| | Published July 18th, 2012
| Letters to the Editor
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The mystery of who put up the birdhouses along the Lafayette-Moraga Trail has been solved. We received the following letter from Jil Plummer of Lafayette:
Editor:
I enjoyed the photos and comments about my birdhouses on the side of the Lafayette-Moraga trail. Just to set things straight, my husband put them up some time ago in a moment of whimsey and continued to add to his collection, either making them himself or buying them at garage sales or flea markets. It was fun for us to hear exclamations of discovery, children counting them or knowing they were a destination point for some families. The two featured, with Jill and Bill on them, were birthday gifts from a special trail friend, a couple just "appeared" but mainly they are Bil's. He died of cancer last year but I, with others, still enjoy his bird world.
Thanks,
Jil Plummer
Lafayette
Editor:
July, as "World Population Day" is being recognized, is a good time for Lamorindans, as part of the world's third-largest national population, to reflect on what perpetual population growth is doing to the nation they love and the nation their descendants will inherit.
Between 1950 and 1970, America added population equivalent to the 1950 populations of all the states from the West Coast to the Mississippi River, including Alaska and Hawaii. Between 1970 and 1990, America added population equivalent to the populations of all the states from Maine to the Appalachians. And between 1990 and 2010, America added population equivalent to the populations of the remaining fifty states . . . plus ten--oh, my--Washington DCs!
That's right, as America's population grew for 110 of the past 111 years, we more than doubled our population and tried to build a second America overlaying the existing nation. When we're told we have "shortages" of water, energy, and other nonrenewable resources, perhaps we should respond, "We have overages of the users of water, energy, and other nonrenewable resources." When we're told our nation is not keeping up with needs for infrastructure--highways, hospitals, bridges, schools--perhaps we should point out, "It's no surprise that we have difficulty duplicating America every 50-60 years." And if we could duplicate America every 50-60 years, is that what we want to do? Is that what our descendants would want us to do?
If Lamorindans take a moment in July to reflect on America's perpetual population growth, they may decide such growth is not what we want for ourselves . . . or for our descendants. If you want to learn more about America's addiction to population growth, please visit www.ThinkPopulation.org.
Edward C. Hartman
Moraga
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA