Share this article Share this article VENTURA, Calif., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over a half century ago, Sen. Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day as a catalyst to spur environmental protection. The environmental group Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) notes that Nelson adamantly warned about the dangers of population growth. As a Wisconsin Senator, Nelson also understood the dangers of smear tactics fomented by another Wisconsin Senator, Joseph McCarthy. Below are some excerpts from his 2002 autobiography, Beyond Earth Day: Fulfilling the Promise, in which he warns about both dangers: "Stabilizing our population will be key to determining our success or failure…. We have a problem here at home.… yet we won't stabilize our population as long as immigrants to the United States continue to add 1.3 million people to the population each year – 300,000 of them entering the country illegally…. Until we address this growing influx of immigrants, … the population will continue to grow indefinitely despite the nation's success at achieving a replacement level birthrate.