Al Gore and "fertility management"

[Moliere]

Because Mary got pregnant. See, it's haha funny like that.

Yeah, I got that but 99.99% would imply more than just Mary. Given that we've had over 70 billion people born on earth and only one was without a father then you'd have to go out to many more decimals to get to 99.99%. It would be more accurate to say 99.9999999986%.

[woot]

North Carolina thought it had a solution with its program of coercive sterilization but is now seems to be issuing an apology. Maybe they were actually just ahead of their time in Al Gore's new world order.

Are you seriously this dense?

[wuapinmon]

Moliere could've benefitted from more Liberal Arts in his education.

[Sullyute]

All this coming from a man that has more than the average number of kids of his own, treats women as sex objects, and owns a large carbon footprint home on the beach of the rising ocean. His actions don't help his argument. Al Gore is still a dumbass.

But he buys carbon credits so it is ok. I think that his idea is a potential way to limit starvation, poverty, and disease. However, I don't see how limiting the population of third world countries is going to stop first world nations consumption of the worlds resources?

[Moliere]

Perhaps my point would have been more clear had I included the usual disclaimers about how much I dislike Al Gore.

That being said, the little bit I know about rural African tribes suggests that the absolute best way to decrease poverty and starvation in these populations is the empowerment of women. Condoms and well installations don't fix anything, because the men don't want to use condoms and the wells just allow more time and energy to be used for making and raising babies. But as soon as the women receive some education and realize they can do more than push out babies, the quality of living of the whole population dramatically increases. The same is not true of the men being educated.

I guarantee that the relationship between women's education and general quality of life is the same in the US.

So Gore's point is an extremely good one. It's a shame that so many are too blinded by their partisanship to evaluate his arguments. Hey guys did you hear he claims he invented the internet? Hurrrrr.

You make good points but I fail to see how this has a bearing on pollution and global warming. It would seem that population control in developing or developed nations would have a bigger impact as they are the ones burning coal and oil. I doubt some tribe in central Africa adds much to the global warming epidemic.

[Levin]

I'm just saying that if Al Gore really believes that humans are a root cause of climate change, why doesn't he off himself? If he's not willing to die for it, then he really doesn't believe it.

I'm not so sure why you have such a problem with me saying that. Am I wrong?

If you really love the freedom this country affords you and you know that it requires the lives of those willing to defend it, then you should off yourself defending this country. Please go fight the terrorists who want to destroy our freedom. Hunt them down in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, New York City. And if you die, TIA.

[YOhio]

I'm with Al Gore on this one, as I suspect most people here would be if they cared to think about what he said. But it's a hopeless endeavor to engage Il Pad on anything advocated by Al Gore. He says family planning, Il Pad reads forced infanticide.

[venkman]

My ex girlf is a pediatrician who did her residency in Children's National Medical in NE DC. Pretty much the entire story of her stay there was about Moms with many children by many men. She routinely had to give ignorant Moms talks on how bags of potato chips and McDonald's didn't constitute a satisfactory diet.

Al Gore is a pompous lightweight who I believe is more interested in perpetuating his climate-related celebrity than he is in solving problems - but my second-hand experience with FUBAR parenthood in our nation's capitol made me sympathetic to the case for managing reproduction among people who aren't capable of providing for and properly nurturing their kids.

Now obviously the scary thing is figuring out how that's done w/o giving the government undue authority in influencing reproductive freedom.

These women and their resulting children are dependent on the government. It's no wonder they do not take responsibility for their actions...they don't have to! They are the fruits of modern American liberalism, the result of too much government, not too little government.

[Uncle Ted]

seriously, guys, you are way off base on this one. He's saying that women SHOULD be able to choose how many kids to have. It's hard for us to wrap our heads around the idea of a world where there's no reliable way to control childbirth, but half of the female population lives in that world.

North Carolina thought it had a solution with its program of coercive sterilization but is now seems to be issuing an apology. Maybe they were actually just ahead of their time in Al Gore's new world order.

Are you seriously this dense?

What part do you not understand? Sterilization, although I don't personally recommend it, is a reliable way to control childbirth.

[woot]

You make good points but I fail to see how this has a bearing on pollution and global warming. It would seem that population control in developing or developed nations would have a bigger impact as they are the ones burning coal and oil. I doubt some tribe in central Africa adds much to the global warming epidemic.

Well fewer people and more education is a good recipe for a more responsible society in the long run, but it is true in the short run at least it ends up creating an even greater ecological strain due to the use of technology. I'm hoping this is merely an adolescent period and that we can create and use technologies that are more sustainable.

I do think it's probably a mistake to frame these changes, which have so many potential benefits, as ways of reducing climate change. Even if it is true, it's too divisive right now. Doubly so when Gore is the messenger. I think his heart is often in the right place, but he is too loose with his facts and any social or scientific issue he talks about immediately becomes a polarized political issue due to the mindless partisanship in our country. I can't blame him too much for trying to use his prominence for good, but at this point I don't think he's helping.

[woot]

What part do you not understand? Sterilization, although I don't personally recommend it, is a reliable way to control childbirth.

What I don't understand is why you are putting such an evil argument in Gore's mouth instead of responding to what he actually said.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yeah, I got that but 99.99% would imply more than just Mary. Given that we've had over 70 billion people born on earth and only one was without a father then you'd have to go out to many more decimals to get to 99.99%. It would be more accurate to say 99.9999999986%.

Geez. And I thought engineers were anal.

[Sullyute]

These women and their resulting children are dependent on the government. It's no wonder they do not take responsibility for their actions...they don't have to! They are the fruits of modern American liberalism, the result of too much government, not too little government.

I don't undertand this statement. So the liberals wanting to fund Planned Parenthood creates more children, trying to teach sex education (other than abstenance) in schools creates more children, putting money into the education of girls and minorities creates more children? If the government stopped medicare maybe there would be alot less LDS children as the government wouldn't be footing the bill for them to have children while they go to BYU.

Edit: I realize that there are generations of people on social assistance and that needs to stop, but just saying that it is the liberals fault and we need to cut government in half will not solve the problem.

[Uncle Ted]

What I don't understand is why you are putting such an evil argument in Gore's mouth instead of responding to what he actually said.

Hmm... A central African country like Rwanda, for example, contributes less than 0.01% of the annual CO2 emissions in the world. On the other hand, China, the United States, and the European Union contribute around 60%.

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If Al Gore is arguing that by educating the women in 3rd countries to have less babies will have an impact on global warming then I don't buy it.

[kccougar]

Geez. And I thought engineers were anal.

I hear that's pretty effective too.