Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

"We I "Econuts" merit accusations isy ARRETT HARDIN University of California Santa Barbara Those of us who are deeply concerned about population and the environment--"econuts," we're called--are accused of seeing herbicides in trees, pollution in running brooks, radiation in rocks, and overpopulation everywhere. There is merit in the accusation. I was in Calcutta when the cyclone struck East Bengal in November 1970. Early dispatches spoke of 15,000 dead, but the estimates rapidly escalated to 2,000,000 and then dropped back to 500,000. A nice round number: it will do as well as any, for we will never know. The nameless ones who died, "unimportant" people far beyond the fringes of the social power structure, left no trace of their existence. Pakistani parents repaired the population loss in just 40 days, and the world turned its attention to other matters. What killed those unfortunate people'? The cyclone, newspapers said. But one can just as logically say that overpopulation killed them. The Ganges delta is barely above sea level. Every year several thousand people are killed in quite ordinary storms. If Pakistan were not overcrowded, no sane man would bring his family to such a place. Ecologically speaking, a delta belongs to the river and the sea, man obtrudes there at his peril. In the web of life every event has many antecedents. Only by an arbitrary decision can we designate a single antecedent as "cause." Our choice is biased biased to protect our egos against the onslaught of unwelcome truths. As T.S. Eliot put it in Brunt Norton: Go. go, go, said the bird: human kind Cannot bear very much reality. Were we to identify over population as the cause of a half million deaths, we would threaten ourselves with a question to which we do not know the answer: How can we control population without recourse to repugnant measures? Fearfully we close our minds to an inventory of possibilities. Instead, we say that a cyclone caused the deaths, thus relieving ourselves of responsibility for this and future catastrophes. "Fate" is so com forting. Every year we list tuberculosis, leprosy, enteric diseases, or animal parasites as the "cause of death" of millions of people. It is well known that malnutrition is an important antecedent of death in all these categories: and that malnutrition is connected with overpopulation. But over population is not called the cause of death. We cannot bear the thought. People are dying now of respiratory diseases in Tokyo, Hlrmingham, and Gary, because of the "need" for more industry. The "need" for more food justifies overfertilization of the land, leading to euthrophication of the waters, and lessened fish production---which leads to more "need" for food. ve a This marker designates ti Earth Wee Sunday. A pril 18 Concert: Russell House Patio, 8 p.m. by Lee Knight, Jr., member of' Pete Seeger's "Clearwater" crew. Monday. A pril 19 Lecture: Campus Room, Cap stone, 8 p.m. Speaker: Roy Lucas, president, James Madison Con stitutional Law Institute. Topic: "The Constitutionafity of Com puisory Pregnancy." Tuesday, April 20 Lecture: Physical Science MEF spon The ControoitanEdctionalt fCm Toundation AMEF)il spnorn its annual week long spring fund raising drive starting Monday. All donations will be used in the operation of summer community centers. This summer MEF has expanded their operations to eight centers in different disadvantaged neighborhoods. The programs are designed primarily for children and young adults. They encompass various educational, cultural and recreational activities. MEF was founded in April, 1968, following the assasination of Martin Luther King, Junior. Formed by a USC student senate resolution, the foundation is made up of students, faculty and staff of the University and Benedict College. "T'he purpose of MEF is to work in Columbia communities of a disadvantaged nature--to work with the people not for them," said Scottie Barnes, USC student coordinator. Barnes said that the fund raising drive has always been student organized and supported. Barnes and Steve Cannon are this year's enardinatnes . -- -- et the e Earth Day7 1970 M ~7 41 fz k~ caena r) 4L' Earth Day 1970 ie place the time capsule Earth Day al k calendar Auditorium, 8 p.m. Speaker: Dr. Kenneth Harkness, professor of agriculture, Ohio State University. ''opic: "Nutrition in a Space Age." Wednesday. April 21 Lecture: Russell House Auditorium, 2 p.m. Speaker: Senator Robert Packwood, (R) Oregon, member of the President's Commission on Population. Topic: "Sex and Survival." Lecture: Business Ad 5oring driv r communi1 TIhis year's drive includes three major activities: 1. D)owntown businessmen have pledged $10,000. Barnes said that this money will be raised through individual and company donations and through a series of fund raising dinners. 2. The faculty and staff of USC and Benedict ha.ve also pledged $I0.000J. Much of this will be con tributed through a payroll deduction plan. :1. Students from USC and Benedict are volunteering funds and services to the drive. Student organizations at the University have been requested to consider making donations from their allocated funds. ''Many organizations have surplus revenue which they lose if it is not spent by June 1," said Barnes. "The money goes back into the University operation b)udget. Tlherefore they could give it to MI*'. a useful purpose." Navy ROTiC, Air Force ROTC, Association of Women Students, the College of Nursing, Student .Goverpnmet-.-Association- and-' nemy .. 7i was buried last year during the University. of events ministration Auditorium, 8 p.m. Speaker: Douglas Stewart, director of Community affairs, Planned Parenthood--World Population. Topic: "Minorities and Population Control--Is it Genocide?" riursday. April 22 Lecture: Currell College, 8 p.m. Speaker: Arthur James Dyck, professor of population Ethics, Harvard School of Public Health. for funds :y centers various dormitory governments are working closely with MEF according to Barnes. Major Walter G. Smith, Captain .John H. Fitzgerel, and Mid shipman Battalion Commander Robert Prunty are coordinating the N ROTC participation. Colonel .Joe Swager is working with the Air Force ROTC. Cynthia Smith, president of AWS is to propose various activities through which individual women living in dorms may contribute through their dorms. Student, faculty or staff volunteers are needed to man tables in shopping centers throughout Columbia or to solicit fuinds at major intersections in the city. Such work will be done at the convenience of the volunteer. Any person desiring to work as a volunteer or to make a personal contribution should contact Scottie Barnes. 777-4256. Checks should be made payable to the Metropolitan IEducational Foundation and should be sent to MEF, Box 5140, University of South Carolina, .'ant.Iniin.rtie BRnea.1 -. SPogo0 Earth Week scheduled to start Sunday Ry BOB CRAFT Staff Writer Activities for Earth Week begin Sunday Sunday evening, Lee Knight a member of Pete's Seeger's "Clearwater" Crew will give concert on the Russell House Pati at 8:00. "The Unconstitutionality of Compulsory Pregnancy," will be the subject of Roy Lucas' speech Monday night at 8:00 in the Campus Room of Capstone. Lucas is the president of the James Madison Constitutional Law In stitute. Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., Dr. Kenneth Harkins, Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Ohio State University will speak on "Nutrition in' a Space and Spaceless Age." Dr. Harkness has done work in nutrition in synthetic food. Sen. Robert Packwood, (R Oregon) will lecture on "Sex and Survival" at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in the Russell House Auditorium. Also Wednesday, at 8:00 in the Business Administratio Auditorium, Douglas Stewart, director of Community Affairs of Planned Parenthood will speak on "Minorities and Population Control-Is it Genocide?" At 8:00 Thursday evening, Ar thur James Dyck, Professor of Population Ethics at Harvard School of Public Health, will spck of the "Theological Aspects of Population Control." ECO 70's, the USC en vironmental action group has received permission to block off Green St. from Sumter to Bull Streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. Permission for the temporary blocking was given through the University Division of Business Affairs and the City of CJolumb,ia. .Scott Holtzclaw, president ECON's, said that the blocking ir "emphasize problems of air andi noise pollution and emphasize mass transit as an alternative to cars." Tihere will be no rallies or ceremonies this year because they are "gimmicks." Other activities planned for Earth Week are Tree plantings on campus and ecological movies. The movies include "You Don't Have to Buy War, Mrs. Smith," an address by Bess Myerson Grant, commissioner of Consumer affairs for New York City. "The 'rime of Man" a film shows development of primitive mai focusses on several pri V w groups whose life styles so clear y reflect their attitudes toward the enviroment and "Beyond Con ception", a film that "offers a vivid picture of the population explosion facing the individual and the world." Earth Week Posters are free and available at the Russell House Inf ormation D)esk. A brochure with Ilurt her details of Earth Week will Ie avni1nble this nftenon.n ,