Thanks to Lisa Hymas of Grist for this article and to Kathlene Carney for bringing it to my attention.
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As we zoom toward 7 billion, population growth is looking ever more hairy and daunting. The big-picture solution is empowering women everywhere and making sure they have the tools, knowledge, and support to control the size of their families, but that’s not something an average person can tackle on a lunch break. Of course you can (and you should) badger your congresspeople to fund family planning, both abroad and at home, and donate to nonprofits that work on these issues.

But what can we do ourselves, in our own lives and communities? Here are a few ideas. Add your own below in comments.

For full article, visit:
http://www.grist.org/article/2011-01-13-10-8-things-you-can-do-about-overpopulation

Thanks to Frosty Wooldridge for this article.

Also, see Mark Powell’s excellent commentary on the way the U.S. Census Bureau characterized the growth that occurred from 2000 to 2010. You will find it at https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5F-idWfw7TeNWFiMzE1MzctZTA0NS00YzkyLTljNjktOWIyZmViNDcwMjlh&hl=en&authkey=CKDbmc0I
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You may have read about the results of the U.S. Census last week. The United States grows by 3.1 million people annually on its way to adding 100 million people within 25 years and 138 million people within 40 years. All totaled, demographic projections show the USA doubling from 310 million to 600 million by 2070 give or take a few years.

For full article, visit:
http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=270683&catid=862

Thanks to Mark O’Connor for this latest update on the population debate in Australia. See a related article below. Here is the text of an email from Mark.

Kelvin Thomson has sent out a superb response to Minister Tony Burke’s woeful Issues Paper on Sustainable Population for Australia.

The issues paper is called ‘A sustainable population strategy for Australia’ and is available at
http://www.environment.gov.au/sustainability/population/publications/pubs/issues-paper.pdf
Continue Reading »

Thanks to Andrew Ferguson for this book review of Rise and Fall of the Carbon Civilization by two Australian PhDs, Patrick Moriarty and Damon Honner. The review will appear in the April OPT Journal.

RISE AND FALL OF THE CARBON CIVILISATION[i]
by Patrick Moriarty and Damon Honnery, a review essay by Andrew Ferguson

Abstract. This is an exceptionally informative book, well structured and well written. Without being too long it covers all the relevant ground thoroughly. It is somewhat over optimistic in its suggestions for resolving the problems, but outlines them brilliantly; and the subject matter is so well presented that readers can make their own decision about what is going to be politically possible in the likely circumstances. Using their data, my interpretation results in the conclusion that for the longer term the global aim needs to be to reduce population to about 2 billion.
Continue Reading »

Thanks to Joyce Johnson for this blog by Lisa Hymas of Grist on celebrity non-parents.
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Childlessness is nothing new — for as long as we’ve had parents, we’ve had people who are not parents. Across centuries and cultures, at least 10 percent of women never have children, writes Elizabeth Gilbert.

But it is relatively new to have a cohort of people who are deliberate, outspoken, and even proud about being childless — or, as we prefer to say, childfree. We nonparents have traditionally been a quiet minority. And we’re still a minority — albeit a growing one, now about 20 percent in both the U.S. and the U.K. — but we’re no longer so quiet.

In 2010, the childfree started making some real noise. Get used to it; you’ll be hearing a lot more racket from us in the future. Here are some of the cultural signals and media moments that have rung out during the past year, putting the childfree lifestyle in the spotlight as never before.

For full article, visit:
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-12-31-2010-the-year-childfree-went-mainstream-thanks-oprahfor

“To be or not to be” – a parent, that is the question. The thing is, more American women are choosing “not to be.” Research shows that 1 in 5 women are now without children as opposed to 1 in 10 women in the 1970s. Childlessness has increased across most educational groups and all racial and ethnic levels.

Further, most adults no longer think you need a child to be happy. According to Pew Research (via YourTango) 59 percent of adults in 2002 said they disagree with the statement that people who don’t have kids “lead empty lives.” In 1988, only 39 percent of these people didn’t agree with that statement.

For full article, visit:
http://www.alternet.org/story/149179/newsflash%3A_you_don%27t_need_to_have_kids_to_have_a_fun_and_fulfilling_life

Thanks to Ann Jensen for this article.
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When I was 7 years old, a family friend graphically described to me how she gave birth. I don’t remember the exact details — it was an awkward barrage of information about whether or not to have an epidural — but I do remember my
unambiguous response: “I’m never having kids.”

I didn’t say that because I was grossed out. Even as a child, I knew conventional parenthood wasn’t meant to be part of my adult life. The family friend responded the same way countless people would for the next 20 years: She told me I’d change my mind when I met the right man.

For full article, visit:
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/12/14/tubes_tied_at_27

The Vatican on Tuesday sought to clarify the pope’s controversial comments about condoms and HIV, saying he by no means suggested condom use could be condoned as a means of avoiding pregnancy.

The Vatican’s moral watchdog, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a statement Tuesday saying some commentators had misunderstood and misrepresented the pope’s remarks in a book-length interview released last month entitled “Light of the World.”

The Vatican has been under pressure from conservative theologians to issue such a clarification amid widespread confusion about what Pope Benedict XVI meant and whether he was breaking with church teaching.

For full article, visit:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-12-21-vaticancondoms_N.htm

Thanks to Joe Bish for this article from the Catholic News Agency.
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A leaked State Department cable shows that the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is reading Catholic statements on the environment through the lens of population control policy.

The cable, released Dec. 19, is one of hundreds of thousands of unauthenticated U.S. State Department documents being released through the WikiLeaks website.

The Nov. 11, 2009 cable, titled “Pope Turns up the Heat on Environmental Protection,” was apparently signed by U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel H. Diaz.

For full article, visit:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/leaked-cable-notes-churchs-opposition-to-aggressive-population-control/

The Philippine parliament said Monday it has blocked government efforts to give free condoms to poor people next year amid a raging debate over a proposed law to allot annual funding for family planning.

The Senate and the House of Representatives agreed to cut a proposed 200 million-peso (4.55-million-dollar) allotment for contraceptives in the health ministry’s budget for next year, Senate Majority leader Vicente Sotto said.

“The 200 million pesos alloted for the purchase of pills, injectables and even condoms has been removed because these contraceptives are in violation of… the constitution,” Sotto told reporters.

For full article, visit:
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4518458