Population Connection

Update - 11/6/2011
The dedication of this group is such that even I though am no longer a dues-paying member, I continue to get informational updates such as the following:

The work of this small non-profit continues unabated and unrecognized, even as world population passed the 7 billion mark on November 1, 2011.

Within my lifetime, world population has more than doubled.

In 2050, we will have 10 billion of us.

We have pillaged the earth in search of resources, caused the polar ice capes to melt, destroyed natural habitat and forests, polluted streams, lakes, and oceans, and have been directly responsible for genocide against countless species.*

And we still want more babies?

We have oft heard of the phrases, "Crimes against Humanity" (Idi Amin, Gaddafi) and "Crimes Against Nature (in reference to homosexuality)."

What about "Crimes Against the Planet" committed by homo sapiens?

* There's an island of plastic detritus the size of the state of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thanks to both sides, East and West, of the Pacific.
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5/7/2009
I received this from Population Connection today:

"Earlier today, the White House released the details of President Obama's 2010 budget proposal, and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you.

The new budget includes $591 million for international family planning, an increase of $46 million over the current funding level. Of that total, $50 million will be provided to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In addition, the budget contains two provisions aimed at increasing access to family planning services for low income women: a $10 million increase to Title X, and a policy change that will extend contraceptive coverage under Medicaid while making the program more efficient and cost effective.

These numbers aren't as high as we would have liked, but given the current economic climate, any increase is significant. It also indicates that family planning is a real priority for this administration: the overall global health budget will see an increase of $93 million, and half of that is going to family planning programs! That certainly indicates President Obama's deep commitment to the cause, and can only bode well for the future.

There's more immediate good news, as well. The new budget eliminates all funding for abstinence-only programs, which had been lavishly funded under the Bush administration. President Obama instead calls for a new investment in evidence-based programs for teen pregnancy prevention. I'm thrilled to see that sanity and science are back in fashion after a decade of wasteful and ideologically-driven nonsense aimed at our young people."

But the budget still needs to get through Congress in the coming weeks, and the foes of family planning will surely rear their ugly heads once again.

Thank you, Population Connection. Your mission is priceless.

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12/15/2008First to Review
In high school I sported buttons on my shirt that said "Zero Population Growth."

Population Connection is the successor to that organization, originally founded by Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich. It was the first attempt to put population growth at the forefront of popular consciousness in the U.S.

I have been a member off and on over the past 15 years. I still get "literature" from the organization, though I do not attend local meetings.

But I wholeheartedly support the goals and policy recommendations of Population Connection.

In "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore did mention the population explosion that has occurred in the past half-century. Between 1950 and 2000, world population TRIPLED from 2 to 6 billion.

The benefits of the things we do to save the environment--changin g our consumer habits, recycling, or driving cleaner, more efficient vehicles--will all be erased by population growth.

And we in the U.S., 5% of the world's population, consuming 25% of the world's energy, have a disproportionate effect...

By year 2050 we will have added another 130 million people (the equivalent of four states the size of California).

40% of the births in this country are unintended.

A billion people in the world don't eat enough to support normal daily activities. Ten million die annually of hunger-related problems.

Highly recommended link:
http://www.breath...

Not only will continued population growth seriously "inconvenience" us, it will menace the very existence of life on this planet as we now know it.

Now that Bush is (almost) gone, maybe we can begin to work on making headway in solving these problems.

Population is the crux--you can't solve any of them without addressing the pressures population growth places on the world's limited resources.

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