[Mb-civic] Another facet of Immigration: It Kills the Earth

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

Immigration Kills the Earth
Environmental sustainability depends upon societies living 
simply but well where they find themselves

Earth Meanders by Dr. Glen Barry
http://earthmeanders.blogspot.com/
April 11, 2006

Every major policy issue of the day has an ecological component 
and immigration is no exception. The age when whole segments of 
society can pack up and migrate to new frontiers is over, as the 
Earth can no longer handle the environmental impact. Ecological 
aspects of current and historical mass human migration are 
overlooked with grave consequences. Movements of booming human 
populations around the world over past centuries, carelessly 
over-consuming resources and destroying ecosystems, is the 
reason the Earth and humanity are in crisis. 

Throughout history mass movement of humans as epitomized by 
European colonization has devastated ecosystems and indigenous 
cultures - much that is natural, truthful and life sustaining 
has perished. Mass migration in recent centuries has both caused 
and been caused by environmental decline. The poverty of many 
migrants can be explained by poor management of land, water and 
population.

Given the current state of global overpopulation and ecological 
overshoot, unbridled migration simply can not be absorbed or 
tolerated. Not if anywhere in the world is to remain livable. 
The idea that America or any other place can sustainably handle 
the world's tired and poor masses is a myth that has lead to 
deforestation, climate change, water scarcity and ultimately 
threatens global ecocide. 

There is no human right to consume and procreate recklessly, 
trashing your local environment, to then pick up and move to a 
new location to ecologically devastate.

In a finite world of ecological limits imposed by needs of the 
biosphere, not all people can live as Americans and Europeans 
do. This rotten, grotesquely wasteful way of life can not be 
attained nor sustained where would be immigrants now live, by 
coming to America or Europe which are already critically 
overdeveloped, or by fleeing to remaining large and relatively 
pristine natural environments as in the past. The frontier is 
gone, and remaining wildernesses are required for global 
ecological sustainability. 

Studies of wildlife, applicable to human populations, have shown 
wildlife populations are more stable and less prone to 
catastrophic population crashes (mass death) when available 
habitat is segmented into smaller ranges. When species have an 
unlimited ability to migrate, expanding populations will always 
exceed the carrying capacity of the entire habitat leading to 
catastrophic population collapse. When populations are limited 
to ranges, impacts of local excess is limited, and prospects for 
species survival improved.

If the Earth and humanity is to be sustained, large-scale 
unplanned and disorderly movement of thousands or millions of 
individuals can not be allowed. We are starting to see our first 
climate change refugees and many more environmental refugees are 
to come. And while orderly, regulated movement of individuals 
can be absorbed; clearly mass migration caused by environmental 
collapse further threatens the sustainability of human habitat.

The American and European land mass simply cannot support the 
wasteful excessive consumption of all that live there now, much 
less the huge numbers that aspire to migrate, without utterly 
destroying the global biosphere. There are simply more people - 
hundreds of millions if not billions - that want to come to 
these bastions of excessive affluence than the region's land, 
water and air can absorb. It is these overdeveloped beacons of 
consumption that are likely to have the gravest ecological 
collapse. 

Every human society must develop a sense of place and ability to 
live within bioregional ecological limits. The most important 
steps that can be taken to alleviate human suffering and provide 
opportunity is to help people everywhere meet basic human needs 
and aspire to live well and sustainably upon the land from which 
they have come. The human future - if we are to have one - is of 
relocalized, largely self-reliant communities practicing 
agrarian democracy and living lightly upon their land.

If we really care about Mexican peasants and global poverty we 
would work to promote international sustainable development, 
environmental conservation, resource equity, and global justice 
where they live. Military expenditure would be redirected to 
massive investments into water supplies, agriculture, population 
control, ecological restoration and community development. 
Further, not-yet-overdeveloped countries would be well advised 
to stop sending their resources en masse to the overdeveloped 
world, and instead wisely husband them for their own long-term 
sustainable community well-being.

If America and Europe are to be sustained at even a portion of 
their current affluence and not overwhelmed by poverty stricken 
minions, there must be greater sharing of resources - including 
reductions in overdeveloped countries' living standards. The 
root causes of social inequity and ecological degradation can be 
addressed, or in the not too distant future the tumult of 
billions of environmental refugees will kill off any semblance 
of comfort and well-being.

The Earth is a sinking ship and the scramble to find a life raft 
threatens to finish it off. Death occurs - particularly when too 
many people live carelessly upon their regional environmental 
assets and resource base. We can deal with the needs of people 
and their land, air and water now; or we can all shift and slide 
to wherever there is a bit of each left, destroying it all and 
in the process humanity and the Earth. 

It is better that all have less wealth and even some shall die 
now, than that the Earth and advanced human societies perish. If 
humanity and the Earth are to have any chance there must be more 
international equity and justice, real investments in 
international sustainable development; and less tolerance for 
unruly, unregulated and unlawful flows of immigrants and 
refugees.

We shall all learn to live simply but well where we are or all 
of humanity will die. If the precedent is further established 
that millions of impoverished peoples can pack up and move as 
the environment collapses, we will have sealed the demise of the 
Earth. By establishing custom and law whereby societies must 
live within their bioregional ecological limits, at least some 
of us shall find a way to long-term global ecological 
sustainability and maintenance of some aspects of advanced human 
culture. And it may well not be the rich countries that make it.

###

Earth Meanders is a series of personal essays that places 
questions of environmental sustainability within the context of 
other contemporary issues. Comments can be made and past 
writings can be found at: http://earthmeanders.blogspot.com/ . 
Emailed comments will be posted there as well. Permission is 
granted to reprint this essay provided it is properly credited.


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"A war of aggression is the supreme international crime." -- Robert Jackson,
 former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice and Nuremberg prosecutor

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