Over the last several days there has been an epic firestorm of controversy and outrage over a decision recently made by the Susan G. Komen Foundation — to eliminate breast-cancer screening grants to Planned Parenthood. You can see RH Reality Checks full coverage of the issue here: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/tag/komen-vs-planned-parenthood

For the article in question, click here: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/02/top-komen-staffer-quit-over-policy-targetting-planned-parenthood-others-point-to-

Top Komen Staffer Quit Over Policy Targetting Planned Parenthood; Others Point to Politics Behind Decision

by Jodi Jacobson, Editor-in-Chief, RH Reality Check

February 2, 2012 – 11:22am (Print)

Writing in The Atlantic today, Jeffrey Goldberg provides substance to what most of us already knew: the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to eliminate breast-cancer screening grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates was politically motivated.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to put these things together:

• Komen hires Karen Handel, far-right former GOP Georgia gubernatorial candidate who campaigned in part on de-funding Planned Parenthood, Healthy Babies Initiatives and other services for poor women, and who has openly expressed hostility with Planned Parenthood’s “mission.”

• Koman puts on their board Jane Abraham, Chair of the Susan B. Anthony List, major anti-choice political organization, for which de-funding Planned Parenthood is a major goal, and which engages in misinformation campaigns about Planned Parenthood funding, services, abortion and breast cancer links, and other issues.

• Both of the above are strongly allied with groups boycotting Planned Parenthood.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/02/top-komen-staffer-quit-over-policy-targetting-planned-parenthood-others-point-to-

Several recent Daily Emails were related to entertainment-education initiatives geared towards adults in various places around the world; below is an article related to a different kind of “entertainment education”. For a Wikipedia article on Nature Deficit Disorder click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_deficit_disorder To read the article in question, see: http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/childrens-books-increasingly-ignore-natural-world-39391/

Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World

A survey of award-winning children’s picture books from 1938 to 2008 suggests our increasing estrangement from the natural environment.

By Tom Jacobs

January 30, 2012

Picture an illustrated children’s book – one that has won a prestigious award – and your mind conjures up images of furry animals, puffy clouds, and eager boys and girls enjoying adventures in the wild.

In fact, our kids are entering a much different world in their earliest literary experiences – one in which nature plays an increasingly minor role. That’s the conclusion of a newly published study, which suggests these books reflect our growing estrangement from the natural environment.

A group of researchers led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist J. Allen Williams Jr. studied the winners of the American Library Association’s prestigious Caldecott Medal between 1938 (the year the prize was first awarded) through 2008. They looked at more than 8,000 images in the 296 volumes.

They noted whether each image depicted a natural environment (such as a forest), a built environment (such as a house), or a modified environment (such as a cornfield or manicured lawn). In addition, they observed whether the illustrations contained any animals, and if so, rated them as either domestic, wild or anthropomorphized (that is, taking on human qualities).

The results, published in the journal Sociological Inquiry, are sobering. “There have been significant declines in depictions of natural environments and animals, while built environments have become much more common,” the researchers report.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/childrens-books-increasingly-ignore-natural-world-39391/

Thanks to Steve Kurtz for alerting PMC to this January 30th article in Scientific American. Similar coverage was seen from Reuters and the Australian Broadcasting Company. All are reporting on the release of a report authored by the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Global Sustainability. The full report is here (.pdf). The article is found here:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=world-lacks-enough-food-fuel-as-pop

World Lacks Enough Food, Fuel as Population Soars

The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N.

By Nina Chestney

LONDON (Reuters) – The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N. report warned on Monday.

As the world’s population looks set to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2040 from 7 billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by 3 billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially.

Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water, according to U.N. estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to supply.

And if the world fails to tackle these problems, it risks condemning up to 3 billion people into poverty, the report said.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=world-lacks-enough-food-fuel-as-pop

Please see this recent NY Times “Opinionater” article, written by Sarika Bansal, a freelance journalist and a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. As you are likely aware, Population Media Center works around the world to deliver entertainment-education programming, with an emphasis on educating about the benefits of small families, encouraging the use of effective family planning methods, elevating women’s status and promoting gender equity. See here: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/steamy-plots-with-a-social-message/#

January 26, 2012, 9:15 pm
Soap Operas With a Social Message

Every Sunday evening, seven million Kenyans sit in front of their television sets to watch “Makutano Junction,” a soap opera set in a fictional village. In one episode, audiences watch as a woman, Mama Mboga, holds her crying infant. “I need some money to take Joni to hospital,” she tells her husband, Erasmus, after he wakes up and takes a swig from a bottle. “I think he has malaria.” Erasmus insists that his son is healthy, that she is overreacting and that he has no money to give her.

Erasmus eventually gives her some money, but only enough for chloroquine, which is not always effective in fighting malaria. When Joni gets sicker, Mama Mboga takes him to the emergency room, but he dies even before seeing the doctor. Her friends rush to console her as she begins crying, “My baby is dead!” in the waiting room.

As with traditional soap operas, the above story line is full of emotion, conflict and suspense. Scattered cliffhangers leave the audience wondering what will happen next. As I watched it, I found myself beginning to wonder, Will Joni survive? Will Erasmus stop drinking? Will Mama Mboga stand up to her deadbeat husband?

To read the full article, please click here: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/steamy-plots-with-a-social-message/#

Below is a recent paper by John Bongaarts, published in International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Volume 37, Number 4, December 2011: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3720911.html

Can Family Planning Programs Reduce High Desired Family Size in Sub-Saharan Africa?

By John Bongaarts

During the past half century, fertility declines have been pervasive in Asia and Latin America. Between the early 1950s and the early 2000s, the total fertility rate (TFR)-the average number of live births a woman would have during her lifetime, assuming constant fertility rates-dropped from 5.7 to 2.4 births per woman in Asia and from 5.9 to 2.3 births per woman in Latin America.1 Only a handful of countries in these regions still have fertility rates higher than four births per woman. In Sub-Saharan Africa, however, fertility remains high in the large majority of countries.

Although some declines have occurred, the average total fertility rate in 2005-2010 exceeded 5.1 births per woman-more than double the levels observed in Asia and Latin America.

Several factors contribute to the high fertility rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. Compared with populations in Asia and Latin America, the continent’s people are on average poorer, less educated and have higher child mortality. These factors contribute to a desire for large families, which in turn leads to high fertility. In addition, with few exceptions, governments in Sub-Saharan Africa have made family planning programs a low priority.2,3 Continued high fertility, combined with lower-than-expected mortality from the AIDS epidemic, are producing very rapid population growth. By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa will have a billion more inhabitants than in 2005, according to the United Nations’ medium projections.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3720911.html

The following article was recently seen on RH Reality Check, which provides reproductive and sexual health and justice news, analysis and commentary. See: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/01/11/ethiopia-gets-on-pill-and-that-matters-africa

Ethiopia Gets on The Pill, and that Matters for Africa

by Jessica Mack

January 11, 2012 – 11:42pm

African countries are too often lumped together as one big composite of grave statistics and chronic epidemics. Because of this, it’s especially important that the global development and reproductive health communities recognize and amplify those success stories that can be told.  Especially when these stories are designed and driven by local efforts.

Less than 20 years ago, contraceptive use in Ethiopia among married women of reproductive age was a measly 3 percent, and maternal mortality rates were among the highest in the world. Today, contraceptive use is at 29 percent, double that of just five years ago and higher now than the level of contraceptive use in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. It’s an exponential increase in record time. Maternal deaths have also dropped, and now occur at less than half the rate they were just a few decades ago.

“Government ownership is critical [for improving reproductive health],” says Dan Pellegrom, President of Pathfinder International, which has worked in the country since 1964.” And Ethiopia’s government took ownership.” That ownership took the form of renewed commitment to women and girls, and creative collaborations with aid agencies to make long-acting contraceptive methods in particular more available. (Injectable contraceptives are by far the most popular method countrywide). A waiver of the 2007 import tax on contraceptives also increased the flow of supplies throughout the country.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/01/11/ethiopia-gets-on-pill-and-that-matters-africa

Congratulations to the New Security Beat, the blog of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, for prospering into their 5th year of existence. Their efforts help me to share this quick Saturday morning reading (and watching). Click here for Peter Gleick, world renowned water expert, commenting on the relationship between water and population:

Peter Gleick – Addressing Water and Population Dynamics

“Water is tied to everything we care about,” said MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and President of the Pacific Institute Peter Gleick in an interview with ECSP. However, “we cannot talk about water or any other resource issue…without also understanding the enormously important role of population dynamics and population growth.”
As world population passes seven billion, there is substantial pressure on natural resources. Gleick, who recently launched the seventh edition of The World’s Water at the Wilson Center, spoke previously to ECSP about “peak water,” noting that people are, and have been for some time, using groundwater faster than it can be naturally replenished.

“Unless we talk about population, and its role in all of these resource issues,” said Gleick, “then we are never going to move to sustainable solutions.”

In the short-term, we should start by integrating our discussions about natural resources, water, food, energy, and population. “That is proving to be a challenge for policymakers, but it’s a challenge we are going to have to overcome,” he concluded.

You may be interested to read the recently reported opinion of the Deputy Prime Minister of Swaziland, the small land-locked country situated in southern Africa. The CIA fact book puts the population at 1.37 million. Life expectancy is just 48 years. 60% of the population reportedly live on less than the equivalent of US$1.25 per day. The story does not mention the HIV epidemic in the country, where the infection rate is said to be the highest in the world at 26.1% of adults (and over 50% of adults in their 20s). See here: http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=34786

Law to control population growth needed, says DPM
By Winile Mavuso
27 January 2012

DEPUTY Prime Minister Themba Masuku has lashed out at men who have a large number of children that end up being a burden to government.
He was speaking during the launch of the second National Plan of Action (NPA) 2011-2015 at Esibayeni Lodge yesterday.  Masuku said a law was needed to control population growth in the country. He observed that children accounted for 50% of the country’s population with a majority of them being orphaned and vulnerable (OVC). The implication is that the children will grow without parental guidance and consequently have limited access to education, jobs, good health and a secure future. Masuku highlighted the importance of having a family that one can manage.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=34786

Thanks to Cecelia Angelone for sending me this video and transcript of a recently aired story on the PBS NEWSHOUR program. Click here to watch the video report or read the transcript below:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/globalhealth/jan-june12/philippines_01-23.html

Watch Turning the Population Tide in the Philippines on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Transcript

JEFFREY BROWN: And now to the Philippines, a country struggling to cope with its rapidly growing population.

Tonight’s story is part of a new project that looks at the challenge of feeding the world in a time of social and environmental change. It’s a NewsHour partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting, Homelands Productions and American Public Media’s “Marketplace.”

The project is called Food for 9 Billion.

The reporter for tonight’s story is Sam Eaton of Homelands Productions.

SAM EATON, Homelands Productions: The Danajon double barrier reef off of Bohol Island in the southern Philippines is one of the richest marine biodiversity hot spots had the world.

But just a short boat ride away, more than a million people depend on these fishing grounds for their food and livelihoods. Rice may be the staple food of the Philippines, but fish provide most of the protein and daily diet. And as the population of communities like this one soar, nearly tripling in the last three decades, the effect on the reef has been devastating.

Fishermen are resorting to extreme tactics to boost their declining catch.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to John Rowley for alerting PMC to the following editorial, written by Malcolm Potts. Malcolm is the first holder of the Fred H. Bixby endowed chair in Population and Family Planning at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and co-director of the Berkeley International Group (BIG). See: http://www.peopleandplanet.net/?lid=30205&topic=27&section=33

COMMENTARY: World must wake up to the coming crisis in the Sahel

Posted: 23 January 2012

Author: Malcolm Potts

If forecasters could draw isobars outlining human suffering, then the high pressure zone of human pain would surely be in the failed, and failing states, along the Sahel, and across to Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan, says Professor Malcolm Potts. This powerful Commentary is a wake-up call for new strategies to avert an environmentally-induced human catastrophe.

Along the edge of the Sahara desert, rapid population growth, global warming, poor governance and a hideous mistreatment of women are combining in a perfect storm which could lead to unprecedented levels of environmental stress, starvation, escalating conflict and massive waves of migration.

The potential for human misery is colossal. The need to act is pressing. The scale of problems in the Sahel goes beyond the usual response to a potential humanitarian disaster. New international strategies need to be built about food security, family planning, gender equity and governance that have major geopolitical implications for the rest of the twenty-first century.

To read the full article, please click here: http://www.peopleandplanet.net/?lid=30205&topic=27&section=33