Population drops will be disastrous

To the editor:

Almost routinely we are bombarded with statistics showing environmental disaster looming on the horizon.

Yet we rarely hear about the disaster already upon us due to the world's use of contraception, sterilization, disease and abortion all caused by our environmental promiscuity.

In December, the U.N. population division projected the world's population will spiral down by 2300 to 2.3 billion from 6.3 billion.

In January, the World Economic Forum and Watson Wyatt Worldwide confirmed that falling fertility rates are leading to a decrease in the growth of the labor force, which will be especially disastrous for industrialized nations such as the United States. American fertility rates, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have fallen to the lowest ever recorded. The birth rates in 51 countries have fallen to below replacement levels.

According to the Population Research Institute, "Our long-term problem is not too many children, but too few children. And population-control organizations are only making the problem worse."

In my opinion, unless we stop our selfish way of life, we will leave our children and grandchildren a Third World country. That is a disaster that can be averted.

CHRISTINE E. STEPHENS

Cape Girardeau