I urge you to visit the links below and help shape the U.S. population debate unfolding on the pages of The New York Times. In fact there are two debates occurring simultaneously: one on population and one on immigration.

The New York Times is publishing a series of articles on the impact the latest wave of immigrants is having on American institutions, with the first article focusing on the challenges of educating new immigrants.
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Below are links to a two-part blog by Steven Kotler.

The Five Year Ban: Because A Billion Less People Is A Great Place To Start
http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog

The Five Year Ban: Global Over-Population Part II
http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-playing-field

Thanks to Mark O’Connor for this article.
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Prominent Australians have thrown their support behind a controversial new book which argues that population growth is the biggest threat to environmental sustainability in this country.

In a provocative attack on water conservation schemes, such as Melbourne’s Target 155, the book Overloading Australia urges Australians to ignore water conservation, forcing politicians to rethink population and immigration policy.

For full article, visit:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/population

Thanks to Kathlene Carney for this article from the Sacramento Examiner.
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Can soap operas change the world?

They already are according to the Population Media Center (PMC) based in Shelburne, Vermont. Since 1998, PMC’s serialized radio and television dramas have been improving the health and well-being of audiences around the globe.

The shows use “entertainment education” strategies to influence social norms of the audience, much of which is from the global south. Characters evolve into role models who practice gender equity, safe sex and responsible family planning.

For full article, visit:
http://www.examiner.com

Thanks to Marian Starkey for this article.
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The phone rang at a call center in New Delhi one recent afternoon. When an agent picked up the receiver, a young woman whispered hesitantly. She said that she lived with her large extended family in a remote rural settlement and that nobody knew she was calling.

“I told her to be open and have no fear. She paused after every word,” recalled Payalkumari, 27, the call center agent, who uses only her first name. “Then she slowly opened up. She was newly married. She said her mother-in-law wanted her to have a child right away, but she was not ready to. She asked, ‘Is there some contraception that I can use secretly and nobody else will get to know in the family?’ ”

For full article, visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articlel

Thanks to Dick Cornelius for alerting me of this paper http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/phe/population-greenhouse2008.pdf

The Pacific islands are on the front lines with regard to climate change. The region’s journalists attending the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association conference here in Tonga report many signs of global warming, including salt water intrusion into farmland, collapses in roads caused by sea water, and people’s homes being swept away by “king tides” while they are sleeping.

Many thanks to Gerry Silverstein for this article from the Economist. The last paragraph details the link to population growth.
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Human beings no longer thrive under the water from which their ancestors emerged, but their relationship with the sea remains close. Over half the world’s people live within 100 kilometres (62 miles) of the coast; a tenth are within 10km. On land at least, the sea delights the senses and excites the imagination. The sight and smell of the sea inspire courage and adventure, fear and romance. Though the waves may be rippling or mountainous, the waters angry or calm, the ocean itself is eternal. Its moods pass. Its tides keep to a rhythm. It is unchanging.

For full article, visit:
http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12798458

Here is a paper I wrote as a graduate student in 1969 after hearing Paul Ehrlich speak on the Yale campus in late 1968. It was through his talk and this paper that I learned about demography and the economic implications of different human population age structures.

Best wishes,
Bill

Determinants and Effects of Human Population Age Structure (PDF, 2MB)

Many thanks to Lester Brown for the book byte below, which discusses the work of Population Media Center.
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Earth Policy Institute
Plan B 3.0 Book Byte
For Immediate Release
January 21, 2009

MOVING TO A STABLE WORLD POPULATION

http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/Seg/PB3ch07_ss3.htm

Lester R. Brown

Some 43 countries around the world now have populations that are either essentially stable or declining slowly. In countries with the lowest fertility rates, including Japan, Russia, Germany, and Italy, populations will likely decline somewhat over the next half-century. A larger group of countries has reduced fertility to the replacement level or just below. They are headed for population stability after large numbers of young people move through their reproductive years. Included in this group are China and the United States. A third group of countries is projected to more than double their populations by 2050, including Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.
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Grist Magazine
Seattle, WA
January 21, 20009

Some 43 countries around the world now have populations that are either essentially stable or declining slowly. In countries with the lowest fertility rates, including Japan, Russia, Germany, and Italy, populations will likely decline somewhat over the next half-century. A larger group of countries has reduced fertility to the replacement level or just below. They are headed for population stability after large numbers of young people move through their reproductive years. Included in this group are China and the United States. A third group of countries is projected to more than double their populations by 2050, including Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.

Continue Reading »