VSP Update

[plumb....@gmail.com]

There are two interesting events coming up this week. The first is a talk by John Seager, President of Population Connection, at the Echo Scientific Café on Thursday. The details are below. If you are interested in car pooling from central Vermont let me know.

And those who would like to join some of us at Skinny Pancake please do so at 5:15. I will be bringing VSP brochures, hard copies of our Vermont Environmental Trends: The Population Connection report and a couple of copies of David Foreman’s new book, Man Swarm and the Killing of Wildlife, if you would like one. I will also be bringing a fascinating photo of people crowded onto Sloop Island off of Charlotte organized by the Vermont ZPG chapter in 1970 to show what the Earth would look like if the population kept on growing. How right they were! I understand the café talks go for about half an hour, then a break, and then a discussion.

 

The other event is a showing of the movie Hooked on Growth in Bradford and I will be going to that also. The details are below the Seager talk.

 

And speaking of hooked on growth have you been reading about what is going on in So. Burlington relative to some concern about the questioning of the growth forever mindset? It is nice to see some resistance and I have been in communication with the city council member who has been leading that effort. She might be at the Seager talk.

 

I hope to see you at one of the events.

George
True sustainability will only be achieved with population stabilization.
www.vspop.org
http://groups.google.com/group/vermonters-for-sustainable-population

 

	-
Thursday, March 8, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Topic 24: Population Boom: How Many Earth's Do We Need? John Seager, President Population Connection
-- Café Scientifique is a mind expanding thought provoking evening for adults, exploring challenging topics with industry experts. Thursday, March 8, 6:30-8:30 p.m. What environmental crises will develop with our rapidly growing world? Join us in conversation with John Seager, Population Connection, about this major societal issue! Why is the population still growing so rapidly if the fertility rate has been declining for the past half-century? Population Connection has been engaged in population issues for more than four decades Café Scientifique is an event for 21+ with a cash bar and themed drink; Suggested donation $5; FREE hors d’oeuvres sponsored by VT Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Society. Come on out this March 8, relax, learn, talk and enjoy some time at ECHO in a cafe setting on the beautiful Burlington Waterfront. Monday, March 5, 6:30, Colatina Exit, Main St. Bradford, First Monday Film Series Growthbusters: Hooked on Growth This documentary examines the deleterious effects of economic growth, populationgrowth, urban growth and over-consumption. www.growthbusters.org. Come at 6pm to order food and drink. Sponsored by the Bradford Conservation Commission. Donations welcomed.

[Robert Fireovid]

Dear George,

It's great that So. Burlington has at least one council member who is questioning growth. However, from my communications with control-growth activists around the country, I've learned that a critical need at this point is to get more council members elected who share this council member's philosophy. Otherwise, the rest of the council will ostracize, denigrate and marginalize this person until she burns out and quits. It is very very important to recruit like-minded individuals to run for city council. You cannot depend on one council member to "save" the city; the pro-growth forces are too powerful, even in Vermont. I cannot stress this need enough.

- Bob

[lisa sammet]

I hope to go to the Cafe but will be leaving from work so it would be hard to carpool. I'm sorry I haven't been doing much. My father has been in the hospital (Feb 1) and is now in a rehab and I have had to go to Pittsfield, MA a number of times. I am also working more hours at my job (good for my wallet but leaves me little time) and I am on the Craftsbury Energy Committee....I am finding myself short of time to do much more.
Lisa
 

---

Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2012 15:05:08 -0500
To: vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
From: bob.fi...@verizon.net
Subject: Re: VSP Update

[plumb....@gmail.com]

The two population related speaking events this past week were well attended.

 

The showing of the Hooked on Growth movie by the Bradford Conservation Commission had about twenty-five people which was pretty surprising for a small town. People liked the movie although and one and a half hours most said it was too long. It even drew a couple of high school students which was nice. Fortunately Growth Busters has agreed to shorten it down to about 45 minutes and the new version should be available by late May and then we can really start promoting it.

 

John Seager, the president of Population Connection, drew about seventy people to Echo Museum Café talk. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of those people knew about VSP. Some did pick up our brochure. I asked John to please say a couple of words about Vermont being one of only four states to have a state population organization and mention us but he didn’t. I thought he had a good delivery style with lots of good information and a nice sense of humor that kept it pretty light. However, in my mind it was a totally canned speech and he didn’t address the specific Vermont audience at all.  He also primarily addressed world population and not U.S. population.

 

One of the people in the audience pointed out that most of the attendees were older people. If you have any thoughts on why it is so hard to connect with younger people I would welcome them. My only thought is that primarily young people today, for the most part, don’t seem to get involved in much of anything from community service, church, politics, or the environment. Sure there are some exceptions like the occupy and climate change movements but even they are actually pretty small and it is still a lot of older people. Am I off base? What do you think?

 

Bill Ryerson, the founder and president of Population Media Center will be speaking at the Converse Home in Burlington at 6:45 on April 5th. Seats need to be reserved by calling 862-0401. Interestingly he will be speaking there because Anita King, one of the founders of the New England Coalition for Sustainable Population, and a lifelong? population activist from Northampton, Mass., is at 96 and in her declining years and just moved there. I will be going to Burlington this week and I am going to stop in and see her.

 

Well, today is my 75th. I don’t think I will ever keep up with Anita but she is certainly a great role model along with others like Al Kuper, Al Bartlett-to whom David Gardner dedicated the Hooked on Growth movie, and several others.

 

The best,