Thanks to Jim Brous for this article from the Globe and Mail.
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Valéry Jacques goes on maternity leave on Friday, but she isn’t sure if she’ll take 10 or 12 months off from her job at Effigi Inc., a small but fast-growing Montreal-based clothing maker.

Her partner is thinking of filling in for those last two months to care for their baby, booking off on a paternity leave at his employer.

“All I know for sure is that I will return to work,” says Ms. Jacques, 28, a graphic designer. “But I’m not at all anxious about this.”

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

Lori M. Hunter (University of Colorado-Boulder) has recently taken on the role of Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal Population and Environment, published by Springer. She encourages submissions from social demographers engaged in research that includes environmental context. The journal’s mission is to publish articles, commentary and reviews related to the bi-directional links between population, natural resources, and the natural environment, with the purpose of deepening scientific and policy dialogue in this often complex area. The coverage is multidisciplinary, spanning a range of social, policy, life, and natural sciences. Work at all scales, local to global, is presented as are both theoretical and empirical contributions.

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

The Economist continues to cling to the idea that limitless human ingenuity removes all limits imposed by the ecosystem. While they don’t say it, the implication of this editorial is that endless population growth is not only possible, but desirable. Nevertheless, the editorial does not make a convincing case that human welfare or that of the biosphere would be improved by continued population growth.

The editorial, like the one they did last September, is in need of a response. Post your responses, and see the 63 comments already made, at http://www.economist.com.
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Malthus, The False Prophet

AMID an astonishing surge in food prices, which has sparked riots and unrest in many countries and is making even the relatively affluent citizens of America and Europe feel the pinch, faith in the ability of global markets to fill nearly 7 billion bellies is dwindling. Given the fear that a new era of chronic shortages may have begun, it is perhaps understandable that the name of Thomas Malthus is in the air. Yet if his views were indeed now correct, that would defy the experience of the past two centuries.

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

Researchers unveiled the first detailed map of human impacts on the world’s oceans last week, and the news is not good. A team of 20 acclaimed marine scientists from around the world collaborated on the project, finding that humans are having a major impact on marine ecosystems, leaving only four percent of the world’s oceans unaffected by human activities.

“In the past, many studies have shown the impact of individual activities,” said lead scientist Benjamin Halpern of California’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. “But here for the first time we have produced a global map of all of these different activities layered on top of each other so that we can get this big picture of the overall impact that humans are having rather than just single impacts.”

For full article, visit:
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4099

Thanks to Bill Willers for this editorial.
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“Most people occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and continue on as if nothing ever happened.” -Winston Churchill

The root cause of global warming, deforestation, starvation, pollution, the mass extinction episode and related issues, is gross human overpopulation. At the first Earth Day, 1970, the population was not yet 4 billion (That number appears to have been achieved in 1974). It hit 5 billion in 1988 with barely a mention. If you want to see the human population growing even as you watch (It just takes a moment, and you will be astonished at the numbers flying by), click on the web address www.populationmedia.org and glance at the meter as the number heads quickly toward the 7 billion mark. 100 more are added by the time you’ve read the first paragraph.

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

See http://www.theaustralian.news.com for an article about Australia’s soaring population growth.

The article that follows is the result of a report by the Optimum Population Trust of the UK.
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UK unable to sustain population, says study.

THE United Kingdom is drastically over-populated and could support only 17 million people if it had to provide for the current 60 million from its own resources, says a study published today.

The UK has no hope of living sustainably unless every person’s “ecological footprint” is reduced by more than 70 per cent, the study for the Optimum Population Trust (OPT) claims.

For full article, visit:
www.optimumpopulation.org/HowManyPeople.pdf

Reducing high population growth was at the top of the international development agenda in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, successful population programmes were implemented in Asia and Latin America and population growth fell from about 2.5 per cent per year in the 1960s to 1.2 per cent today. By contrast, benign neglect from African leaders and elites translated into late, weak and ineffective programmes and the population growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa has remained about 2.5 per cent per year over the past half century, except in southern Africa.

In part because of the success of the Asian and Latin American programmes, international attention has shifted to other urgent issues, such as the HIV/Aids epidemic, humanitarian crises and good governance. Recent concerns about climate change have further overshadowed the demographic dimensions of African development.

For full article, visit:
http://us.ft.com

Greetings from Rwanda, where new 57% of new family planning clients name PMC’s radio serial drama as the reason for seeking services, and where 59% of HIV testing clients are naming our program as the motivator for seeking a test. I would like to do a similar program next door in Uganda.
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Big Population in the Way of Development Goals

After a long day’s work, I hit the road with the hope of catching some rest at home. What I needed the most was to get back to a fine homely environment, quiet and organised, away from the hustle and bustle that had filled my day.

On approaching the vicinity of my neighbourhood, the situation was chaotic.

For full article, visit:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802121069.html

Earth Policy Institute
Plan B Update
For Immediate Release
April 16, 2008

WORLD FACING HUGE NEW CHALLENGE ON FOOD FRONT
Business-as-Usual Not a Viable Option

http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update72.htm

Lester R. Brown

A fast-unfolding food shortage is engulfing the entire world, driving food prices to record highs. Over the past half-century grain prices have spiked from time to time because of weather-related events, such as the 1972 Soviet crop failure that led to a doubling of world wheat, rice, and corn prices. The situation today is entirely different, however. The current doubling of grain prices is trend-driven, the cumulative effect of some trends that are accelerating growth in demand and other trends that are slowing the growth in supply.
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