in the future.

 

GETTING AHEAD OF THE WORLD WATER PROBLEM

            Population issues and concern for water availability go hand-in-hand.  Too many people believe access to water is a “human right.”  And it is rare when we can go very long without reading or hearing about a local water crisis or one halfway around the world.
            Rightfully, we are all worried about how we will address future water needs if U.S. and world population continues to grow in the coming decades.  As such, it was refreshing to find an article from last November written by Marc Gunther and titled “The World’s Looming Water Gap” that was published by Business Green, a London-based publication.
            Gunther starts off by reminding us that, “Global demand for water already exceeds supply – about 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean water – and the water gap is increasing at an accelerating rate.”   Yet he puts a positive spin on the impending disaster by highlighting various studies and activities around the world that demonstrate how diligently countless people and companies are working to head off future disasters and make much better use of water resources.
            The article reminds us that “Water issues are at least as complex as energy issues, and all water problems are local, so generalizing about water, while inevitable, is invariably misleading.”
            The good news is that many water-dependant companies are taking the lead in water research which can have a powerful and beneficial impact in many areas, including agriculture, where biotech crops will use less water. 
            The World Bank role in this effort is to be commended.  And it’s not inconceivable that just as individuals became much more aware of the politics and costs of energy in recent decades, we will find many more “water taxes” and “water pricing policies” becoming a part of our daily lives.  As usual, the money to fund infrastructure projects that can be so helpful to alleviating so many future water problems is simply not there, so it will have to be found – and paid for.  NPG’s recommendation would be to reduce the demand for water by slowing, halting, and eventually reversing population growth to allow an adequate standard of living for all. Click here to view the article.
           

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION NEWS

WHICH STATE WILL BE FIRST TO FOLLOW ARIZONA?

            President Obama, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and the open-border advocates were quick to condemn Arizona’s strict anti-immigration law.  However, those politicians with a finger on the pulse of the American electorate know a good thing when they see it.
            That’s why legislators in states all across the nation are looking at passing potential “copy cat” legislation.  The Washington Post recently reported that “lawmakers in 17 states this year drew up bills similar to Arizona’s law, which allows officers to question anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally.”  Three states, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah are in the running to be the first to act when their legislatures reconvene early next year.
            Following the reports by the Post, a Florida-based paper, The Daily Caller, reported that State Representative Kevin Ambler may introduce a tough immigration bill in Tallahassee in a special session called by Governor Charlie Crist to deal with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  The paper notes that, “Government records estimate that there were as many as 720,000 unauthorized immigrants in Florida in 2009…only California and Texas have higher populations.”

 

TAKING IT TO COURT – THE STATES VS. OBAMA

            The Obama administration recently filed suit in federal court to block Arizona from enforcing federal immigration laws by arguing that immigration is a federal issue.  In taking that step they triggered a states’ rights dispute which has lead to eight states joining in backing Arizona in federal court.  Those states include Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia.
            The brief states:  “By lawsuit, rather than by legislation, the federal government seeks to negate this preexisting power of the states to verify a person’s immigration status and similarly seeks to reject the assistance that the states can lawfully provide to the Federal government.”

 

WHERE DO YOU COUNT PRISONERS?

            Official U.S. Census counts have a far-ranging impact when it comes to dividing up power between the states.  Now, the decision as to where to count prisoners is causing a flare up in a number of states as it also impacts how state legislative districts are drawn.  
            A late June editorial in The New York Times called for the New York State Legislature to “stand up for electoral fairness…by passing legislation that requires prisoners to be counted at their home addresses.”  The editorial continued, “When the prison population was small, this was easy to ignore.  With more than a million people nationally behind bars, the tactic of drawing districts around prisons must finally be recognized for what it is:  a way of hijacking power from one part of the state to another.”
            The state of Maryland passed legislation earlier this year to count inmates at their home addresses and according to the Times, “other states are moving toward similar laws.”

 

BIRTH TOURISM HITS AMERICA

            The Times of London carried an interesting item in early June announcing the fact that there’s a new industry taking hold in the U.S. called “birth tourism.”
            The paper relayed the story of a hotel in New York City, The Marmara Manhattan, which is an American branch of a Turkish chain that offers “an exclusive package for new mothers that wish to give birth in the USA.”
            According to the story, the hotel “exploits the 14th amendment to the US constitution, which states that all children born on American soil ‘are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.’”  It goes on to note that “Many [of the expectant mothers] will eventually use the newborn – known as an ‘anchor baby’ – as a stepping stone for the immigration of extended family.”
            The Times states, “According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the practice is entirely above board as long as the women can pay their medical bills.”         

 

A BRAVE TOWN THAT’S HAD ENOUGH…

            Residents of Fremont, Nebraska, don’t usually find themselves in the national spotlight.  However, they stepped into it last month when 57% of the voters in the meat-packing town of approximately 25,000 people cast their ballots in favor of some new town policies.  Voters approved a referendum barring landlords from renting to those in the country illegally, requiring renters to provide information to the police and to obtain city occupancy licenses, and obliging city businesses to use a federal database to check for illegal immigrants.  According to The New York Times, Fremont’s citizens “…Argued that federal authorities had failed to enforce their own immigration restrictions, leaving places like Fremont – with a small but growing Hispanic population – to take care of such matters themselves.  They complained that illegal immigrants were causing an increase in crime, taking jobs that would once have gone to longtime residents, and changing the character of their quiet city, some 30 miles of farm fields from Omaha.”
            In supporting the measure, the majority of Fremont voters turned a deaf ear to opponents who held that the city could not afford the new law as it will definitely be challenged in court and defending it will lead to cuts in Fremont city services – or even a tax hike.  The executive director of A.C.L.U. Nebraska has already stated that they have no option but to go to court to negate the new measure.
            Fremont follows other small towns across America, such as Hazelton, PA, and Farmers Branch, TX, in opening the door to a long drawn-out and costly legal battle. 
            NPG salutes Fremont’s voters for standing up for what’s right!

 

CENSUS JOBS WRAP UP

            The U.S. Census Bureau hired upwards of 700,000 Americans over the last two years with the bulk of them employed during the last six months.  Now, most of those short-term workers are headed for the unemployment lines (from where many came) – some 225,000 ending their jobs in just the last few weeks. 
            The loss of over 200,000 jobs, with many more to come in the near future, only serves to expose the great cost of getting an accurate count of our nation’s population.  The 2010 Census budget is $14.7 billion.  Sadly, even after such an enormous investment, we still will likely NOT have an accurate count considering the millions of illegal immigrants we know to be in our country and who made every effort NOT to be counted.
 

SMART WATER METERS TO THE RESCUE!

            Earth Times carried a press release last week issued by Pike Research that highlighted its recent report, “Smart Water Meters.”  These meters offer “a technology that adds consumption data collection and communications to water meters so that utilities and their customers can track usage and minimize waste.”
            The focus of the report was on water scarcity as an emerging issue and the critical need for water utilities worldwide to deliver water more efficiently.
            The report heralded the fact that the worldwide installed base of smart and smart-enabled water meters – whereby utilities and their customers can track usage and minimize waste – will grow to 31.8 million by 2016, up from 5.2 million in 2009.  That’s a giant step forward as the press release stated that:  “In the United States the problem is even more near term, with 36 states expected to face water shortages by 2013.”

 
QUOTES

            “Obama has pushed immigration to the front burner (and then turned the burner to ‘high’) as a problem without a solution.”

                                       Rich Galen
                                       Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

            “[Eric] Holder is right about one thing…enforcing immigration laws IS a national responsibility.  So, what happens when the federal government refuses to do its job?  Enter Arizona and hopefully other states who are stepping forward to protect their residents while Obama plays politics.”

                                       Bobby Eberle
                                       Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

            “The 1,200 National Guard troops promised by Obama to help secure our southern border – a fraction of the 6,000 requested – have yet to arrive.  Although the president repeatedly calls for the new ‘stimulus spending’ on ‘shovel ready projects,’ work on the ‘border fence’ has all but halted.  And despite the Obama administration’s willingness to use federal courts to impose its will, the DOJ has taken no action to enforce laws already on the books against any of the 31 U.S. municipalities that are self-declared ‘sanctuary cities’ for illegal immigrants.”

                                       Oliver North
                                       Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

            “…All of this says nothing about immigration.  ‘Laws like Arizona’s put huge pressure on local law enforcement to enforce rules that ultimately are unenforceable,’ Obama declared on July 1.  Thus, the administration insists it cannot enforce the law, but adds it wants a new ‘comprehensive law’ to enforce.  Uncertainty on top of uncertainty.”

                                       Rich Tucker
                                       Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

            “…Many states that are projected to lose a seat when the Census statistics are completely tabulated would in fact not lose a seat in Congress if illegal residents were not included in the overall tally.  Some think tanks estimate that if the undocumented were left out in 2010, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida would all lose seats while Midwestern states such as Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri would gain.”

                                       Leah Durant
                                       Executive Director
                                       Progressives for Immigration Reform

 

WHY THE NPG JOURNAL?

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            The NPG Journal (offered free to all recipients) exists to give more widespread distribution to timely news stories and articles related to population, immigration, environmental and political issues that currently affect our daily life – or have the potential to seriously impact our future. 

            We realize not all news stories covering population issues will reflect NPG policies and goals.  One of our main purposes in creating the NPG Journal is to expose these items to a wider audience, and to draw attention to the fact that so many articles speak to immigration and population issues but often fail to address the central cause of many problems – TOO MANY PEOPLE. 

            Ultimately, NPG would like to see writers at all levels make the obvious (to us, at least) connection between environmental and resource problems and the growing number of people in both the United States and the world.  Unfortunately, most do not.  To that end, we comment as necessary to help our readers see those links in hopes they will continue to speak out on what we deem to be the most pressing issue of our time – population size and growth and its negative impacts on our environment, resources and quality of life.

            NPG President Donald Mann offers his personal insight and commentary on individual stories, especially those that challenge, confirm and/or complement our NPG Research and Forum Papers.  The goal of the NPG Journal is to greatly expand NPG’s educational programs.  NPG’s activities continue to emphasize the need for Americans to speak up on population issues and keep our nation – especially our elected leaders on the national, state and local level – focused on taking action to help resolve today’s immigration crisis and work to halt, and eventually reverse America’s out-of-control population growth.

            We welcome your feedback to articles posted on the NPG Journal and urge you to forward to us the e-mail address of friends you think would like to receive a complimentary copy of the NPG Journal on a monthly basis.  Contact us at www.npg.org.  

 

ABOUT NPG:

            Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG) is a national nonprofit membership organization with over 30,000 members nationwide.  It was founded in 1972 to educate the American public and political leaders about the devastating effects of overpopulation on our environment, resources, and standard of living.  We believe that our nation is already vastly overpopulated in terms of the long-range carrying capacity of its resources and environment.

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