Too Many People

Whenever* I read or hear about "global warming," I'm put in mind of the abortive Zero Population Growth movement of the 70's. If that had taken hold, things might be different.

Now the state wants to restrict or forbid fireplace burning. When I remind my daughter that not so long ago, all buildings were heated by wood or coal, she says, "But there were fewer people then." Well, someone wanted to do something about it in the 70's. (By the way, a local county is giving rebates to people who convert to a wood pellet stove. Aren't wood pellets wood? What kind of doublespeak is that?)

Naturally, in olden times, the population was controlled by war, disease and pestilence. But we haven't had a good population-reducing war in years, and the drug companies have made us so healthy that we can "live" in a "skilled nursing facility" well into our nineties. It seems the Muslims have the right idea. They're killing each other. Maybe we should let them, so as to, as Scrooge said, "decrease the surplus population."

I don't know what we can do about the drug companies, but perhaps we should eschew the life-saving potions and die at a respectable age so there will be more clean air and less "global warming" for Louie's ungrateful children and grandchildren.



*The proper application of the word "whenever." Unlike every TV court show where some illiterate says, "Whenever we went to the parking lot after the movie, " when the application is clearly, "'WHEN' we went to the parking lot. . . ." (Of course, they usually follow it with ". . . me and Maria met LaTasha," an obvious bastardization of "Maria and I. . .")