Conscious Choice: Bring on the birth control

May 2008 | Letters to the Editor

Bring on the birth control

I thoroughly enjoyed this month’s issue of Conscious Choice; I found the articles well-written, well-researched, and, more often than not, quite amusing as well. They covered some fascinating solutions to the environmental crises of today and tomorrow. However, I couldn’t help but notice that the greatest problem of all was mentioned only briefly by Ms. Boyd (“Earth for Hire”), who wrote, “The culprits are human. On the one hand, today’s exploding populations require more services than when there were fewer of us on the planet. At the same time, there are fewer ecosystems altogether to provide the services.”

Well, I can’t imagine that much of your readership was very astonished by those three sentences. After all, the population issue was explored at great length in Thomas Malthus’s seminal Essay on the Principle of Population (1798). The late, renowned marine biologist Jacques Cousteau went so far as to declare, “In order to stabilize world population, we must eliminate 350,000 per day.” Although I find his proposal a bit drastic, I am willing to acknowledge the fact that we must reduce our numbers — perhaps by taking a more relaxed approach to the perpetuation of our species, which would allow the environment to begin its slow recovery while simultaneously allowing us to raise the standard of living worldwide.

In the year 1 AD, the world’s population stood at an estimated 250 million. I think that number could be attained within a few centuries, but before that happens, we must first ask ourselves this question: do we want our descendants to be happy, or numerous? For me, the answer was easy. That’s why I, who am 22 and childless, underwent a vasectomy three months ago.

—Matt Wilson, Seattle

Three cheers for Tolle

After reading Daniel Pinchbeck’s statement, “I see this tendency to ignore the social and political struggle in the works of wildly popular writers such as Eckhart Tolle, who has repackaged Vedanta for the masses…” I guess that Pinchbeck has not read The Power of Now or A New Earth. In both books, Tolle writes about the extreme crisis our planet is in. He references the 150 million plus people who were slaughtered in the last century because enough people are still unconscious and thus accept killing as a way to meet human needs and aspirations. In Tolle’s viewpoint, as in mine, violence is a crude way to meet our needs. Tolle repeatedly states that we must wake up and learn new skills rather than just build bigger weapons. In A New Earth, Tolle emphasizes the fact that now that we have the technology to wipe out our species, we have reached the place where we either have to “evolve or die.”

I’m wondering if Pinchbeck was one of the 700,000 people from 193 countries who participated in last month’s first-of-its-kind Internet workshop with Oprah about Tolle’s book, A New Earth. As I listened to the e-mails and skype calls from around the world, it was clear that a planetary shift is indeed happening — people are waking up to the madness of the world and starting to ask: what can I do in my own world to shift this madness? I am forever grateful to Pinchbeck and all writers like Eckhart Tolle featured in Conscious Chocie over the years and thank them for being a part of the individual and collective shift on our planet now. Here’s to “The Great Turning” as David Korten calls it, “The Great Awakening” as Eckhart Tolle calls it, and the “2012 meme” as Pinchbeck calls it.

— Sandy Fox, Seattle

Party like you mean it!

My husband and I attended the Green Festival After Hours event and would like to thank you and your staff for such a glorious party. It’s evident that your energy and enthusiasm really shine through the magazine. I like the look and feel of Conscious Choice and am often impressed by the striking imagery of the cover art, not to mention the insightful, informative and thought-provoking articles and columns. I can see how the team is on top of the core issues at hand and that there is a conscious (natch) effort to highlight what is working, and what can be done in our day and age to make life better on Earth. It’s also great to learn about the key players involved. We have to be vigilant in this land of marketing spin, and it’s good to know that we can depend on your publication to separate fact from fiction. Keep up the positive focus. Nice job!

— Natasha McClain

Thank you CC for hosting and extending an invite to the greatest party on earth — You guys really know how to throw a party!! Good times were had by all.
Post-GFest-ly yours,

—Coquina Deger, Seattle

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