Two Things Infinite: The Universe and Human Stupidity

January 18th, 2008 at 02:21pm Frosty Wooldridge 493

By Frosty Wooldridge

Notice presidential candidates on both sides promise more job growth, bigger pay checks and an expanding economy! They talk about sustainable growth and greater economic progress. All of it depends on growth.

If you drove an hour to work each day in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Los Angeles, would you want more growth? When you stand in a long line at the grocery store in Chicago, do you want more people in ‘Chi Town’? If you walked to work through the overloaded streets of New York City, would you demand more skyscraper apartment buildings to give you even more crowded sidewalks? How about trying to drive to work in Atlanta where they must build a second beltway around the city to alleviate the mind-numbing traffic on the first beltway? Do Atlanta residents want more growth?

If your husband stood six feet tall and weighed 300 pounds, would you like to see him add another 50 pounds as a positive aspect of growth? If you suffered cancer, and millions of Americans suffer from it, and die--would you like to see that cancer enjoy unlimited ‘growth’ as it takes over your body? Growth is good, right?! Everything should keep growing until it bursts!

This week, the Associated Press celebrated that 4.3 million newborns graced the United States in 2006. They called it a ‘birth boomlet’. Economists and policymakers said, “The increase in births is good news.” What’s causing 90 percent of our growth? Legal and illegal immigration!

Albert Einstein said, “Only two things are infinite—the universe and human stupidity.”

Since the United States houses 300 million people, how about adding another 100 million, even 200 million and, what the heck, let’s add another 300 million people to the USA, just to see what happens.

Let’s not look at China, India and Mexico to see what’s already happened. That would be asking too much of anyone with an ounce of common sense.

Lester Brown, publisher of “State of the World” said, “We recently entered a new century, but we are also entering a new world, one where the collisions between our demands and the earth’s capacity to satisfy them are becoming daily events. It may be another crop-withering heat wave, another village abandoned because of invading sand dunes, or another aquifer pumped dry. If we do not act quickly to reverse the trends, these seemingly isolated events will occur more and more frequently, accumulating and combining to determine our future.

“Resources that accumulated over eons of geological time are being consumed in a single human lifespan. We cross natural thresholds that we cannot see and violating deadlines that we do not recognize. These deadlines, determined by nature, are not politically negotiable.

“Nature has many thresholds that we discover only when it is too late. For example, when we exceed the sustainable catch of a fishery, the stocks begin to shrink. Once this threshold is crossed, we have a limited time in which to back off and lighten the catch. If we fail to meet this deadline, breeding populations shrink to where the fishery is no longer viable, and it collapses.

“We know from earlier civilizations that the lead indicators of economic decline were environmental, not economic. The trees went first, then the soil, and finally the civilization itself.

“Our situation today is far more challenging because in addition to shrinking forests and eroding soils, we must deal with falling water tables, more frequent crop-withering heat waves, collapsing fisheries, expanding deserts, deteriorating rangelands, dying coral reefs, melting glaciers, rising seas, more-powerful storms, disappearing species, and, soon, shrinking oil supplies. Although these ecologically destructive trends have been evident for some time, and some have been reversed at the national level, not one has been reversed at the global level.

“The bottom line is that the world is in what ecologists call an “overshoot-and-collapse” mode. Demand has exceeded the sustainable yield of natural systems at the local level countless times in the past. Now, it is doing so at the global level. Forests are shrinking for the world as a whole. Fishery collapses are widespread. Grasslands are deteriorating on every continent. Water tables are falling in many countries. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions exceed CO2 sequestration.

“In 2002, a team of scientists led by Mathis Wackernagel, who now heads the Global Footprint Network, concluded that humanity’s collective demands first surpassed the earth’s regenerative capacity around 1980. Their study, published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, estimated that global demands in 1999 exceeded that capacity by 20 percent. The gap, growing by 1 percent or so a year, is now much wider. We are meeting current demands by consuming the earth’s natural assets, setting the stage for decline and collapse.

“The world is facing the emergence of a geopolitics of scarcity, which is already highly visible in the efforts by China, India, and other developing countries to ensure their access to oil supplies. In the future, the issue will be who gets access to not only Middle Eastern oil but also Brazilian ethanol and North American grain. Pressures on land and water resources, already excessive in most of the world, will intensify further as the demand for biofuels climbs. This geopolitics of scarcity is an early manifestation of civilization in an overshoot-and-collapse mode, much like the one that emerged among the Mayan cities competing for food in that civilization’s waning years.”

What’s the difference between Lester Brown and this writer? Answer: I’ve seen what he writes about.

My conclusion: this country’s leaders and general population prove to be dumber than a box of gerbils. We’re on course to be the fastest growing, most successful civilization—only to fall on our own sword by immigrating ourselves into this “Human Katrina.” Our children become guppies in a sea of oblivion.

This country MUST implement a 10 year moratorium on all immigration!

Listen to Frosty Wooldridge on Tuesdays and Thursdays as he interviews top national leaders on his radio show “Connecting the Dots” at www.republicbroadcasting.org at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. Adjust tuning in to your time zone. January 22, 2008, he interviews author Mike Folkerth about his book “The Biggest Lie Ever Believed”. It’s about the American Dream sinking faster than the Titanic.
Take action: www.thesocialcontract.com ; www.numbersusa.com ; www.fairus.org ; www.firecoalition.com ; www.alipac.us ; www.capsweb.org ; www.vdare.com ; www.immigrationcounters.com ; www.proenglish.org ;
www.patriotunion.org ; www.SafeAmericaAct.com

www.cairco.org ; www.politicaltruthandfact.com ; WWW.immigrationshumancost.org ; www.limitstogrowth.org

Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled across six continents – from the Arctic to the South Pole – as well as six times across the USA, coast to coast and border to border. In 2005, he bicycled from the Arctic Circle, Norway to Athens, Greece. He presents “The Coming Population Crisis in America: and what you can do about it” to civic clubs, church groups, high schools and colleges. He works to bring about sensible world population balance at his website www.frostywooldridge.com

Entry Filed under: Politics, Aspen, Business

12 Comments Add your own

1. Hugh520 | January 19th, 2008 at 11:42 am

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. " -- Joni Mitchell

During his one term in the White house Jimmy Carter had the pluck to have solar panels installed on a single roof of the West Wing. When the opportunity presented itself several years later, during a "roof-repair," Ronald Reagan declined having them replaced. The '80's are when excess started to catching up to us. Critical mass was quietly asserting itself, and growth was again an American imperative, synonymous with "manifest destiny."

I'm a sailor. So I practice a distinctly 18th Century pastime. I've sailed across the North and South Atlantic twice, and captained many sailing vessels up and down the East Coast. I love the sea, but I hate documentaries about it. There's simply no more good news.

And it all started right around the time the study Frosty's quoted 2002 study says it did, 1980. That's when my shipmate Tim and I started noticing lots more boats in the water. Moorings started appearing in anchorages where we used to have the "swing room" to anchor for free. Most of the new boats were so much mass produced Tupperware. Growth had come to the boating industry.

I was carelessly watching the Discovery Channel a few weeks back and they were doing a piece on Japan and its fisheries. The boat in question was a trawler using big nets. The show was focused on what this particular boat was catching -- a catch that was freaking these seasoned fishermen out. And it wasn't the first time it had happened. What they had landed, instead of the big fish they were after were jelly fish -- lots of them.

These jelly fish, however, were weighing in at an astonishing 300 to 500 pounds apiece. Huge monsters. So, puzzled and scared, they reacted in anger by chopping away at the beasts -- killing them and sluicing the bits overboard. What they failed to understand was that these primordial life forms have learned a thing or two about survival over the course of billions of years. Chopping them to bits triggers a survival/mating response and thus an exponentially larger future population. Yes, even chopped-up, nature can find a way.

Why are these kinds of catches becoming more common -- warming ocean temperatures. Jelly fish bloom like flowers, but warming trends are speeding up the blooming cycle.

Our fished out and warming oceans are becoming more like primordial seas where single-celled species once proliferated.

This is a single nightmare, There are so many more it's scary. The juggernaut of growth is a torpedo aimed at all of us.
2. alpha6 | January 21st, 2008 at 6:34 pm

In the past 40 years, ocean temperatures have increased about 0.11 degree F. (Levitus, S., Antonov, J.L., Boyer, T.P. and Stephens, C., 2000, Warming of the world ocean. Science, v. 287, p. 2225-2229.)

Heck of an alarmist you are talking about "warming trends." I doubt that you would notice this amount of increase in your own body it is so slight, let alone in the hundreds of billions of gallons of ocean that exist.

Al Gore would be proud of you and the other chicken littles that run around without regarding the facts.

Anyone thought about what they are going to do with all those mercury long lasting, energy saving bulbs everyone is switching to? Hmmm....an insignificant reduction in co2 from the old bulbs and now we are going to have a huge mercury waste problem that I have yet for the global whining crowd address.

Yep, nice bill of goods Al and his venture capital interest friends are selling...and everyone is falling for it hook, line and sinker. Idiots!
3. Hugh520 | January 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 am

Wow That's quite a citation you quote above only it would be clearer in Sanskrit. I Just consider bleached out coral reefs a better barometer than your magic thermometer.

Why would you care about mercury? Why not just get rich with Al?
4. thunderhorse | January 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm

Alpha 6:

I'm here to create the discussion with facts, figures and evidence. In the end, it's a human overpopulation crisis and you can deal with it or it will deal with you. You can ignore reality, but reality will not ignore you. We're heading for a nasty "Human katrina" that will leave victims and survivors. I stand by all my work with facts, figures and hard reality. You can obfuscate, cloud, deny, suppress, condemn or ignore what's happening the this planet--but that won't change it. I intend to change history toward a sustainable future by educating, enlightening, activating and inspiring folks to take action. What are you doing to make a better world? FW
5. alpha6 | January 24th, 2008 at 8:36 am

Frosty,

Gee, so am I. As you can see, I post links and/or list my sources to back up what I post. Show me where I have attempted to obfuscate, cloud, deny, suppress, condemn or ignore anything other then to refute the "facts" that the global warming alarmist quote with nothing to back up that information other then "I said it so its true".

You say you intend to change history by educating etc. Are you printing this information in Chinese? How about the two main languages of India, Sanskrit and Tamil? How about anything in the 80 languages spoken in Pakistan? These represent some of the most populated countries in the world. If you are not targeting them, you are spitting in the wind.

You ask what am I doing to make this a better world? I am working on plans to take over Africa. There are no successful heads of government at this time and Africa holds the worlds largest amount of untapped resources and minerals. I figure that I can exploit their resources and aid in the development and improvement of the quality of life, through education, common services like clean water and electricity. By working with the people to extract their resources, they will be employed and thus advance their quality of life. In addition, I would be able to supply the world with dwindling resources supplied from traditional sources. I figure that with the right plan and backing we should be able to move Africa to a better standard of life, add stability, build nations and get rich at the same time. You asked...so there it is.
6. Hugh520 | January 24th, 2008 at 11:17 am

Dear Alpha6,

You old coot and I thought I was talking to Vladimir for a second -- you know total lack of humor and all, and that citation c. 2000 what page did you say p.234739? I didn't know books went that high. Can you lift it or does it remain on one of those podium deals at all times.

But I was wrong, it's not Vlad it's you -- you old mercenary warrior you. The Veep himself on my post! Hot damn -- you're finally going to pick up a weapon and stand a post, excellent. I bet Lynn, the old homecoming queen herself, will look great in desert fatigues. Only 9 months to go. And you'll be our man in Africa, and I totally get the 19th century thang -- they'll be better off if we just loot 'em while delivering some old fashioned discipline--nudge,nudge wink wink.
7. Mitch.Mulhall | January 24th, 2008 at 11:59 am

[You ask what am I doing to make this a better world? I am working on plans to take over Africa.]

Alpha,

In the spirit of Dan Akroyd turning to Jane Curtin and saying, "Jane, you ignorant slut," let me just say "Alpha, you shameless imperialist."

Cheers,
8. Hugh520 | January 24th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

Hugh, Why do you like Alpha6 so much?

Because he stands up on a wall and says, "No one's gonna hurt you tonight, not on my watch."

Alpha6. I want you on that wall, heck if I'm honest, I need you on that wall.

I know about the 6 deferments, but that was then. So pin on that tiny American lead painted lapel flag -- and grab your sweetheart and colonize the shit outa that place.
9. alpha6 | January 24th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Hey, just so there is no misunderstanding....like that could happen on this blog....it's not under the pretense of American Imperialism that Africa should be developed and its resources utilized, Governments, no matter whose they are will never work in this sense. World pressure wouldn't allow it and the bureaucratic system of governments is too ineffective. But under the guise of business, anything is possible. Just look at most of the nations in the world. Behind any politician are the real ones calling the shots and that my friends is big business. Its always about the money, and that includes politics, don't fool your selfs.

What I am suggesting is nothing new. I bet with the right proposal you would have venture capitalist from around the world signing on. The only difficult step is control, which given the abundance of labor resources in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe to some of you) and South Africa and the military experience of US and British troops and officers coming out of the Gulf and Afghanistan, I don't think putting together a pacifying force in Africa as being that difficult. And look at all the good that will come out of the stability that will be established. Darfur, Sudan, Rwanda, all things of the past.

I just want to do good in the world. Everyone will be better off. Now what's not to like about this? Democracy is way over rated and most nations are not able to effectively function in a Democracy. Fair and just dictators are much more effective. Given the right checks and balances, they can be controlled by a international board of directors who will make the best decisions for the country based on economic growth.
10. Star Eagle | January 25th, 2008 at 10:03 am

Brilliant, have you contacted David Rockefeller yet? He might be able to help you. He is into that kind of thing you know.

You might have more trouble than you think with "I don't think putting together a pacifying force in Africa as being that difficult" though.

Hopefully once "they" get control over the scruffy masses and the scruff muffins (I mean resources) realize how "effectively" they now "function" under a system of "fair and just dictators", CEO's in other words, they will follow lockstep all the way to the bank.

Then again, another problem may be this pesky little Constitutional Republic/Democracy we supposedly have over here in the U.S.. You know the one. This supposed beacon of justice and liberty for all the world to see.

That problem is being addressed though through a institutionalized business-government cohesion that makes it impossible to separate the two. Throw in the politics of fear and control of these resources (I mean people, or shall we say, scruff muffins) will also see the wisdom of "given the right checks and balances, they can be controlled by a international board of directors who will make the best decisions for the country based on economic growth".

And we will just call it a "New World Order" for lack of a better term.

And Alpha, about those pesky long lasting bulbs Rush and you'all are so concerned about. Hey, the solution is simple. Just think nuculer.
11. Mitch.Mulhall | January 25th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

[You might have more trouble than you think with "I don't think putting together a pacifying force in Africa as being that difficult" though.]

Star Eagle,

I believe Alpha’s exact words were, "I am working on plans to take over Africa." That, to me, denotes military force, not a gaggle of politically correct CEOs turning sand and camel dung into manna.

Now were you to install a bevy of Hunter S. Thompsons as corporate heads and provide them with some serious military fire-power, the kind of corporate take-over Alpha intimates might work. After all, one Sudanese national with a grenade launcher could quickly invoke a CEO's corporate death benefit. A CEO who doesn't mind riding in a Pope-mobile and who's prepared to go Charleton Heston on a terrorist before he detonates his C-4 daisy chain might have the half-life of a quart of milk.

Oh, and lest I forget, amusing intentional misspelling, Star Eagle.

Cheers,
12. Star Eagle | January 30th, 2008 at 11:55 am

Mitch,

{I believe Alpha’s exact words were, "I am working on plans to take over Africa." That, to me, denotes military force, not a gaggle of politically correct CEOs turning sand and camel dung into manna.} One hand washes the other!

As far as {amusing intentional misspelling}, hey I was just spelling it the way our fearless leader pronounces it. Lockstep baby, he's my leader. NOT (that I ever voted for him)!