World Hunger and Population

Why do you constantly fail, in your editorials, to emphasize overpopulation as a major underlying cause of many, if not most of the problems of the world, the U.S. and California? Your editorial (Dec. 15) on Somalia didn’t mention that overpopulation has greatly exacerbated that country’s food and water problems. The editorial on the problem with illegals in the city of Orange did mention housing overcrowding as a problem, but didn’t address population growth as a major contributor to this problem. Finally, the editorial on California’s water problem mentioned population growth as a given, not a problem that should be addressed and corrected.

The absolute fact is that the world, the U.S. and California cannot continue to grow forever. Growth has to stop at some level. What do you think that level should be? My feeling is that for optimum quality of life we are already overpopulated, particularly here in the Southland if you consider water shortages, traffic, air pollution, crowded parks and beaches, unemployment (which led to last spring’s riots), increasing crime, etc. All of these problems could be greatly reduced with fewer people in Southern California.

CHARLES T. ROTH

Fountain Valley