Clearly, the population debate in the UK is heating up. Thanks to Mike Nickerson for this article from The Independent.
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A growing number of scientists are going where politicians fear to tread by calling for a wider public debate on the sensitive issue of the global human population, which is set to rise from the present 6.8 billion to perhaps 9 billion by 2050.

Lord Rees, the president of the Royal Society, brought the subject up in his excellent Reith Lectures; Sir David Attenborough has become a champion of those who believe population has been relegated as an environmental issue; and more recently Professor Aubrey Manning, presenter of the BBC’s Earth Story, has stated that the sheer number of humans on the planet is the greatest menace the world faces.

For full article, visit:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news

Thanks to Sally Mattison for this article.
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Environmentalists in Britain and elsewhere have sometimes been reluctant to talk about population in recent years. But with the U.K. Office of National Statistics projecting a 9 million rise in the country’s population to 70 million by 2030, it’s increasingly difficult to get away from the old Malthusian dilemma of population, resources, and economic growth.

Engaging in this debate is fraught with risks for the well-meaning green. As Sara Parkin puts it [PDF], “The maths of sustainability is simple — it requires fewer people, consuming less — yet we find it difficult to talk about either.”

For full article, visit:
http://www.grist.org/article

Thanks to Bob Walker for this article from The Telegraph.
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He said more needs to be done because of the “monumental” problems that face the environment as population numbers “rocket” and traditional societies become more consumerist. There needed to be more “honesty” about the fact the “cultural” pressures keep the global birth rate high.

The Prince also said the traditional religious views of the sanctity of life, which are often used to oppose the use of condoms and other contraceptives, must be balanced with the imperative to live within the limits of nature.

His comments, made in an important speech on Islam and the environment, will be seen as controversial within both the green lobby and some religious circles.

For full article, visit:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/7815069/Prince-of-Wales

Thanks to Clifford Garrard of the Population Institute of Canada for this information on the Royal Society’s project to examine the population issue. The text below is from the Royal’s Society’s website. You will see a call for input from experts, with a deadline for submissions of October 1.
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Population is a global issue which is moving back up the agenda. In the run-up to the December 2009 Copenhagen conference on climate change, a number of academics and NGOs called for a fresh look at the factors affecting and affected by changing population. Yet debates remain polarised: some people still see population as a distraction from the more urgent imperative of reducing resource consumption in the wealthiest countries. Others argue it is an issue that will solve itself, as global population size is projected to peak and then fall from the middle of the 21st century.

For full article, visit:
http://royalsociety.org/People-and-the-Planet/
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From The National
http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/12113

The United Nations in Papua New Guinea in cooperation with the Population Media Centre (PMC) has entered a two-year partnership programme with Colgate-Palmolive PNG on promoting the achievement of the millennium development goals (MDG) through the MDG radio drama campaign which will be launched next year.

Colgate came in as the key corporate sponsor of with the donation of K100,000 for two social change radio serial dramas to be developed for public broadcast in PNG in Tok Pisin and English by US-based PMC.
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Australian businessman Dick Smith has announced a $1 million prize (Australian dollars) to anyone under 30 years of age (worldwide) who can show impressive leadership in communicating an alternative to growth. There is no application form. Instead, those who are interested, should follow Dick Smith’s instructions found at http://www.dicksmithpopulation.com.au/wilberforce-award/ in attempting to win the Wilberforce Award. There are additional instructions on that web page. Here is his message of August 12, 2010.

The Wilberforce Award
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From Zunia.
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All populations, like all individuals, must address issues of age. Unlike people, however, populations can stay young indefinitely and can even grow younger with time. This report is about the ages of populations, how age is structured within populations, why that matters, and how governments and societies can influence population age structure.

The Shape of Things to Come presents evidence that certain age structures in populations can support governments’ efforts to create and maintain political stability, and that others can impede such efforts. This report identifies for the first time four main types of age structures present in current populations: very young, youthful, transitional and mature. Chapters for each structure type describe their basic demographic parameters and the common development challenges and opportunities faced. A quantitative analysis shows that each structure has distinct traits in vulnerability to civil conflict, governance and economic growth.

http://www.populationaction.org/Publications/Reports/The_Shape_of_Things_to_Come/SOTC.pdf

Thanks to Mark O’Connor for this OpEdfrom the Sydney Morning Herald.
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The federal government’s recently released 2010 Intergenerational Report argues that rapid population growth is needed to support an ageing population. It is a claim unsupported by real-world empirical evidence.

The report does include the results of economic modelling purporting to show that lower population growth would mean lower per-capita gross domestic product for Australia, among other ills. Unfortunately, the modelling did not include any environmental parameters, such as the impact of such population growth on greenhouse pollution or water use.

For full article, visit:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/economic-growth-doesnt-depend-on-more-people-20100225-p3wp.html

Thanks to Rob Dietz for this article by him.
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When I graduated from college, I was trapped underneath a mountain of debt. I had no money in the bank, $25,000 worth of student loans, and an interesting, but low-paying job doing research on economic and environmental policy. I’m sure many students today look at that $25,000 figure longingly, as they struggle with debts upwards of $100,000. But for me, the $25,000 was huge. After adding up rent, food, loan repayment, and other basic expenses, I didn’t have any money left at the end of each month. It became obvious very quickly that I was stuck – I didn’t have something that I truly desired: breathing room.

For full article, visit:
http://steadystate.org/breathing-room-economics/

Thanks to Phil Wollen for this OpEd by Tom Flynn.
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I’m not an economist, and I’ve never played a political scientist on TV.* But I peruse their literatures, and I’m puzzled by how seldom their discussions seem to focus on a problem that I consider desperately important. If I’m wrong-either because the problem is being tackled or because it’s less important than I think-I hope the economists and political scientists among our readers will set me straight.

The problem I have in mind is the ad¬dictive dependence of human eco¬no¬mies and political systems upon growth. Across history, the societies that successfully delivered “the good life” for their members have been societies engaged in growing in terms of population, wealth, physical territory, or natural resources. We associate growth with economic vigor, cultural vibrancy, and advances in human welfare. Stasis, or even growth that’s too slow, heralds malaise. Real shrinkage is often accompanied-or caused-by soc¬ial or economic collapse, military conquest, or epidemic disease.

For full article, visit:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=flynn_28_1