REPLY Limits to Growth Plan B (SD7006)

[SDMAIL Gary Hirsch]

Posted by  "Gary Hirsch" <GBHirsch at comcast.net>

Khalid,

Having the state regulate fertility may seem abhorrent, but there are, 
as you know, more positive ways to lower fertility rates.  More and 
better education for girls is one way since research shows that better 
educated women tend to make greater use of birth control and have fewer 
children. Continuing to work on reducing infant and childhood mortality 
is another way to help reduce birth rates.  High mortality rates may 
cause people to have more children as an "insurance policy" to make 
certain they have a large enough family support them in their old age.  
Similarly, programs specifically to support people in their old age can 
also reduce pressures to have a lot of children.  Overcoming the 
resistance of some countries (e.g., the US) to distribution of birth 
control and family planning education will also help.

Industrialization can be shaped to provide a better standard of living 
with more limited use of resources.  Microfinance and appropriately 
scaled technologies can, for example, help to make communities more 
self-sufficient and reduce the need for long-distance transportation of 
life's necessities. Food policies that support rather than impede local 
agriculture can help as well.

Gary Hirsch
Posted by  "Gary Hirsch" <GBHirsch at comcast.net>
posting date  Thu, 8 May 2008 13:12:59 -0400