Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/9940
6A – Daily News – Monday, May 3, 2010 Opinion On mortality and sustainability D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 The global mortality rate for adults has fallen by about 1 per- cent a year for the past 40 years, with women making greater gains than men and huge differences opening up between countries and regions over that period, according to a new study published in the journal Lancet. Child mortality – the probability of deaths before the fifth birthday -- and maternal mor- tality have historically been the main focus of global mortality studies. That's because those demographic groups are the target of many interventions and their mortality was thought to be a gauge of an entire population's health. Adult mortality - measured as the probability of dying after the 15th birthday but before the 60th - dropped 19 percent for men and 34 percent for women over the past 40 years. Thus the world pop- ulation has increased dramatically at what can be described as an unsustainable exponential rate. To put this in numbers consider the fact that in 1900 there were approximately 1.65 billion humans on earth, by 1950 this increased by 52% to 2.51 billion (about 1% annual growth on aver- age). The most recent estimate of April 2010 puts our population at 6.82 billion (a growth of 171% over 60 years, or an annual aver- age of over 3%). Annual births have leveled at about 134 million per year since their peak at 163 million in the late 1990s and are expected to remain constant. However, deaths are only around 57 million per year, and are expected to increase to 90 million by 2050. Because births outnumber deaths, the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion between 2040 and 2050. The rapid increase in human population over the course of the 20th century has raised concerns about whether Earth is experienc- ing overpopulation. The scientific consensus is that the current popu- lation expansion and accompany- ing increase in usage of resources are linked to threats to the ecosys- tem, such as rising levels of atmos- pheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution. To counter these dire statistics are only the even more dire conse- quences of the AIDS epidemic and smoking as the main forces driving up adult mortality in many areas over the past 40 years. AIDS and post-Soviet social upheaval combined to make the early 1990s a deadly bump in an otherwise steady trend of increasing life expectancies. As a consequence, men in much of Africa and the for- mer Soviet Union have higher risks of dying between the ages of 15 and 60 than they had in 1970. The coun- try with the lowest adult male mortality was Iceland, with 65 premature deaths per 1,000 men. The high- est was Swaziland, with 765 premature deaths per 1,000 men. For women, the coun- try with the lowest rate was Cyprus (38 deaths per 1,000) and the highest Zambia (606 deaths per 1,000). The rate for U.S. men was 130, which ranked 45th in the world. For U.S. women it was 77, ranking 49th. Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point So what you may ask do all these numbers have to do with us in the north state? They speak to the challenges we face as mem- bers of the human race to balance our family size and resource requirements, with our ever increasing life expectancies and the production of renewable resources. As I discussed last week, we are making tremendous strides in this regard by deploying solar and wind energy systems locally and better managing our water system and fisheries. By thinking globally and acting locally we demonstrate how to balance our needs and natural resources to manifest a more sustainable world. Please help our region and nation to show the world that with appropri- ate technology, enlight- ened legislation, and self reliance humans can overcome the challenges that threaten our very existence. I’ll close by letting those that may be inter- ested in pursuing and promoting these concepts that the Tehama Coffee Party Loyalists will meet and discuss such matters again Wednesday, May 5, at 5:30 pm in the Cozy Dinner meeting room in Red Bluff. All are wel- come. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sustainable and spiritual lifestyle. He can be reached at living-green@att.net. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Bend NRA; green hoax; leftie violence Commentary After a hiatus due to the extra Thursday in April, the Corning Tea Party Patriots spring back into meeting mode with several candi- dates. Together with other pub- lished "Candidates nights," no one can complain that they couldn’t get to know the local folks running for office. If you reside in southern parts of the county, make your way to the meeting on Thursday to hear from: Dale Stroud, running for Assessor; Beverly Ross, running for Clerk/Recorder; Lisa Muto, run- ning for Superior Court; and Jim Nielson, for Assembly. Come on down, shake their hands and look ‘em in the eye, as they say, begin- ning at 6 PM, at the Senior Center at 4th St. and South St. (2 block south of Solano). Folks following the controversy over the proposed Sacramento River National Recreation Area should note that the bill has now received additional language and editing, and will be presented to the Board of Supervisors tomorrow, Tuesday the 4th. It’s a pretty big deal for Tehama County’s future with potential impacts throughout the area involving traffic, recre- ational, grazing and land use, and to private property adjoining the BLM area. Past columns have pointed out the issues of negative and danger- ous affects on Bend surface streets due to increased traffic, law enforcement, and the unreliability of BLM’s past promises and oblig- ations over grazing rights. The new version of the bill authorizes BLM to acquire, from willing sellers, such land or easements as is neces- sary to provide access without trav- eling through Bend, as well as additional emphasis on law enforcement. Is it enough to satisfy opponents? I’m not convinced at this point – show up and hear the arguments. The topic of "green," or alter- nate, energy made news over the possible site of a large solar array south of town, as well as the appearance of some huge wind tur- bine blades at a staging stop. Now, I would not discourage Tehama County from acquiring a large solar energy project as long as the subsidies and investment money come from other people and com- panies. It will mean jobs, no doubt about it. However, the cost per megawatt is exorbitant for either wind or solar, compared to coal, oil, natural gas or nuclear. The vast sums required to build such solar or wind facilities are not available for other power generating plants that would deliver energy more efficiently. Plus, the effect on reducing the so- called greenhouse gas, CO2, is negligible. For instance, the author of "Skeptical Environmentalist," Bjorn Lomborg, explained the insignificant impact of relying on solar panels for the purpose of postponing the effects of global warming. Using Germany as an example, he recounted that they have the most solar panels per per- son in the world. Their investment of $75 billion in the technology will delay rising temperatures by 3 hours at the end of the century. The capacity to reduce CO2 with solar power and windmills is, as a general proposition, an incred- ible waste of resources in pursuit of an insignificant impact. Great Britain’s huge investment in "green energy" has been estimated to reduce future warming by one 3,000th of a degree C. A similar result was predicted for the Senate’s Lieberman-Warner cap- and-trade bill, by the Environmental Protec- tion Agency (June 2008). The EPA determined that full implementation of the necessarily draconian measures needed to satis- fy the law’s mandates would only lower global CO2 concentration by less than 1.4%. Mr. Lom- borg drew the only logi- cal conclusion: rather than sink vast amounts of our limited investment monies, or our obviously finite tax revenues, into inefficient current systems, we should work to make such systems so cheap that the market simply demands them without govern- ment subsidies. wing opponent last fall; 4) Kenneth Gladney, black con- Don Polson The way I see it servative, beaten by union thugs as he sold "Don’t Tread on Me" flags and pins; 5) Bricks thrown through Republican headquar- ters windows (media only covered damage to Democratic windows); 6) Extensive violence by leftwing protesters toward Republicans at the 2008 convention in St. Paul, MN; 7) Objects, including pies, thrown at conservative speakers like Ann Coul- ter; 8) Violent encoun- ters with police at numerous anti-war demonstrations (con- trasted with Tea Party peacefulness); 9) Ille- gal-alien-advocates throwing various objects at police protecting an opponent in Arizona. Let’s not dismiss the books, a On the actual sources of vio- lence – the political left – not the hysterical accusations of imaginary threats from the Tea Party by liber- al hand-wringers, consider: 1) The severe beating, by anti-Republican protesters (after a Republican fundraiser), of a staffer for Gov. Jindal, and the staffer’s girl friend; 2) Numerous beatings, by union thugs, of protesters against Obama’s health care bills, recorded last fall; 3) A Tea Party demonstra- tor’s finger being bitten off by a left movie, a play, and college writing assignments based on President Bush’s assassination, or the endless "Kill Bush" themed signs at protests, or late-night host Craig Kilborn putting "Sniper Wanted" over candidate-Bush’s picture in 2000. I’m still waiting for an apology or retraction from anyone who falsely stated that Tea Party people used the n-word and spat on black Congressmen. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.