Population, Immigration and the Sierra Club

Articles and discussion regarding the 1998 population-immigration referendum

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The Sierra Club population-immigration ballot question appeared on the Club's 1998 ballot, but the issue goes much deeper than that - it addresses the environmental legacy that we are leaving to future generations of all species here in the United States.

Many distinguished environmentalists both within and outside of the Sierra Club support SUSPS' position that U.S. population growth is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our age. Thousands of Sierra Club members agree.

Slowing U.S. population growth from all sources (including immigration) will yield benefits over the long term. Failure to do so will create centuries of problems.

Discussion


Introduction

Why this issue is important both to Sierra Club members as well as to everyone in the US.

Retreat

Read this important article, The Environmental Movement's Retreat from Advocating U.S. Population Stabilization

"A" In A Nutshell

A short summary of the 1998 ballot question position.

Why the Sierra Club Choked on Population

What actually happened in the 1998 Club election.

Don't unplanned pregnancies account for U.S. population growth?

Some organizations like ZPG (now Population Connection) try to draw attention away from the issue of mass immigration by saying that "unplanned pregnancies" and "population momentum" are the primary causes of unending U.S. population growth. This disinformation is most decidedly incorrect.

Population Growth and the Environment

Only population growth is forcing overall use of energy to increase.

Population, Immigration, and Global Ethics

Our government continues to force us to accept millions and millions of new citizens. Our media colludes with this policy by minimizing impartial debate and withholding an enormous amount of information about what is happening to this nation due to our immigration laws.

Will the Sierra Club Be Hurt If the Ballot Question Passes?

The Sierra Club's Board of Directors took the non-environmental path.

The Ballot Initiative and Humanitarian Concerns

By its de facto support of present high levels of immigration the Sierra Club has chosen to ignore disadvantaged Americans in favor of immigrants, many of whom are not disadvantaged at all.

The Environmental Impact of Immigration into the U.S.

Link to article by Jason DinAlt. This article thoroughly documents the impact of mass immigration, from the ten countries that send the most immigrants to America.

The Population-Environment Connection.

Link to article by Carlyn E. Orians and Marina Skumanich, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A study identifying overpopulation as the underlying cause of our environmental problems, and the need for a more proactive and preventive environmental policy rather than just treating the symptoms.


"We have this strange addiction to unending growth, and that will not work on a finite planet."
-- David Brower


Why We Need a Comprehensive U.S. Population Policy

The President's Council on Sustainable Development Task Force on Population and Consumption stated, "Reducing immigration levels is a necessary part of population stabilization and the drive toward sustainability."

Brock Evans' Statement

"This is an environmental issue... Somehow, if we love our earth - yes, even the earth of this, our own country, where we live (not some abstraction from far away) ... we can take a stand."

Wilderness Society Population Policy

The Wilderness Society took the sound environmental position and its membership increased.

US Commission on Immigration Reform, Barbara Jordan, Chair

"It is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest."

"As long as our numbers continue to increase, any gains we might make by improving technology and reducing wasteful consumption will be eroded..."
 
-- Carl Pope, Sierra Magazine editorial, Sept/Oct 1999


 
 
Review the Club's 30-year History and tradition on population policy.


 

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