Are there to many Americans?

[Cranky]

I think lennon even had enough brains to realize its better to be a flakey left winger than a total moron, lunatic and idiot right winger.

[Kuciwalker]

But not enough to recognize that it's a false dichotemy, of course.

[Guynemer]

We should just teach people how to intelligently use birth control.

This would also have a great personal benefit to me, as I would have to deal with far fewer dumbass parents.

[SlowwHand]

Won't happen. Too many Catholics who won't participate in that idea, and too many..others, that get paid more welfare for more children.

[lightblue]

Looking at the 2004 census (http://www.census.gov/population/soc...ST-F1-2000.pdf)
the numbers of children per family is below 2 anyway, so the population would be contracting.

And yes, I forgot about the air conditioning, think that's one of the main contributors. I always though that air-co's were set too low when I went (especially in the SW), a 30-40 degree drop between inside and outside seems a bit too much

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by lightblue
Looking at the 2004 census (http://www.census.gov/population/soc...ST-F1-2000.pdf)
the numbers of children per family is below 2 anyway, so the population would be contracting.

My god. I had two parents, four grandparents, eight grandparents! So does everyone else I talk to! We're having a population implosion!!!

[RGBVideo]

To the OP: No, plenty of room in the USA for population growth. No room in Southern California, OTOH. And you don't need that excuse for reducing immigration, every nation has a right to limit immigration to it. What's Bad is restricting emigration.

If you're going to be a troll, be decent, please.

The US is, at least per capita, by far the most polluting country in the world. Sorry if reality hurts, kid.

FYI: I personally only ignore trolls which are too repetitive and predictable, and thus never surprise or amuse me. There are a lot of amusing troll posts. Exampli gratia Ned.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


My god. I had two parents, four grandparents, eight grandparents! So does everyone else I talk to! We're having a population implosion!!!

Yup.

If you extend the current trends, in a few generations there will be no Jews left in the United States. OTOH, if you extend current trends, there will be millions of Hasidic Jews, who will finally push everyone else out of Brooklyn and Rockland County. NY.

Beware of linear extrapolations of demographic trends.

[lord of the mark]

US more polluting?

First, pollution is related to output, so naturally countries with higher GDP per capital will have higher emissions per cap for many pollutants.

Second, we have more older industrial plant than many developed countries - what comes from industrializing relatively early, and not being bombed during WW2 (and not industrializing SO early as UK, whose plant went obsolescent decades ago, and IIUC has largely been replaced)

Thirdly, we're a vast sprawling country, and have a lot of extractive and primary industries - issues Canada and Austalia have too.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DanS


F.e., we use lots of air conditioning. We have mostly detached single-family homes, our homes are larger on average, etc.

We don't have much of a steel industry to speak of anymore.

still 156,000 people employed in the steel industry, in 2004, per BLS.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Spec


I agree with you Dan, but you cant stay rich for ever if the environment dies around you. It's only temporary.

Spec.

Mebbe. The point is though, that just quoting pollution per capita independent of GDP per capita, makes it seem like folks in high GDP per cap countries are uniquely wasteful or environmentally careless. Its misleading as to the nature of the problem.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by lightblue
My girlfriend has just written a thesis on the european emission trading scheme (CO2), which we as Europeans like to throw the Americans faces (disregarding the fact that the US has a SO2 trading scheme) as evidence we're better than them.

You realize that the only reason such a trading scheme was even included in Kyoto was because Clinton insisted on adding it in, right?

[RGBVideo]

First, pollution is related to output, so naturally countries with higher GDP per capital will have higher emissions per cap for many pollutants.

This is the #1 reason why USA is #1, IMHO.

Oerdin: you Americans were smart by not taking part of it since 3rd world countries weren't included in the emission-dealing. The only thing Kyoto seems to be doing other than stagnating EU's economic growth is making coal a lot cheaper for China, which doesn't give a crap about the state of the global ecology. Kyoto only serves as public masochism if all the nations in the world won't agree to it.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by lord of the mark

still 156,000 people employed in the steel industry, in 2004, per BLS.

True but now we're only the third biggest steel producer in the world (behind Japan and WAAAAAYYYYYY behind China). To compare in 1939 the US made around 80% of the combined output of all other combatants, allied or axis. The US steel output skyrocketed after 1939 until around 1942 when US steel output exceeded the combined steel output of the rest of the planet.

http://www.euronet.nl/users/wilfried/ww2/1939.htm