Dear David, > As you can see by the posting of Daniel, Kjell, and Edilberto, some on this > list believe that ZPG for developed countries would be a step in the right > direction regarding the rate of CO2 increase. While I agree that concerns > about population growth are world-wide, I do not believe it should be > limited only to developing countries. Personally, I feel very uncomfortable > telling those in other countries not to cut down their trees or to have only > 2 children per couple (especially since those of us in developed countries > cut down our trees during the last century and both sets of my grandparents > had more than 2 children). Just as I believe that sustainable management of > forests is an ethical choice (and can be achieved without government > intervention) I also believe that sustainable management of human population > can be an ethical choice and can be achieved without government intervention. I agree. > Since you mentioned India, I have to mention Kerala. In Kerala, the ethic > now is to have only two children per couple. Some people in Kerala are > embarrassed to say if they have more than two children. Again, the key here > is education. To repeat the success story of Kerala requires an effort to > increase the literacy rate in developing countries. Due to high literacy > and adopting a population ethic, I think Kerala will be a better place to > live in the year 2050. Kerala is also noted for the progress it has made in good forest management, as mentioned by Rajiv Raja, a fellow list member sometime ago. God bless. Nelson Wong MTC
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