Immigration: a polarized debate.Jim Motavalli's article "The Numbers Game" on U.S. (over-)population (cover story, January/February 2004) was the best I have seen in the 10 or 15 years that I've been following this subject. And it's truly refreshing to see the subject treated in this open, thoughtful, well-balanced way. I've long been fascinated by the taboo that stops environmentalists from mentioning U.S. population and immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. . Back in the 1970s, people said things like "limits to growth" and "small is beautiful" Now even environmental organizations are afraid to say such things. As Motavalli says, fear of being branded "racist" and "xenophobic xen·o·phobe n. A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples. xen " is powerful. I think there is also a lot of guilt, at least among progressives, about U.S. gluttony Gluttony See also Greed. Belch, Sir Toby gluttonous and lascivious fop. [Br. Lit.: Twelfth Night] Biggers, Jack one of the best known “feeders” of eighteenth-century England. [Br. Hist. of resources, and an unexamined hope that by not questioning immigration one can prove oneself Verb 1. prove oneself - show one's ability or courage shew, show, demonstrate, prove, establish - establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician not only non-racist, but also willing to share with everyone. Olivia Eielson via e-mail Your article on population myths as first-rate, well researched, well reasoned and well written. Thanks so much. Lester R. Brown, President Earth Policy Institute, Washington, DC Kudos to E Magazine for its important articles on population, especially "The Numbers Game." Stopping population growth is an environmental sine qua non [Latin, Without which not.] A description of a requisite or condition that is indispensable. In the law of torts, a causal connection exists between a particular act and an injury when the injury would not have arisen but . Doug Moss' editorial ("Caring Capacity," E Word) in the same issue also makes some good points, except where it seems to imply that immigration reduction Immigration reduction refers to movements active within the United States that advocate a reduction in the amount of immigration allowed into the United States or other countries. activists should abandon efforts to restrict immigration in favor of "address[ing] population growth and movement at its roots." Environmentally oriented organizations that work for immigration restriction know that our excessive immigration is rooted in overpopulation overpopulation Situation in which the number of individuals of a given species exceeds the number that its environment can sustain. Possible consequences are environmental deterioration, impaired quality of life, and a population crash (sudden reduction in numbers caused by and poverty in the sending countries. But it's too late to stop over-immigration by addressing the root cause. That should have been done decades ago. Now there are probably billions in the poorer countries who would go to the wealthier ones if they could, and their numbers are growing by about 75 million per year. Raymond M. Reddy Albuquerque, NM Jim Motavalli always does an outstanding job when writing about environmental issues. However, in "The Numbers Game," he treated the immigration issue too lightly and with too much political correctness politically correct adj. Abbr. PC 1. Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. . The massive legal and illegal immigration wave is the central issue facing this nation. Our government resources are being strained and our natural environment is being destroyed. Don Croysdale Jacksonville, FL |
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