Canadian
Environmental Myths
By: Brishen Hoff http://ecologicalcrash.blogspot.com
MYTH #1:
Between
During this period, the nation took in 254,400 immigrants, 9,800 more than in
the previous year. It was the highest level since 2001/2002 when 256,300
international migrants arrived in Canada.(4)
MYTH #2: Without immigration,
Without immigration, the number of deaths would exceed the number of births by
around 2030 and
With such heavily overpopulated southern reaches of
MYTH #3:
1) Actually, children are more expensive than elderly.
2)
It is countries like
3) Population growth can't go on forever, so therefore it is not a long-term
solution to an aging population.
Could it be that big business wants us to fear an aging population only so they
can gain public acceptance of bringing in a quarter million immigrants each
year to
MYTH #4: If you oppose
A misanthrope is someone who doesn't care about humans or the fact that the
value of human life cheapens as the population grows. Overpopulation does not
do the human species any favours. A misanthrope would support
MYTH #5: If you oppose
The environment doesn't care whether more people are coming from the maternity
ward or the airport. The more people there are, the worse the environment will
get. It so happens that 70% of
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has partnered with big business and
tried to convince the public that anyone who opposes rapid population growth in
MYTH #6: If you oppose
An xenophobe is someone who is afraid of foreigners. Most people who oppose
mass immigration are not afraid of foreigners but are against growing
overpopulation because of the way it degrades our environment and cancels out
our basic human rights.
MYTH #7: Overpopulation is a
global problem not a local problem in
If
Overpopulation is a local, national, and global problem. If a small island has
so many people that species unique to that island are going extinct then that
island is locally overpopulated!
MYTH #8: Controlling
population is against human rights
1) The government is already controlling population, just in the wrong
direction
2) Government-mandated population control to reduce our population is the only
thing that can save our most cherished human rights including: safe drinking
water, fishing, open-space, ability to grow our own food, clean air, enough
fuel per person to keep us warm in the winter, etc.
MYTH #9: We Canadians have a
moral obligation to share our vast land with whoever wants to move here
I would insist that our first moral obligation is to Canadians who already live
here.
Our second moral obligation is not to the billions who would like to immigrate
here, but to the native plants and animals that already call
lynx, black bear, timber wolves, elk, bobcats, badger, gray fox, river otter,
southern bog lemming, least shrew. (1)
Between 1600 and 1970 the following changes occured to biodiversity (2):
For mammals:
-36 of 4226 species of mammals went extinct
-120 species near-extinction
-64 sub-species extinctions and 223 near-extinction
For birds:
-94 of 8684 species of birds went extinct
-187 species near-extinction
-164 subspecies extinctions and 287 near extinction
About 1% of higher animals alive in 1600 were extinct by 1970. The remaining
species were drastically reduced in number and genetic quality and diversity.
You can only imagine how many additional species we've lost since 1970. Expert
scientists agree that we are experiencing a terrible "6th mass
extinction" patently caused by human overpopulation. (9)
Due to urban growth fueled by immigration, 7 of the 10 mammal species unique to
BC's lower mainland are at risk. There are currently 543 plant and animal
species at risk in
MYTH #10:
Any area of
Canada has 9,984,670 sq km and 90% of the population is concentrated within 160
km of the US border where the climate is relatively hospitable and biodiversity
was formerly high.(6)
With a present population of 33,091,228 and exponentially growing, there are
more than 3.3 people per square kilometer. That is only 60 acres per Canadian and
that includes
People often say
The Atlantic cod was once thought to be inexhaustible as was the Carolinian
If earth's present population of 6.7 billion human beings lined up around the
equator they would wrap around 357 times. (10)
MYTH #11: Curbing
This is false because every little bit helps. We must think globally and act
locally to set a good example for the world.
If there are no limits on human expansion in a border free world, humans will
move from areas of high to low concentration, converting any available wild
ecosystems to monocultures of human beings.
If
MYTH #12:
-Canadians
have already paid for their pensions with their mandatory CPP
contributions deducted from their pay-cheques.
-economic growth is dependent on population growth which raises assessment
values, forcing seniors to either move or pay higher property taxes if they can
even afford it
-economic growth exhausts natural resources, which does not benefit seniors
-there is no problem big or small that is made better in the long term by
economic growth
MYTH #13: The government
shouldn't interfere with Canada's fertility rate
The government already is, but in the wrong way. They are already paying out
baby bonuses. Instead, our government could pay people to not have children.
This would protect the rights, space and resources of the humans and wildlife
that are already struggling to survive here.
MYTH #14: Economic growth is
great for Canadians because it means more jobs
-It also means more people chasing those jobs. It does not mean more jobs per
person.
MYTH #15: Steady population
growth from immigration enhances multiculturalism which creates diverse,
vibrant communities
-Multiculturalism, as defined by rampant immigration-driven population growth,
creates polluted, conjested urban nightmares such as
-Children raised in cities such as
There are no frogs in the puddles, there are no fish in the streams, no
butterflies other than those in a museum. In addition there is smog and most
homes are shadowed from solar gain and have extremely limited space for
gardening.
-Biodiversity is more important to quality of life than cultural diversity (AKA
multiculturalism).
Immigration to North America from 1600 to 1970 has resulted in the extinction
of (2):
-17 races of Grizzly Bear
-The Sea mink on the now overcrowded NE coast of USA
Immigration is the enabler of global overpopulation, which has also extincted
the following carnivores (2):
-Japanese wolf
-Antarctic wolf (of the Falkland Islands)
-Newfoundland wolf (of Canada)
-Florida wolf
-Eastern cougar
-European lion (of Greece)
-Cape lion (of South Africa)
-Barbary lion (of North Africa)
And large herbivores such the following have gone extinct:
-Arizona wapiti
-Eastern wapiti
-Eastern bison
-Oregon bison
And birds such the following have gone extinct:
-Cooper's sandpiper
-Passenger pigeon
-Townsend's finch
-Ivory-billed woodpecker
MYTH #16: Immigration to developed
countries is good for the environment, because it causes women to have fewer
children
-As immigrants arrive to Canada, they increase their footprint. Each immigrant
from
-Immigrants to
The world average fertility rate is only 2.83 children per woman. Therefore,
not only do Canadian immigrants grow their footprint when they get here; they
also create more new footprints than the world average.(5)
MYTH #17: Immigration to
-City dwellers in
The fact that most immigrants pile up into the city does not lessen the burden
placed on
MYTH #18: Immigration driven
population growth is no longer an environmental threat because "Smart
Growth" will prevent urban sprawl
-Smart growth is like going first class instead of steerage on the ecological
Titanic. Either way, steady growth will lead us to complete ecological
shipwreck.
-As long as each person needs to consume resources and produce waste in order
to survive, there will be growing environmental damage wherever there are
growing human populations
-Even if "smart growth" sees immigrants being filed away into the
100th floor of highrise apartment towers:
1) It takes a lot of energy to run the elevators
2) Food to feed growing dense populations will have to travel from further and
further away as the population grows
3) In an overpopulated world, the only smart growth is none at all
MYTH #19: Canada's environment
is getting better because there are now more acres of land designated as
protected than ever before
Although Provincial Parks, National Parks, and Nature Conservancy of Canada
land holdings may occupy more acres than ever before, this fact is deceiving
because year after year, more acres of resources are being harvested than ever
before. If two equal quality habitats exist of equal size and A is designated
as protected and B is not; B will get exploited for its resources first and A
will get exploited only after B is exhausted, what is really accomplished?
In fact, many resources are being harvested right out of the protected areas
(Algonquin Park for example has over 3000 km of logging roads and ongoing
operations continue to clearcut that forest) Aboriginals often get away with
harvesting resources right out of protected areas because of their elevated
status in our culture.(12, 10)
In other cases, roads, camping facilities, fishing, tourism, oil and gas
pipelines, air pollution, etc are expanding within the boundaries of these
protected areas.
The strategy of bettering the environment by designating more land as protected
has been a complete failure. We had more biodiversity and unspoiled wilderness
50 years ago than today even though we had less land designated as protected
back then. As long as the population is growing, the term "protected"
will become more loosely defined and overall environmental integrity will
worsen. (11)
MYTH #20: Economic growth can
continue forever without worsening the environment as long as
"throughput" is reduced
"Throughput" they define as resource consumption. These people argue
that if we change our industries from things that people need (high
throughput): fishing, forestry (paper, lumber, firewood), beef cattle, mining,
etc to things that people don't need (low throughput): exporting poetry over
the phone, back massages, tech support, music concerts, etc then we can grow
our economy forever in an environmentally sustainable way..
Any economic activity causes environmental damage and cannot grow forever. Even
if one area reduces high-throughput activity, another area would have to
increase its high-throughput activity because people need real resources to
survive.
The size of the economy is determined by population and consumption per capita.
No matter what the economy is based on, the economy can't grow in the long term
without worsening the environment.
MYTH #21:
Greenhouse gases grow directly in proportion to the number of people. You can't
have long term population growth and long term greenhouse gas reductions.
From 1990 to 2006
From 1970 to 2004,
Therefore, as the population grows, so does greenhouse gas emissions.
MYTH #22: Canada should
encourage economic development as long as it is sustainable
We have reached a point where human beings already are consuming earth's
resources 30% faster than they can be replenished. (8) Therefore, there is no
such thing as sustainable development, or sustainable growth.
We should be aiming for a reduced population and reduced human activity. New
building permits should not be issued. New construction projects should be
disallowed.
MYTH #23: Canada can be
environmentally sustainable if we elect the greenest political party
At present, the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, and Green Party all support
economic growth, population growth, and mass immigration. Therefore none of
these parties knows what environmental sustainability means. Until more of the
Canadian public educates themselves and demands an end to "growth",
we will not have any sustainable political parties to choose from.
MYTH #24: It is not
overpopulation that is the problem, it is overconsumption by each person that
really hurts the environment
What we care about is the total amount of consumption of resources, which is
the total amount of impact on the environment. There are two factors at play:
consumption per capita and population. The media ignores the latter when
discussing environmental issues.
Environmental degradation = population X consumption per capita
Size of the economy = population X consumption per capita
Both factors matter. You can see why growing the economy is a bad thing.
Interestingly, if the earth's population was less than 10,000 it would be
virtually impossible to ruin the environment even if each person consumed
wastefully.
However, if the earth's population was over 100 billion, it would positively be
impossible to avoid massive environmental ruin even if each person consumed the
minimum in order to stay alive.
MYTH #25: Canadians will have a
better future if we just keep reducing our footprint so that we can accomodate
more population growth
From my experience, people who tell you that it is still wise to grow our
population will never answer the following question:
When is Canada's population too much for our own good: 40 million, 50 million,
60 million, etc?
From my experience, these people also don't understand exponential growth. When
I ask them:
If Canada's population is growing by 1% per year, how long will it take to
double?
They usually look confused, try to dodge the question and then only if forced
to answer, reply by saying "100 years".
This is wrong. It would only take 70 years.
Anyone who understands basic logic will realize that it is not in our best
interest to reduce our footprint just so we can grow the population. Will we be
asked to not heat our homes? Will we be asked to eat less food than what our
body needs to sustain our existence?
MYTH #26: Technological
advancements including new "green technologies" should be invested in
so that we can have more economic growth without compromising our environment
You can't have your cake and eat it to. We live in a finite world. Green
technologies designed to reduce environmental misery only serve to facilitate
more economic growth. More economic growth only serves to create more
environmental misery. We are trapping ourselves in a vicious cycle.
As the population grows, we'll be ever more dependent on complicated,
unsustainable technologies until there reaches a point where no technology will
enable us to grow our population any further. At this point our planet will be
so ugly that we will wish we would have stopped using technology to grow our
population a long time ago.
MYTH #27: Overpopulation must
not be a problem because I never hear scientists talking about it in the media
If you don't hear scientists talking about the need to reduce human numbers for
the sake of all life on earth it is because it is not where their money comes
from.
Scientists get their money from business and government and universities who
all worship the religion of economic growth. The media ignores the elephant in
the room and any scientist who points to it, because it is contrary to what
their business journalists prescribe.
Here are a number of individuals including scientists who go against the grain
for the greater good. These people demonstrate that interest in reducing human
populations locally, nationally and globally is shared by many credible and
dedicated individuals. All of whom recognize that humans have overpopulated the
earth and that a sustainable society requires a population reduction including
an end to our present model of economic growth.
http://biodiversityfirst.googlepages.com/contact.htm
MYTH #28: Foreign aid from
Canadian tax payers has been a success
40 years and billions sent to
A government report states “food production in
Foreign aid such as deep water wells, grain handouts, etc are no good to the
recipient village if they grow their population, resulting in even less natural
resources per capita than before. Foreign aid must be conditional upon
population reduction.
MYTH #29: Climate change is
the worst environmental problem
Climate change is merely a symptom of overpopulation. A far worse symptom of
overpopulation is loss of wild habitat. If you want to compare symptoms of
overpopulation, habitat loss beats climate change for severity because more
species have gone extinct due to habitat loss than due to climate change.
Overharvesting of fish and game is another symptom of overpopulation worse than
climate change for the same reason. Overpopulation is the root of all
environmental problems. How many environmental problems would we have and how
severe would they be if the earth’s human population was only 10,000? There is
really only one environmental problem and that's overpopulation; the rest are
just symptoms of it.
MYTH #30: There are lots of
excellent environmental organizations that are doing a great job at saving
This is demonstrably false. The only thing environmental organizations like the
Sierra Club of Canada, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Canadian Wildlife
Federation, World Wildlife Fund, The David Suzuki Foundation, Friends of The
Earth Canada, Pembina Institute, Nature Canada, etc are succeeding at is
ensuring their 6-figure salaries by growing their corporate and private
donations.
None of these organizations aim to stop population growth, so at best, their
work can only slow down the loss of Canadian wilderness instead of preventing
that loss. These sleazy environmental organizations determined that they get
the most funding by ignoring thorny issues such as the need to reduce the human
population to a sustainable level. When is the last time you heard one of these
organizations admit that without stopping human population growth, it is
impossible to prevent the loss of wilderness?
Have you ever heard a single one of these phony environmentalists jeopardize
their cushy NGO salaries by pointing to the sacred-cow of big business (mass
immigration) as a culprit in Canadian environmental degradation? The Nature
Conservancy of Canada has even formed a corporate partnership with The Royal
Bank of
Pick any of
MYTH #31: There is no specific
plan that would save Canada's environment without violating human rights
What kind of human rights do you expect to preserve if Canada continues its
exponential population growth (70 year doubling time at 1% annual growth)?
Now here's the plan:
1. Immediately stop all
immigration.
2. Pay each Canadian household
$10,000 per year for not having children. If a child is born,
that household has to pay back all the money they ever received, plus an
additional $20,000 penalty.
3. Stop exporting our natural
resources to other countries. At the rate we are liquidating
our forests, fish, oil, gas, etc Canadians are destined to freeze in the dark
in the near future.
This plan would ensure Canadian wildlife does not continue to be squeezed out
of its habitat. It would also protect Canadian people from suffering the
present trend of an ever declining share of space and resources per person.
MYTH #32: The overpopulation
problem is too difficult to solve and there is nothing an individual can do to
address it
There are things you can do. Once you are aware of the problem and the fact
that it will affect you in your lifetime, you can talk about overpopulation
with your friends and family.
Advocate an immigration policy where there would either be no immigration or
fewer immigrants than emigrants. Have fewer children, preferably none. If you
really love changing diapers, get a job as a nanny or try adopting a child.
Overpopulation is not something that can be solved on a voluntary
person-by-person basis without some government programs to steer people in the
right direction. We must advocate a government program to pay people for not
breeding and for an immediate moratorium on immigration-driven population
growth. We must advocate a new steady-state economic model that is not based on
growth. (13) The ultimate goal should be to stop human population growth and
reduce human numbers towards sustainable levels BEFORE OUR ENVIRONMENT GETS ANY
WORSE!
Overpopulation is not something that needs space-age technology to address. In
the words of the late Martin Luther King Jr:
"There is no human circumstance more tragic than the persisting existence
of a harmful condition for which a remedy is readily available. Family
planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical and
necessary. Unlike plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not
yet understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have
discovered and with resources we possess. What is lacking is not sufficient
knowledge of the solution but universal consciousness of the gravity of the
problem and education of the billions who are its victims."
1 www.kwic.com/~longpointbio/Reserve/Publications/FOLIO/chap10/chpt10.htm
2 The Complete Ecology Fact Book ©1972 Nobile, Philip and Deedy, John
3 http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031222/d031222c.htm
4 http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060927/d060927a.htm
5 http://peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=206
6 http://www.travelblog.org/World/ca-geog.html
7 http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/removal/e_FAQ.htm
8 http://www.footprintnetwork.com
9 http://www.actionbioscience.org/newfrontiers/eldredge2.html
10
http://ecologicalcrash.blogspot.com/2008/01/population-growth-cancels-out-human.html
11 http://ecologicalcrash.blogspot.com/2007/12/fraud-with-nature-conservancy-of-canada.html
12
http://ecologicalcrash.blogspot.com/2008/01/aboriginals-as-wise-stewards.html
13 http://www.steadystate.org
14 http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/fore-e/rep-e/repafrifeb07-e.pdf
15 http://peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=3159 Frederick A. B. Meyerson,
16 Dr David Hughes, Goulburn Post, March 9, 2007
17 http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/default_e.cfm
18 http://sinkinglifeboat.blogspot.com/2008/01/triad-of-ecological-ruin-royal-bank-of.html