As is evident from my frequent emails to this list, and blog postings, population is a subject of great interest to many journalists and other writers – even if many get the story wrong. Attached is a new fact sheet from Population Action International focused on disabusing people of the notion that rapid population growth is no longer a problem.

Thanks to Tod Preston for providing this very useful item. If you see an article on population that misses the mark on factual content, send the author – and the editor – a copy of this fact sheet.

Population Growth Fact Sheet (PDF, 952 KB)

Below is a fact sheet on population & global warming that Tod Preston of Population Action International prepared for congressional staff prior to Al Gore’s House and Senate testimony in March.

Population and Global Warming (Word doc., 167 KB)

Thanks to Ben Zuckerman for this article.
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In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York. Stopping the loggers is the fastest and cheapest solution to climate change. So why are global leaders turning a blind eye to this crisis?

The accelerating destruction of the rainforests that form a precious cooling band around the Earth’s equator, is now being recognised as one of the main causes of climate change. Carbon emissions from deforestation far outstrip damage caused by planes and automobiles and factories.0514
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For full article, visit:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/climate_change/article2539349.ece

Thanks to NPG for this article.

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Global warming poses a “serious threat to America’s national security” and the military should act now to minimize the destabilizing consequences of rising temperatures, a panel of retired generals and admirals warned Monday.

Shortages of food and water could cause weak governments to collapse, increasingly severe natural disasters could draw U.S. forces into humanitarian missions in volatile areas, and melting Arctic ice could spark territorial disputes over shipping routes and natural resources.

Even the effectiveness of sonar used by American submarines could be at risk if parts of the oceans become less salty.

The 63-page report describes climate change as a “threat multiplier” that makes dangerous situations around the world all the more menacing.

For full article, visit:

http://securityandclimate.cna.org/report/National%20Security%20and%20the%20Threat%20of%20Climate%20Change.pdf.

Thanks to Doug La Follette for this article.

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Getting a better deal for mothers has been at the forefront of the feminist agenda for decades, although you’d never know it from the way the women’s movement is always being accused of attacking women with kids. So it’s ironic that what is finally driving at least some governments to act is the desire to boost fertility rates.

The aim is to breed the next generation of workers — ethnically correct workers, too, not the troublesome immigrant kind. As Sharon Lerner noted in The New York Times Magazine (”The Motherhood Experiment,” March 4), fertility rates — the average number of children per woman — have fallen below replacement level in ninety countries, including such Catholic stalwarts as Ireland (1.9), Spain (1.3), Italy (1.3) and Portugal (1.4). Even the much-trumpeted increasing US population is mostly a product of immigration (the actual fertility rate is 2.0). While politicians in Japan (1.3) seem fatally drawn to chastising women as recalcitrant “baby-making machines,” European governments have started asking if making life easier for working mothers might do the trick.

For full article, visit:

http://www.alternet.org/story/50216/

Ode Magazine
Issue 32

By Kim Ridley

Steamy tales of sex, betrayal and suspense can carry important social messages
Young and poor, Fikirte is in many ways Ethiopia’s Everywoman. Her life takes a turn for the worse when she meets Damtew, who is so obsessed with revenge against Fikirte’s innocent grandfather that he kills him and then begins to prey on her. He swindles Fikirte and seduces her half-sister, giving her HIV. He spreads vicious rumors to turn Fikirte’s family against her and to crush her dreams of finishing school. Still not satisfied, Damtew tries to murder Fikirte—twice.
Does Fikirte’s life sound like a soap opera? It is. The saga of Fikirte, Damtew, and the other captivating characters of Yeken Kignit (“Looking Over One’s Daily Life”) kept millions of Ethiopians glued to their radios for two and a half years. It also persuaded some of them to change their lives.
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