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Global Swarming (Are babies the new SUVs?)
Slate ^ | Monday, Sept. 10, 2007 | Daniel Engber

Posted on 09/12/2007 1:52:30 PM PDT by presidio9

Oh, if we all just disappeared. According to The World Without Us, Alan Weisman's strangely comforting vision of human annihilation, the Earth would be a lot better off. In his doomsday scenario, freshwater floods would course through the New York subway system, ailanthus roots would heave up sidewalks, and a parade of coyotes, bears, and deer would eventually trot across the George Washington Bridge and repopulate Manhattan. Nature lovers can take solace in the idea that the planet will thrive once we've finally destroyed ourselves with global warming. But Weisman takes the fantasy one step further: Let's not wait for climate change, he says. Let's start depopulating right now.

Instead of burning down our numbers with oil and gas, we might follow the advice of the founder of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, who tells Weisman that everyone in the world should stop having kids all at once. Weisman isn't up for quite so drastic a measure, but he makes his own pitch, moderate in comparison: Let's cut the birth rate to one child per couple, for a few generations at least. The population would dwindle by about 5 billion people over the next century, he says, ensuring the habitability of the Earth for the 1.6 billion who remained. At that point, they could all reap the rewards of a more spacious planet, sharing in "the growing joy of watching the world daily become more wonderful." It seems like a notion from the fringe, but Weisman's book has become a mainstream best seller. Could population control be the next big thing in green culture?

Nine years ago, Bill McKibben was raked over the coals for making a similar proposal in his vasectomy memoir,

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: abortion; alanweisman; antibreeder; communismkills; contraception; darwinaward; despotism; environment; environmentalism; godcomplex; heterophobia; humanextinction; lifehate; prolife; vhem
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1 posted on 09/12/2007 1:52:33 PM PDT by presidio9
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To: presidio9

Right. It’s working really good in China. Why not everywhere else? /sarc/


2 posted on 09/12/2007 1:55:48 PM PDT by saganite
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To: presidio9
Only a leftist could conclude that mankind should annihilate itself so that the environment would be improved. To what end?

Morons!

3 posted on 09/12/2007 1:56:13 PM PDT by vetsvette (Bring Him Back)
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To: presidio9

“Is it time for Americans to start cutting our baby emissions?”

Oh boy. Sounds like the beginnings of some of the same brilliant Leftist theorizing that brought about the blood-bath of the 20th century. Don’t they ever have to answer for their earlier moronic and savage actions?


4 posted on 09/12/2007 1:56:33 PM PDT by cdcdawg
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To: presidio9
Liberals like Algore should just go ahead and abort themselves from the planet and leave the unborn babies alone!
5 posted on 09/12/2007 1:58:08 PM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: presidio9

Nope, we should “concubine up”... that’s what they are doing elsewhere... they are out breeding us hand over fist...


6 posted on 09/12/2007 1:59:32 PM PDT by MD_Willington_1976
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To: saganite

It’s working so well in Russia they had copulation day today to reverse the trend. People get off from work to go home and “work”.

Babies born near on on the ninemonth from today date will get prizes.


7 posted on 09/12/2007 2:00:07 PM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . Hillary's color is yellow.....how appropriate)
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To: presidio9
Save the environment,
kill an environmentalist.
8 posted on 09/12/2007 2:02:22 PM PDT by TheDon (The DemocRAT party is the party of TREASON! Overthrow the terrorist's congress!)
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To: presidio9

right then we can all dance with unicorns under rainbows

yikes these guys make me sick


9 posted on 09/12/2007 2:02:26 PM PDT by DM1
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To: presidio9

Why not just nuke the “growing markets” for fossil fuels? China and India each have over a billion people. That’d cut the population down really quick.


10 posted on 09/12/2007 2:03:12 PM PDT by weegee (NO THIRD TERM. America does not need another unconstitutional Clinton co-presidency.)
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To: presidio9

I voluntarily stopped having children nearly 19 years ago. Now an envirowacko has to up the ante and off themselves. Publicly and by dousing with burning gasoline, please.


11 posted on 09/12/2007 2:03:20 PM PDT by CholeraJoe ("On the campus, the quiet campus, the lion burns tonight.")
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To: presidio9

OK Alan, you first.


12 posted on 09/12/2007 2:03:56 PM PDT by Argus
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To: cdcdawg

In their god complex; the socialists always want to kill someone they feel is “unworthy”.

All animals are equal. Some are more equal than others.


13 posted on 09/12/2007 2:04:20 PM PDT by weegee (NO THIRD TERM. America does not need another unconstitutional Clinton co-presidency.)
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To: presidio9

I vote for liberals to start first.


14 posted on 09/12/2007 2:04:29 PM PDT by finnman69 (cum puella incedit minore medio corpore sub quo manifestu s globus, inflammare animos)
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To: cdcdawg

We have eleven children, two married, nine still at home, and eight grandchildren so far.

By God’s mercy and grace, they are all growing to be God’s own children with His perspective on the family and on Liberty (”where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty,” 2nd Corinthians 3:17).

Let the greenie weenies, the commies, the pro-aborts, and the metro-sexual narcissists select themselves out of the gene pool.

The meek shall inherit the earth.


15 posted on 09/12/2007 2:04:52 PM PDT by Westbrook
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To: DM1

The Unabomber was one of these Pagan Fundamentalists. There are other eco-terrorists who want to kill you for Gaia.


16 posted on 09/12/2007 2:05:23 PM PDT by weegee (NO THIRD TERM. America does not need another unconstitutional Clinton co-presidency.)
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To: presidio9

great, now I’m going to get protested by whackos when they see me out shopping with all my kids.


17 posted on 09/12/2007 2:06:15 PM PDT by Scotswife
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To: weegee

I know and it is scary
These people are lunatics - putting a tree’s existence over a person’s is just plain nuts.
how twisted were these peoples home lives to grow up with a set of ideals like this


18 posted on 09/12/2007 2:07:09 PM PDT by DM1
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To: Westbrook

Wow. I got 4 but I’ll proudly parade them in front of the envirowackos. Let’em say something.


19 posted on 09/12/2007 2:07:24 PM PDT by stevio ((NRA))
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To: bert

Developed countries, such as in Western Europe, are already seeing birth rates at below replacement level. And those countries see difficulties ahead because of such low birht rates. And Russia has a very low birth rate, which you point out, they want to pump up.

This guy, I swear, I’m speechless. Force or other strong incentives would be needed to get the birth rate down to where he wants it. Severe economic dislocation and social problems would result. And to what end? A “greener” earth?

I hate to think of the totalitariam society one would need to enforce this. Would mankind be better off living in totalitarianism just to have a “greener” earth????? And would most likely be a “greener” earth without as much advanced technology to make our lives easier, as such technology needs energy. Energy which will be generated from evil fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.


20 posted on 09/12/2007 2:08:43 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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