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CCN's 5 Point Program
WHAT IS CARRYING CAPACITY?A common fallacy is to equate existing and seemingly open or "unused" spaces with the kind of resources and ecologically productive land needed to support human life under modern conditions. In fact, the criterion for determining whether a region is overpopulated is not land area, but carrying capacity. Carrying capacity refers to the number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, and without degrading the natural social, cultural and economic environment for present and future generations. The carrying capacity for any given area is not fixed. It can be altered by improved technology, but mostly it is changed for the worse by pressures which accompany a population increase. As the environment is degraded, carrying capacity actually shrinks, leaving the environment no longer able to support even the number of people who could formerly have lived in the area on a sustainable basis. No population can live beyond the environment's carrying capacity for very long. The average American's "ecological footprint" (the demands an individual endowed with average amounts of resources, ie, land, water, food, fiber, waste assimilation and disposal, etc. puts on the environment) is about 12 acres, an area far greater than that taken up by one's residence and place of school or work and other places where he or she is. We must think in terms of "carrying capacity" not land area. The effects of unfettered population growth drastically reduce the carrying capacity in the United States. |
Mass Immigration Flood Threatens Economy and Environment AFL-CIO URGES AMNESTYThe AFL-CIO, the biggest labor union in the country, is AGAIN urging Congress to give amnesty to as many as 13 million illegal immigrants. Result: depressed wages and lost jobs for Americans while rewarding lawbreakers with the right to work and potential citizenship. Isn't the AFL-CIO sanctioning lawbreaking by pushing for an amnesty? BUSH ADMINISTRATION PUSHES FOR 245(i) EXTENSIONSection 245(i), the program that allows illegal immigrants, to "buy" their legal status expired on April 30th. After the deadline, President Bush urged Congress to extend the program for an unspecified period of time. Illegal aliens, spouses, children and employees could receive permanent residence by paying a $1,000 fine. Congress halted this program in 1997 because it was undermining efforts to deter illegal immigration. In a letter to Congress, Bush says that he "is a strong proponent of government policies that recognize the importance of families." Bush believes the expiration of 245(i) hurts "immigrant families" and should be extended. But what about how 245(i) affects our American families? Dr. Donald Huddle, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Rice University, found that in 1997 immigration cost the American taxpayer a net (after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) $70 billion per year, and if current trends continue, the costs for the 1998-2007 decade will be a net $932 billion. Americans are already suffering heavy levels of taxation, much of which is used for social services and related infrastructure costs associated with accommodating the newest members of our society. According to Dr. George Borjas of Harvard University native born workers lose $152 billion annually because of job displacement and wage depression caused by immigration. Contrary to the one wage-earner norm of 40 or more years ago, most American families are now two income households - not by choice but by the necessity of paying for decent housing, healthcare insurance, children's education and a few other necessities and amenities. Two working parents means more and more children are being placed in daycare facilities. A recent study by the Child Research Net, verifies what many have long suggested: "violent behavior and unreasonableness were more common in the children placed in daycare" than children raised inside the family unit. But for many families, childcare at home is not an option - mothers must work because median wages have not risen for approximately 20 years. President Bush needs to be sent a message that blanket amnesties of illegal aliens is not good for American families and an extension of 245(i) is not the answer.
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