Hi Ludwig

I imagine many third world governments are beholden to the Gates Foundation – honourably I trust!

The Gates Foundation website failed to mention that Bill Gates is heavily involved in a GM push into Africa. Frankly I’m not impressed with the company he keeps – Monsanto, Syngenta, Dupont/Pioneer Hi-bred, Rockefeller, Merck etc.

Gates has invested millions in a Global Seed Vault (the “Doomsday” vault) on the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. I’m intrigued and it appears that this vault has more security than Alcatraz:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7529

Rockefeller, Gates et al have formed the “Green Revolution” push into Africa. I trust not with the disastrous results of the Rockefeller “Green” revolution which commenced in the 40’s.

Gates has been instrumental in gifting animals to poor Africans but have deals been done with compliant African leaders on the GM issue?

“Control the oil and you control entire nations; control the food and you control the people." (Henry Kissinger)

The Gates Foundation gives away at least 5% of its worth every year, to avoid paying most taxes.

It invests the other 95% of its worth. This endowment is managed by Bill Gates Investments, which handles Gates' personal fortune.

The Foundation endowment has major holdings in companies ranked among the worst U.S. and Canadian polluters, including ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical Co. and Tyco International Ltd. It appears they do not avoid investments in firms whose activities conflict with the foundation's mission to do good.

In Durban South Africa, a vaginal gel (Carraguard) is being tested on volunteers to protect against HIV. The test is funded by a generous $20-million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

However, a study found serious respiratory problems throughout the region. More than half the children aged 2 to 5 had asthma, largely attributed to sulfur dioxide and other industrial pollutants. Much of it was produced by companies in which the Gates Foundation has invested – BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Anglo-American.

One cannot deny Gates’ contributions to humanity though his planned parenthood grants have failed miserably and an ethical investor, he’s not.

Dear Ludwig,

I agree with you that population
control should be linked with
sustainability, and a country's resources.

Don't blame Bill or Melinda Gates too much
however, they're at least doing something
through their Foundation to help the poor,
who normally don't demand or ask for resources.
Western societies were able to progress over
the last 1000 years at the expense of the
developing world.

Did you know that China is having a re-think
of its 'one-child' policy?
Perhaps China is beginning to realize that
lower population growth means aging population,
decreasing competitiveness, whereas more people
means more production, bigger markets, lower costs,
Interesting no?

Thanks for the support with the whole overpopulation thing Bronwyn and Pelican.

I’m not sure that Bill Gates fortune was made on the back of overpopulation or rapid population growth. It was made predominantly via an amazing technological advance that he just happened to be in the place at the right time to make the most of.

I don’t have much of a problem with that sort of growth. That is; economic growth from good technological advances that directly improve efficiency in communication, education and the like, and generally improve peoples’ quality of life as a result.

I’d like to see the Gates Foundation come out directly against continuous human expansionism, not just rapid population growth in already chronically overcrowded countries, but the warped ethic that economies have to be forever growing or else countries will go into recession.

I believe that Bill and Melinda could do this without feeling too hypocritical about where their wealth came from or how it continues to flow into their foundation.

Just imagine it; an organisation as huge as theirs, fundamentally questioning the entire continuous growth paradigm and pushing directly for a sustainable future ……and pouring millions of dollars into it. Now wouldn’t that be something. That would be every bit as useful as all the other things that they trying to address combined. In fact, I’ve got to ask; what’s point of addressing all the other stuff if we are just going to continue with our rush towards the cliff?

R0bert, I can’t see that the Gates Foundation would consider overpopulation to be in the too hard basket, given the enormity of some of their basic themes, not least AIDS. Changing peoples’ breeding habits is not too far away from the necessity of changing peoples’ sexual habits in order to deal with AIDS.

Yabby, I can’t see why Melinda wouldn’t be forthright about the development of spermicides if this was part of the microbicide picture.

They could so easily go together. Indeed, the whole education and empowerment of women and whole communities regarding AIDS could fit so well with the need to reduce fertility rates.

The more I think about it, the more dismay I feel that the Gate Foundation just doesn’t seem interested in addressing the latter at all.

This really is of the utmost importance, as this foundation is enormous and has the ability to profoundly affect how governments and national populations think and act about health, poverty and sustainability.

With a global population of some 6.7 billion humans, an ageing population is not relevant as has been proven in Western Australia.

While I expressed concerns to political leaders around 2001, on the shortage of apprenticeships offered by companies in Western Australia (due to the high costs to these companies) the Temporary 457 Visa has significantly resolved the problems of the resource boom in the state of WA and other states.

Temporary 457 Visa skilled tradesmen, who also bring their families to Australia, contribute to the economy of this nation. Current regulations dictate that if the skilled worker is unsatisfactory or superflous to requirement, he and his family are deported forthwith.

However, the state of the environment in WA is deplorable. Those who believe that a blue sky and pretty rivers indicate healthy eco-systems are under an illusion. WA is officially listed, globally, as one of the most threatened eco-systems on the planet.

Development, mining, agriculture and population increases are responsible for the major rivers in WA being placed on life support. Agriculture is significantly responsible for the creeping salinity which is engulfing a land mass equivalent to 19 football fields per day. Much of Australia's economy depends on its resource states.

In today's Sunday Times, GM advocate and spokesperson for the Pastoralists and Graziers Association (WA), predicted that Australia can expect an increased population to 40 million in the next decade. I sincerely trust he's talking through his hat since livestock, alien to this country, already occupy almost 60% of Australia's land mass.

Charity begins at home, I believe, and much of Australia's biodiversity is trashed. This nation will increase its population at its peril.

While the West is predominantly responsible for the pollution from the Industrial Revolution, developing countries will not heed the West's mistakes because of their massive populations.

Governments who endorse and encourage population explosions today and philanthropists who remain indifferent, will wear the lepers' bell tomorrow!

Ludwig,
In order to test your proposition I ask the following questions.
• What would be needed to get such a policy up?
If the idea didn’t bog down there on cultural/national issues.
• How would you address the moral, ethical and equity issues?
Keep in mind also that the world currently produces enough food to feed its population …the problem is distribution and the profit motivation to do so.
• Who would need to give up having children? The 3rd world?
Equity suggests the limit should be world wide. That’s not going to happen!
• How would you administer/enforce such a policy?
• What and how would be the economic consequences?
Given our world economy is built on endless growth (magic pudding concept) and exploitation of cheaper labour how would our civilization cope?
• Suppose the population could be stabilized at say 3 billion would it actually solve the world’s problems?
Keep in mind the West and the rich with 20+% of the population OVER CONSUME 80% of the resources.
Clearly it isn’t that simple nor is overpopulation the most immediate problem I would suggest it economic structure that encourages/demands as much profit as can be extracted and over consumption and to hell with everyone else.

I agree with Dicky the Gates foundation is a deeply morally flawed institution.
It is inexorably part of the system and therefore part of the problem.
Having said that there is no doubt that it’s doing a lot of good.

One should never forget that Bill is a businessman first last and always. Business by definition is about achieving goals not necessarily human good. In a recent TV program this goal orientation was emphasized. Having been the most successful (ruthless) businessman his focus is now on his legacy external justification for his life. On that program a close friend said Bill is now out to win a Nobel peace prize.
In order to win that he needs powerful friends. The corollary of that is he isn’t about to upset them or country leaders by head butting on issues that are too sensitive.