Cause different to effect
In response to Our Elephant in the Room, March 27, I can’t help but feel that Rob Arnstein is looking at the effects of the elephant rather than the cause of it.
In 1900 the world population was 1.6 billion people. In 1950 it was 2.4 billion people. By the year 2000, the world population had grown to six billion people. In 2011 it was estimated to be seven billion and growing. All of these people have put a tremendous pressure on our planet to sustain them. They all require food, shelter, clothing, transportation and, in many climates, heat. All of these things require energy to produce. The developing countries don’t have the luxury of refusing “dirty” energy when they can’t afford the necessities of life. Human nature tells them to protect their own families before considering the rest of the world.
China recognized this problem within their own borders and introduced a one-child-per-couple policy to reduce this growth. Many people condemned them for infringing on individual rights in choosing to procreate or not. Some political and religious factions actively promote more procreation thereby adding to the “elephant” problem.
The more that problems connected to population growth are addressed, the more incentive there is to ignore the problem. As long as there are countries less well off than “us” we are going to dump on them the products that we don’t approve of, like coal and asbestos, for the almighty dollar. The countries that can afford to tackle global warming have the least financial incentive to do so.
Jim Rose
Poplar Street
Exuberant ambassadors
Last week I made a short excursion to Nanaimo and camped at one of the local campgrounds. As I was setting up my wee tent, lo and behold, a School District 47 school bus from Powell River rolled up and out exploded nine exuberant teens and their teachers [“Community comes together to wish students well,” June 5].
My general attitude is to think the best of people and I was not disappointed. The students were boisterous but not rowdy, fun-loving without being crass, and completely conscious of those around them. One friendly young woman wandered over for a chat, but otherwise I saw them working and eating and playing together—and not a texting device in sight.
Congratulations high-schoolers and teachers for a successful camping trip and for making such a good impression. Yet another example of the good things in life.
Constance Roy
Alberni Street
