Know Your Czars!... Vol 1: John Holdren, Science Czar

For John Holdren, Top Advisor to President Obama in Science and Technology, overpopulation was an early concern and interest. In a 1969 article, Holdren and co-author Paul R. Ehrlich argued that, "if the population control measures are not initiated immediately, and effectively, all the technology man can bring to bear will not fend off the misery to come." In 1973 Holdren encouraged a decline in fertility to well below replacement in the United States, because "210 million now is too many and 280 million in 2040 is likely to be much too many. (2009 we are at 305M) "In 1977, Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich, and Holdren co-authored the textbook Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment; they discussed the possible role of a wide variety of solutions to overpopulation, from voluntary family planning to enforced population controls, including forced sterilization for women after they gave birth to a designated number of children, and recommended "the use of milder methods of influencing family size preferences" such as access to birth control and abortion.

 

When questioned about population control during his confirmation hearing, Holdren asserted that describing those measures did not indicate his endorsement of them. The book states that “Few today consider the situation in the United States serious enough to justify compulsion.” Over 30 years later, Holdren testified that he doesn’t find it “productive” to focus on America’s “optimum population. I don't think any of us know what the right answer is,” he said.

 

My concern is… Does he really think that at any time and under any circumstance someone or some government should have the right to determine what is “optimum population” and act on it?

 

 

Posted by CG at 10/10/2009 7:30 PM
Categories: Czars

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