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Letters to the EditorOrchestrated, deceptive spin by Sierra Club leadersAs a former member of the National Population Committee of the Sierra Club, I take exception to an obviously orchestrated attempt by some to put a deceptive and sinister spin on the upcoming election. In the 1980s, it was recognized within the Sierra Club that U.S. population growth is a problem for us and the world, especially considering our high resource consumption, disproportionate contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions and the futility of trying to protect our environment against ever-increasing human pressures. The club hierarchy, at that time, agreed with the concept of a reasonable U.S. policy that would move us toward population stabilization, not a position that was "anti-baby" or "anti-immigrant," merely a recognition that the rest of the developed world had stopped growing, and we must too. Then came leadership changes within the Sierra Club, apparently away from a science-based philosophy to some sort of come-one-come-all social philosophy. The club went so far as to place gag orders on chapter leaders, forbidding them to even discuss U.S. population, or most particularly, immigration - even though immigration fuels most of a growth rate catapulting us toward a possible 1 billion Americans by the end of this century, three times our current population. That is not "anti-immigrant," as depicted by some, who seem unable to debate the issue on merit, so they fall back on the rather pathetic tactic of attempting to discredit those with whom they disagree. - Kathleene Parker, Los Alamos, N.M., published in The Washington Times, February 2, 2004
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