
ZPG IS FOR THE BIRDS 
Bluebirds have been celebrated in art and music so long that the 
happiness. They evoke the pleasant feelings in Americans generally, 
happiest outings. 
y have become a metaphysical symbol for beauty and 
that Audubon Society members associate with their 
“Under the spreading chestnut tree the village smithy stands... ,’ 
, aline that feels as comfortable as sitting by a hearth in 
a living room full of early American furniture. But the smithy has been replaced by the automobile diagnostic center and 
chestnut blight long ago decimated the once common American chestnut trees. Is the Bluebird destined to join the famous 
Longfellow poem as a symbol of a bygone era? Ask your friends and co-workers when they last saw a Bluebird. Most will not 
have seen one for more than a year; many will not know the difference between a Bluebird and a Blue Jay. The government 
anticipates an increase of 100,000,000 Americans by the turn of the century. That’s three people for every two we have now. 
They expect an 800% increase in our electrical consumption. Imagine eight electricity generating plants for everyone we have 
now. 
The effects of these increases in population and per capita consumption over the next few decades can only mean 
catastrophe for the Bluebirds and other wildlife. Zero Population Growth (ZPG) is a recent Organization working to stop this 
fearsome growth. The tools of ZPG’s political action program are: 1. The support of candidates favorable to ZPG's point of 
view; and 2. Lobbying in state and federal legislative bodies. ZPG maintains a lobbying staff in Washington, D.C. to educate 
congressmen and to promote favorable legislation. ZPG’s prime target in both Illinois and the nation is to repeal abortion 
laws. Chapters are also working for the adoption of a national policy of stopping population growth; increased government 
support of birth control research and education, termination of direct and indirect subsidies given to large familes: and 
support for traditional conservation measures. 
Illinois ZPG chapters are in Hyde Park, Barrington, Champaign—Urbana, Evanston, Glencoe—Winnetka, Normal, Chicago, 
DeKalb, Elk Grove Village, Peoria, Carbondale, Skokie, and Wheaton. Chapters are especially needed in East St. Louis, 
Quincy, Springfield, and Jacksonville. If you would like to help save the Bluebird from what Richard Curtis has identified as 
“the giant chicken-eating frog” send ten dollars (four for students) to ZPG, Los Altos, California 94022, otherwise we are 
going to have to rewrite some verse for our children. Here is a beginning just to get you thinking: ‘There'll be Rock Doves 
Over the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow, just you wait and see.’’ ‘‘Mr. Starling on my shoulder, it’s the truth! It’s actual! 
Everything is satisfactual!’’ ‘Somewhere over the rainbow (what’s a rainbow?) Weavers Finches YA oes 
When your friends tell you they’ve never seen a Bluebird and don't even miss them, maybe they’re trying to tell you 
something. 
Bruce Peterson, Ph.D. 
Zoology Department 
S.1.U. — Carbondale, Illinois 62901 
SOCSCPTCVSIECC LTC LC SCC CCC Vee 
KANKAKEE RESIDENT OBJECTS TO PROPOSED DAM 
In evaluating the proposed dam on the Kankakee, three facts stand out: First, can a dam increase boating recreation? 
Canoeists already use the river to a considerable degree. Second, has the City of Joliet considered alternate water sources; 
what about the possibility of using water from the Illinois River; Third, what about the dam altering the natural, wild state of 
the river? The Kankakee and its neighbor, the Iroquois, are of the swift, rushing variety and would make excellent candidates 
for “scenic rivers’’ if the pollution were cleared up. 
Must we see another of our natural heritages ruined by damming? This issue is one for people of the entire state, not just 
for those of Wilmington Township, where the dam will be located. Let’s consider all sides of the issue. 
Mahlon K. Mahoney 
456 E. Station 
Kankakee, Illinois 60901 
































