Laboring for American Workers

Laboring for American Workers
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, August 31, 2022, p. A5
Where have all the workers gone? And what can Democrats do about it next Monday?

Had Democrats stuck with the coalition Franklin Roosevelt bequeathed them they would today be winning by wide margins every election from the local schoolhouse to the White House.

That coalition carries forward in the name, “the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.” Not incidentally, that party controls half of Minnesota's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the lower house of the state legislature, and the governorship.

Both parties have watched the cost of presidential and congressional campaign expenses go from $23 million in 1952 ($257 million in 2020 dollars) to $14.4 billion in 2020 – a 56 fold increase.

In response, the Democrats tried to build a national political party with money from the east coast and voters on the left coast. The result? Flyover country became fly away country. When workers asked, “What have you done for us lately?” all they heard was crickets.

By the 2020 election 83 percent of the 3112 U.S. counties studied were solid Republican. Iowa Democrats’ results were worse: 94 percent of the counties went for Trump. (Democrats picked up the three counties with state universities plus Polk, Linn, and Scott.)

The pay and benefits of union jobs that had enabled workers to enjoy the middle-class rewards of homes, cars, boats and college-educated kids had largely disappeared. When the air traffic controllers went on strike in 1981 President Reagan shut out the union and fired 3,000 members. His message to industry leaders? Union busting is OK.

In the 1950s 35 percent of private sector workers belonged to unions. By 2012, after a half-century of Republicans’ successful efforts at union busting, it had fallen to 6.6 percent. [Photo credit: The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union.]

Union members were not just a source of funds and votes. They also used to do the most significant share of the heavy lifting – door knocking, leaflet distribution, phone calling, and taking voters to the polls.

Today much of that person-to-person campaigning goes undone.

I recall (but can’t find) a Wall Street Journal item in the early 1960s about a firm in California that claimed it could elect anyone to any office with a $100,000 TV-only campaign. With no TV competition they were quite successful. During 2019-2020 political TV, radio and digital advertising reached $8.5 billion.

But today’s TV effectiveness is not what it used to be. And mastery of political use of social media has yet to occur.

Democrats can’t magic wand their party’s problems away.

Meanwhile, what Democrats can do is to seize the ultimate teachable moment each Labor Day offers the party – starting with next Monday.

They can organize Labor Day Democratic party celebrations and rallies in communities and neighborhoods around the country. They can emphasize what the party’s elected officials have delivered to working people over the past century. Not today’s candidates’ promises. What Republicans have done to oppose them, further enriching the wealthy while ignoring, or opposing, workers’ interests.

It's no cure-all, but it sure would be a good start.
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Nicholas Johnson was a board member, DNC Harriman Communications Center. mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org

SOURCES Minnesota DFL. “Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Democratic-Farmer-Labor_Party (“It is currently the state's favored party, controlling half of Minnesota's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the lower house of the state legislature, and the governorship.”)

Campaigns cost. “$23 Million for 1952 Campaigns,” CQ Almanac [Congressional Quarterly], 1953, https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal53-1365614 (“GOP Reports $13,814,997, Democrats $6,159,844 For White House, Capital Races; CQ Lists Spending Reports Of 133 Groups, Names $5,000 Donors In 30 States

The 1952 campaign, Presidential and Congressional, cost the two major parties and other national political groups $23 million, according to reports filed with the Clerk of the House by political organizations. The total includes expenditures for Congressional campaigns. (For detailed analysis of Congressional campaign spending, see page 40.)

Republican Congressional candidates and national and special political committees spent a total of $13.8 million. Democratic groups and candidates spent $6.2 million. The remaining $3 million was recorded as expenditures by labor groups, minor parties and unaffiliated political groups.”)

Karl Evers-Hillstrom, “Most Expensive Ever: 2020 Election Cost $14.4 Billion,” Open Secrets, Feb. 11, 2021, https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/02/2020-cycle-cost-14p4-billion-doubling-16/ (“Political spending in the 2020 election totaled $14.4 billion, . . .. While the presidential election drew a record $5.7 billion, congressional races saw a stunning $8.7 billion in total spending.”)

“$1 in 1952 is Worth $11.18 Today,” CPI Inflation Calculator, https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1952?amount=1#:~:text=Value%20of%20%241%20from%201952,cumulative%20price%20increase%20of%201%2C018.02%25 [based on U.S. Bureau of Statistics data] (“Value of $1 from 1952 to 2022. $1 in 1952 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $11.18 today, an increase of $10.18 over 70 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.51% per year between 1952 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 1,018.02%.”) [Thus, the 2020 value of $23 million in 1952 would be $257 million.]

Republican counties. Samuel Wonacott, “87% of Americans Live in a County That Has Voted For the Same Party in the Past Three presidential Elections,” Ballotpedia News, news.ballotpedia.org/2022/04/18/87-of-americans-live-in-a-county-that-has-voted-for-the-same-party-in-the-past-three-presidential-elections/ (“After the 2020 presidential election, 288 million Americans lived in either a Solid Democratic or Republican county, 87.2% of the 330 million covered in this analysis.” map of counties; 459 solid Democratic, 2368 solid Republican)

“Donald Trump Won in Iowa,” Politico, Jan. 6, 2021, https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/iowa/ (map showing counties)

Percentage in unions. Mike Collins, “The Decline Of Unions Is A Middle Class Problem,” Forbes, Mar. 19, 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikecollins/2015/03/19/the-decline-of-unions-is-a-middle-class-problem/?sh=5b0d78667f2d (“President Reagan - Reagan Kicked off the era of union busting by successfully shutting out the air traffic controllers union in 1981. After a nationwide strike 3,000 workers were dismissed by Reagan. This was a signal to industry that union busting was o.k. It was also a signal to future presidents and politicians that taking an anti-union stance was not necessarily a political liability.”

“In 2013 the unionized workforce in America hit a 97 year low. Only 11.3% of all workers were unionized. In the private sector unionization fell to 6.6%, down from a peak of 35% in the 1950s. American corporations have made a concerted effort to get rid of unions and reduce labor costs since 1980, and they have been very successful.”)

“Unions by the Numbers,” Barnes & Thornburg, Jan. 24, 2022, https://btlaw.com/en/insights/blogs/labor-relations/2022/unions-by-the-numbers-2022-edition (“In 2021, the number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions continued to decline (-241,000) to 14.0 million, and the percent who were members of unions was 10.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The rate is down from 10.8 percent in 2020 . . ..” crediting U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

TV ads. Howard Homonoff, “2020 Political Ad Spending Exploded: Did It Work?” Forbes, Dec. 8, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhomonoff/2020/12/08/2020-political-ad-spending-exploded-did-it-work/?sh=7fa848d3ce0d (“In the 2019-2020 election cycle, total political advertising spending reached $8.5 billion across TV, radio and digital media. This was 30% higher than the $6.7 billion projected earlier this year, and 108% more than spending in 2017-2018, which was a record at that time. We saw 9.3 million of TV ads alone in more than 4300 federal, state and local elections ….”)
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Live Through All Time or Die

Libraries Essential to Democracy
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, August 24, 2022, p. A6
At least some Americans may be slowly awakening to the demise of their democracy.

As Abraham Lincoln said in 1838, and others emphasized since, “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

Well, it has now “sprung up amongst us.”

As a stew is the result of its ingredients, so is a democracy the result of the civic organizations and institutions that support its shaky structure: a courageous, trusted mass media; a wise, respected non-partisan judiciary; citizens who vote and honorable officials who count those votes.

Central is the cluster of efforts to prepare all citizens to be their own governors. Elections. Public schools. First Amendment protections and reduced postal rates for newspapers and books. Local and national elections. The roads and rail to turn “e pluribus” into “unum.”

And public libraries.

Although the Nazis’ book burnings are perhaps the most notorious, authoritarians have been burning books for 2,000 years. [Photo: Book burning in Nazi Germany, 1933; source: Wikimedia commons]

The U.S. is no exception. When the British burned the 3,000 books in the Capitol during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell the Congress his near-7,000 book library. Because Federalists argued his books would spread his “infidel philosophy,” the appropriation to buy them only passed by a narrow margin along party lines. Sound familiar?

Forcing librarians to leave, and a library to close, while less dramatic than book burning, produces the same result. As it did in Vinton, Iowa, earlier this year – even though Americans overwhelmingly oppose removal of books from libraries (70 percent Republicans, 75 percent Democrats). [Photo: Vinton, Iowa, public library; source: https://www.vinton.lib.ia.us/about/library-history]

Libraries have been a part of Homo Sapiens’ culture since our agricultural age. One of the first, in the seventh century BC, well before Dewey decimal classification, held 30,000 cuneiform tablets organized by topic.

Not surprisingly, it was political organizing by members of women’s clubs that led the establishment of 75-80 percent of U.S. libraries in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In 1896 the Cedar Rapids Federation of Ladies Literacy Clubs generated enough public pressure for a library that the City Council scheduled a vote. Iowa was then one of two states that allowed women to vote on limited tax issues, including libraries.

It was approved by 59 votes (1,105 to 1,046).

The Gazette reported that “Had it not been for the efforts of the women themselves who voted in every ward in the city, the proposition would undoubtedly have been lost” – noting that half the men who voted didn’t bother to vote on the library proposal.

Today’s Iowa public libraries, and their personnel, still offer books and “information desks,” but oh, so much more. Never have they been more essential if our democracy is to “live through all time.”
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Nicholas Johnson was a Presidential Advisor, White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services, 1979 Contact mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org

SOURCES
Lincoln on “approach of danger.” Abraham Lincoln, “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions,” Springfield, Young Men’s Lyceum, Jan. 27, 1837, “Report of Address Before the young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 27 January 1838,” Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Rutgers University Press, 1953, https://papersofabrahamlincoln.org/documents/D200130

Nazi book burning. Michael S. Roth, “How Nazis destroyed books in a quest to destroy European culture,” Washington Post, Feb. 24, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-nazis-destroyed-books-in-a-quest-to-destroy-european-culture/2017/02/24/244aee94-cdf3-11e6-a87f-b917067331bb_story.html Photo on Wikimedia commons: On Wikimedia commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Joseph_Schorer_B%C3%BCcherverbrennung_1933.jpg/640px-Joseph_Schorer_B%C3%BCcherverbrennung_1933.jpg

“Book Burning,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/book-burning

Authoritarians burning books. “Book Burning, 213 BC-2011 AD,” University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, https://uwm.edu/libraries/burnedbooks/ (“Since ancient times, people from virtually all religions and societies have burned books as a form of censorship, protest, or hate mongering. … Tyrants throughout history -- from Imperial China to Stalin to the Khmer Rouge to Castro -- have attempted to preemptively quell sedition by eliminating subversive texts from the population.”)

Jefferson’s library. “Sale of Books to the Library of Congress (1815),” Monticello, https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/sale-books-library-congress-1815 (“Jefferson's offer was met by warm support from many in the House and Senate; still, the bill introduced to authorize the purchase of Jefferson's library faced congressional opposition, particularly from the Federalists, such as Cyrus King, who argued that Jefferson's books would help disseminate his "infidel philosophy" and were "good, bad, and indifferent ... in languages which many cannot read, and most ought not."[3] The bill finally passed with a narrow margin along party lines.[4]”

Vinton library. Gage Miskimen, “With another leader leaving, Vinton Public Library closes for now; Library lost 2 directors in 2 years amid resident complaints,” The Gazette, July 9, 2022, https://www.thegazette.com/news/with-another-leader-leaving-vinton-public-library-closes-for-now/ (“The library board met Tuesday to accept the resignation of Colton Neely, the interim director. … Most recently departing the library before Neely was Renee Greenlee, its director for six months. … Vinton also saw another director, Janette McMahon, resign in July 2021. … McMahon previously told The Gazette that she received complaints about children’s books on display, including “Joey,” written by first lady Jill Biden, and “Superheroes Are Everywhere” by Vice President Kamala Harris. She said some residents argued the library should have more books about former Republican President Donald Trump on display. “I can’t buy what doesn’t exist, and there weren’t quality books about Trump.”)

Gage Miskimen, “Two directors quit Vinton library after complaints about hirings, LGBTQ and Biden books,” The Gazette, June 20/July 10, 2022, hegazette.com/news/two-directors-quit-vinton-library-after-complaints-about-hirings-lgbtq-and-biden-books/

Gage Miskimen, “Vinton Library to Reopen Monday with Limited Hours,” The Gazette, July 15, 2022, p. A1 (“Previous directors left for other jobs amid city resident complaints about the library’s display of LGBTQ books and books about Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.”)

Opposition to book removal. American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fight-censorship (“Large majorities of voters (71%) oppose efforts to have books removed from their local public libraries, including a majority of Democrats (75%), independents (58%), and Republicans (70%). Most voters and parents hold librarians in high regard, have confidence in their local libraries to make good decisions about what books to include in their collections, and agree that libraries in their communities do a good job offering books that represent a variety of viewpoints. Hart Research Associates and North Star Opinion Research on behalf of the American Library Association among 1,000 voters and 472 parents of children in public school. The survey was conducted March 1 to 6, 2022, and the sample is demographically and geographically representative of U.S. voters and parents.”)

History of Libraries. Don Vaughan,” A Brief History of Libraries,” britanica.com, https://www.britannica.com/story/a-brief-history-of-libraries (“The library concept dates back millennia. The first systematically organized library in the ancient Middle East was established in the 7th century BCE by Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, in contemporary Iraq. It contained approximately 30,000 cuneiform tablets assembled by topic.”)

Dewey Decimal Classification, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification

Women and libraries. Carnegie Library, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_library (“Beginning in 1899, Carnegie's foundation funded a dramatic increase in the number of libraries. This coincided with the rise of women's clubs in the post-Civil War period. They primarily took the lead in organizing local efforts to establish libraries, including long-term fundraising and lobbying within their communities to support operations and collections.[5] They led the establishment of 75–80 percent of the libraries in communities across the country.[6]”)

“Our History,” Cedar Rapids Public Library, https://www.crlibrary.org/our-history/ (“While women could not vote generally, in 1894, Iowa became one of only two states to pass legislation allowing women to vote on limited tax issues, including library levies. The City Council put the matter to a public vote on March 2, 1896. The results were 1,105 votes yes to 1,046 no. The library was approved by just 59 votes. The Gazette reported returns showed half the men who voted didn’t vote on the question at all, and speculated the vote may be challenged on the grounds that ‘the women are illegal.’ “Had it not been for the efforts of the women themselves who voted in every ward in the city, the proposition would undoubtedly have been lost,” the article said. The mayor asked Van Vechten to choose the new library’s first Board of Trustees. The four women and five men of the new board elected Van Vechten their president. The Gazette dubbed her “the mother of the library.”)

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A Global Warming Win-Win-Win

A Global Warming Win-Win-Win
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, August 16, 2022, p. A5
Can women cool global warming?

Homo Sapiens first appeared about 300,000 years ago. We’ve been growing rather than chasing our food since 10,000 B.C. Estimates of the population then are between one and fifteen million persons.

With more food available, villages evolved and population increased dramatically.

Yet, it took until 1803 to reach one billion people. Then 124 years to reach two billion; 33 years to reach three billion; and 15 years to reach four billion.

Need I say more?

Apparently so. Because most of what we’re told about environmental change and daily disasters stops with the phrase “climate change.”

Many are willing to do their part. To borrow from the Great Depression, they “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” They become vegetarians, bicycle or walk to work, turn up the air conditioner thermostat, recycle, compost, and grow some food.

That’s good citizenship in a crisis. But it only offsets a tiny fraction of the problem.

In fact, many of our environmental problems have been created, or at least made worse, by the rapid increase in rate of human population growth. One example: Humans are responsible for a 1,000-fold increase in other species’ natural rates of extinction.

The increase to eight billion of us also multiplies potable water shortages, polluted air, deforestation, wetlands destruction, increased trash and toxic waste, depleted fisheries and finite resources, increased farm, river and ocean pollution and acidification, and the substitution of concrete for agricultural land and open spaces now under sprawling communities and 4 million miles of roads.

Human activity is not only responsible for most of the greenhouse gas CO2 since our industrial age. We have also reduced the forests and soils that could remove and store it. Our country creates the most – and at a rate seven times per person that of China, number two.

Transportation creates the largest share of U.S. emissions.

In 1922 the U.S. population of 110 million was driving 111 vehicles per 1000 people (12 million vehicles). By 2012 the population was 314 million, but the number of cars per 1000 population had gone from 111 to 808 (271 million vehicles).

Say what you will about fuel efficiency and electric vehicles, more people driving 20 times more vehicles produce more CO2.

Exponential population growth is an environmental challenge for the U.S., but especially third world countries.

Fortunately, women will naturally reduce population growth if they are provided the support they deserve: social status, economic opportunity – and education. Women (and men) with secondary education and access to contraceptives have far fewer births. They space more time between pregnancies. Plus, their children also end up with better health, quality of life, and education. [Photo credit: wikimedia commons.]

We ought to be doing this anyway. Saving our planet is a bonus.

After writing this I discovered 21,000 scientists agree: “We are jeopardizing our future … by not perceiving continued rapid population growth as a primary driver behind many ecological and even societal threats.” Think about it.

Nicholas Johnson lives in Iowa City where he thinks about his great grandchildren. FromDC2Iowa.blogspot.com contact mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org

The proposal that I do a population growth column came from my son, Sherman Johnson, who has studied the issue for decades. Many of the sources, below, were his suggestions -- including the potential role of women. Without his urging and assistance this column and its supporting sources would not exist. The photo was suggested by my wife, Mary Vasey.

SOURCES Earliest humans. John Noble Wilford, “When Humans Became Humans,” New York Times, Feb. 26, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/26/science/when-humans-became-human.html (“The first human ancestors appeared between five million and seven million years ago, probably when some apelike creatures in Africa began to walk habitually on two legs.”)

Stacy Morford, “When did we become fully human? What fossils and DNA tell us about the evolution of modern intelligence,” The Conversation,

Sept. 9, 2020, https://theconversation.com/when-did-we-become-fully-human-what-fossils-and-dna-tell-us-about-the-evolution-of-modern-intelligence-143717 (“Bones of primitive Homo sapiens first appear 300,000 years ago in Africa, with brains as large or larger than ours. They’re followed by anatomically modern Homo sapiens at least 200,000 years ago, and brain shape became essentially modern by at least 100,000 years ago. At this point, humans had braincases similar in size and shape to ours.”)

“What Does it Mean to be Human? Humans Change the World,” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History,” https://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/humans-change-world (“12,000 years ago, ‘The Turning Point,’ Eventually, humans found they could control the growth and breeding of certain plants and animals. This discovery led to farming and herding animals, activities that transformed Earth’s natural landscapes—first locally, then globally.

Human population. “World Population to Hit Milestone With Birth of 7 Billionth Person,” PBS Newshour, Oct. 27, 2011, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/world-population-to-hit-milestone-with-birth-of-7-billionth-person (“First, the figures. It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world's population to reach 1 billion. But the next billion came only 100 years later, in 1927. And after that, the rate of growth accelerated, 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion 1974, 5 billion 1987, 6 billion 1999, and now 7 billion. We're adding a billion population every 12 years.”)

Use it up. “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make it Do, or Do Without,” Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.fdrlibrary.org/use-it-up-wear-it-out-make-it-do-or-do-without (“During the Great Depression money was hard to come by and so people were not able to go to the store or order whatever they wanted or needed online. In fact there was no online in those days! People became creative in the way they used, and reused, what they had. 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without' became a popular saying.”)

Species extinction x 1000; other examples. Peter Aldhous, “We Are Killing Species at 1000 Times the Natural Rate,” NewScientist, May 29, 2014, https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25645-we-are-killing-species-at-1000-times-the-natural-rate/

Artic ice. Steve Gorman, “Satellite imagery shows Antarctic ice shelf crumbling faster than thought,” Reuters, Aug. 10, 2022, https://Reuters.com/world/satellite-imagery-shows-antarctic-ice-shelf-crumbling-faster-than-thought-2022-08-11/ (“Taken together, thinning and calving have reduced the mass of Antarctica's ice shelves by 12 trillion tons since 1997, double the previous estimate, the analysis concluded. . . . The consequences could be enormous. Antarctica holds 88% of the sea level potential of all the world's ice . . ..”)

California megaflood. Matthew Cappucci, “A ‘megaflood’ in California could drop 100 inches of rain, scientists warn; It hasn’t happened since 1862, but California is due for another one,” Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/12/megaflood-california-flood-rain-climate/ (“The idea seems inconceivable — a month-long storm that dumps 30 inches of rain in San Francisco and up to 100 inches of rain and/or melted snow in the mountains. But it has happened before — most recently in 1862 — and if history is any indicator, we’re overdue for another, according to research published Friday in Science Advances that seeks to shed light on the lurking hazard.”)

Four million miles of roads. “Highway Statistics,” Office of Highway Policy Information, Federal Highway Administration, Aug. 23, 2018, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2017/hm16.cfm (“In 2009 there are 4.1 million centerline lane miles and 8.5 million lane miles (an average of 2.1 lanes per centerline).”)

Humans and CO2. “Carbon Dioxide Emissions,” in “Overview of Greenhouse Gases,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, May 16, 2022, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases (“Human activities are altering the carbon cycle–both by adding more CO2 to the atmosphere and by influencing the ability of natural sinks, like forests and soils, to remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere. . . . [H]uman-related emissions are responsible for the increase that has occurred in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution.2”)

U.S. creates most CO2. Andriy Blokhin, “The 5 Countries That Produce the Most Carbon Dioxide (CO2),” Investopedia, July 2, 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/092915/5-countries-produce-most-carbon-dioxide-co2.asp (“The U.S. is the largest emitter of CO2, with approximately 416,738 metric tons of total carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. The largest sources of CO2 emissions in the U.S. came from transportation . . ..” Note that the second country, China, with roughly four times the U.S. population, generated only a little over half as much (235,527) as the U.S.)

Other reports of who creates “the most.” For example, a small country emitting a small percentage of the global total, with a small population, may nonetheless have a high “per capita” number. Hannah Ritchie, “Where in the world do people emit the most CO2? There are large inequalities in the carbon footprint of people across the world. How do countries across the world compare? Where in the world do people emit the most CO2?” Our World in Data, Oct. 4, 2019, https://ourworldindata.org/per-capita-co2 (“The world’s largest per capita CO2 emitters are the major oil producing countries; this is particularly true for those with relatively low population size. Most are in the Middle East: In 2017 Qatar had the highest emissions at 49 tons per person, followed by Trinidad and Tobago (30t); Kuwait (25t); United Arab Emirates (25t); Brunei (24t); Bahrain (23t) and Saudi Arabia (19t).”)

Largest share from transportation. “Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Overview,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, August 5, 2022, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions (“The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions.”)

Increase in transportation CO2. “Fact #841: October 6, 2014 Vehicles per Thousand People: U.S. vs. Other World Regions,” Vehicle Technology Office, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-841-october-6-2014-vehicles-thousand-people-us-vs-other-world-regions (1922 112 (111.53) vehicles per 1000 people; 2012 808/1000 people (807.99); 111.53/1000 -> 110049 x 111.53 = 12,273,765 vehicles; 808/1000 -> 335,051 x 808 = 270,721,208 (22 x 1922))

“US Population from 1900,” Demographia, http://demographia.com/db-uspop1900.htm (1922 110,049,000, 2012 314,000,000)

“United States Population,” Worldometers, https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/ (U.S. population Aug. 5, 2022, 335,000,000 (335,051,677))

Educating women. Elina Pradhan, “Female Education and Childbearing: A Closer Look at the Data,” World Bank Blogs, Nov. 24, 2015, https://blogs.worldbank.org/health/female-education-and-childbearing-closer-look-data (“In a nutshell, data show that the higher the level of a woman’s educational attainment, the fewer children she is likely to bear.”)

“Overpopulation: Impacts and 6 Solutions for 2022,” MindsetEco, https://mindseteco.co/overpopulation-solutions/ (#1. Support Education for women and girls. Numerous studies . . . have shown that there is a direct and significant link between improved education for women and girls and a lower reproduction rate”. . . “[C]ase studies of improved secondary education for females offer hope for the future. A 1998 study of Niger discovered a 31% decrease in fertility rate among women who had completed secondary school. A comparable 1997 study in Yemen found a 33% decrease”. “Supporting the education of women to at least secondary school level is a definitive impact on reducing birth rates. It also improves the spacing between children and improves the health and quality of life for those children. This has a knock-on effect, where the children of better-educated mothers are also more likely to be educated themselves.”

“#2: Support Initiatives that Provide Education and Access to Family Planning (“Accurate, factual and unbiased education for children, adolescents and adults about reproduction, sexual health and consent are essential to reduce the number of unintentional births that occur each year. Approximately 40% of pregnancies are unintended, which translates to around 85 million unintended pregnancies per year.” “Easy, affordable, and reliable access to contraceptives and birth control is a major factor in preventing unplanned births and is one of the stronger overpopulation solutions.”)

21,000 scientists. Haydn Washington, Ian Lowe, Helen Kopnina, “Why Do Society and Academia Ignore the ‘Scientists Warning to Humanity’ On Population?” Journal of Futures Studies, Sept. 2020, 25(1): 93–106, https://jfsdigital.org/articles-and-essays/vol-25-no-1-september-2020/why-do-society-and-academia-ignore-the-scientists-warning-to-humanity-on-population/ (“The Second World Scientists Warning to Humanity (Ripple et al., 2017) has now been signed by 21,000 scientists. . . . We are jeopardizing our future by not reining in our intense but geographically uneven material consumption and by not perceiving continued rapid population growth as a primary driver behind many ecological and even societal threats.”)

William J. Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Thomas M. Newsome, Mauro Galetti, Mohammed Alamgir, Eileen Crist, Mahmoud I. Mahmoud, William F. Laurance, 15,364 scientist signatories from 184 countries, “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice,” Oxford Academic, BioScience, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 12, December 2017, Pages 1026–1028, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix125, Nov. 13, 2017, https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/12/1026/4605229

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