REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter,
The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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Is our growth in population good for you as an individual?

By Jerry Kohl and John Somerville

Are you trying to untangle our transportation bottle-necks? Cut back on diversion of water to the Russian River? Stop clearcutting in our forests? Are you troubled by local traffic, increasing costs of housing, loss of our farm and open lands, increasing costs and decreasing availability of water? Isn't POPULATION GROWTH the real cause of all of these problems? Is it in your best interest that our cities, county and state are spending our tax dollars to attract more industry, more people, more gridlock? No one knows where all the new houses will be built, or where the additional water will come from for all the new lawns, sewer systems, golf courses.

Early signs of over-population involve water. Locally we are on notice that water conservation will be necessary this summer. (Rainfall has been plentiful but 1,000 new building permits were issued in Santa Rosa last year). And then there is the Eel River controversy. In Los Angeles they are instituting a facility to treat sewage so, in five years of trickling through sand, it will be drinkable for a new community in the desert. In the center of our country the great Ogallala aquifer is falling. Where water used to be taken for granted it is becoming a matter of concern.

In our finite world our population can't continue to grow. If you are willing to help tackle this difficult and critical problem, there are several actions you can take. The first thing is to recognize that Population Stabilization is the key issue upon which many other environmental issues depend.

Many Sierra Club members recognize the critical importance of Population Stabilization. The Club has a Population Committee and a Global Population Stabilization Program in Wash. D.C., and your input can make a difference.

1. Make it known to the Sierra Club Board and President, and to our Chapter and Group Officers, that Population Stabilization should be a top priority.
2. Join Sierra Club's Environmental Rights Network and subscribe to The Planet. Contact the Club's Activist Desk in S.F. by mail or e-mail to: activist@sierraclub.org
Ask the Planet editor to carry more info. on population actions. 3. Contact our Global Population Stabilization Program at 202-547-1141, or carole.schlitt@sierraclub.org . Ask for copies of Club Population Literature and to be placed on the mailing list for the S.C. Population Report.
4. Attend our June 11th meeting with the Sonoma County Unitarians at 11:30 a.m. at the UU Fellowship 3641 Stony Point Rd. For more info. on this meeting contact Linda Harlow at 526-3528 or Jerry Kohl, 579-6790.
5. Contact Californians For Population Stabilization at 1-800-786-4726 for info on their publications and their August 12th and 13th Conference covering California's Population and the Environment.
6. Thank our Representatives in Congress for their past help and urge them to support "The Global Democracy Promotion Act" HR 4211, to repeal global gag rule; and HR3634/S 2380 "Saving Women's Lives Through Int'l Family Planning" which addresses funding issues. Both of these acts have been endorsed by the club.

To help on Population Stabilization contact Eric Nelson, Chapter Population Chair, 537-8920: Jerry Kohl, 579-6790 or John Somerville, 584-9045.

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