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A Word for Stephen Colbert - Overpopulation
02 Jul 2012
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Nonsense About Sustainable Population Advocacy
23 Jul 2012
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Irrational Fear of Population Decline
13 Jul 2012
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Endangered Species Condoms
27 Jun 2012
Date posted: July 11 2017
It’s time we accept moral responsibility to conceive fewer children. Learn more.
Date posted: July 09 2016
This year’s theme is “investing in teenage girls.”
Date posted: July 09 2016
This portion of Al Jazeera English’s Inside Story, on the occasion of World Population Day in 2009, featured some frank talk from GrowthBusters director Dave Gardner. Still valid 7 years later.
Date posted: July 08 2014
If we wish to leave future generations a planet worth inheriting, we need to scale back. We need to “Think Small.” Returning world population to a sustainable level is mathematically achievable within a century. Fertility rates have been declining; we just need to accelerate that process. To do that, yes, we need to empower women. We need to make family planning affordable and accessible. We need to arm couples making family-size decisions with good information about overshoot and sustainability. We need to make small families cool, and large families, well…not.
Check out the Think Small photos, videos and stories people are sharing. And share yours! At the GrowthBusters Think Small page. You’ll find information there about how to get your Think Small Family Sticker.
Date posted: July 08 2014
The GrowthBusters team put this video together for Earth Day 2014. It ought to be required viewing every morning for every passenger (that’s all of us)!
Date posted: July 22 2013
Today is World Population Day, and also the one-year anniversary of the London Summit on Family Planning. The commitments made at last year’s Summit have already led to tremendous progress. In more than 20 countries, governments are creating national plans to incorporate family planning into their women’s and children’s health programs. An additional three to four countries are preparing to make new commitments, and more than 10 countries have held their own family planning conferences.
Read the full story here.
Date posted: July 11 2013
Today, on World Population Day 2013 we unveil the number one reason to choose a small family:
You Love Kids So Much, You Want Them to Have a World Worth Inheriting!
Every parent wants his/her children to have a good life. Today we have a full world with a lot of population and consumption pressure. This threatens the quality of life of our children, if not their very lives. Conceiving fewer children is an essential part of the path to leaving our children a world where they have a fair shot at living good lives. Planning a small family is the most loving, compassionate decision you will ever make.
Enough said!
Dave Gardner
Director of the documentary
GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth
Date posted: July 10 2013
It’s easy to think of 20 good reasons to limit the number of children we conceive. We’ve been a little tongue-in-cheek about the inconveniences of parenthood (though they ARE real), but – seriously – some of the reasons to limit family size are based on how much we love our kids! Reason #2 in our top 10 list is: Children Who Receive More Parental Attention Tend to Do Better in Life. If you have a “quiver-full” of children, you may be able to get lots of chores done around the house, but it will be a struggle to have quality time with each child, to help with homework, etc. Why not focus on quality rather than quantity?
See The Only-Child: Debunking the Myths for some fresh insights. You’ll be creating a better life for your child, by not contributing to overpopulation, and at the same time ensuring you have the time and resources to be a beautiful parent!
Dave Gardner
Director of the documentary
GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth
Date posted: July 10 2013
“The new UN population projections are a blunt reminder of the consequences of our silence. No end to global population growth is in sight. Nor will one be until we resolve to act on women’s autonomy, the dignity of sex without reproduction, and the importance of a non-growing population to environmental sustainability.”
This is from a very informative and thoughtful essay by Robert Engleman, one of the world’s foremost experts on population issues.
Date posted: July 09 2013
World Population Day 2013 is 2 days away, and we’re counting down the Top 10 Reasons to Choose a Small Family. Reason #3 is: The Average Cost to Raise a Child (in the U.S.) is a Whopping $389,670. That does NOT include college tuition (or beer). It’s an astonishing number, especially when you consider the many socialized costs that are not included (like public education). It’s entirely possible couples would be much more careful about practicing safe sex if they had this information.
I’m confident couples around the world will also plan their families carefully and happily choose to conceive only one or two children, or perhaps none, if they understand how the world is overpopulated today. U.N. estimates that world population will hit 10 billion around the year 2061 should not fool us into thinking this is predestined. We have the power to end overpopulation this century. The first step is to EXPECT moral, rational behavior from ourselves!
More information about the cost of raising children can be found here (we used this source) and here.
How do I know the world is overpopulated? Data from the scientists at Global Footprint Network, as published in the WWF Living Planet Report, is a good place to start. There are either too many of us, or we are living too high on the hog. Both are actually true.
This week, as we contemplate World Population Day, let’s make an extra effort to talk about overpopulation, and especially to make sure everyone approaching child-rearing age is made aware of the situation!
Dave Gardner
Director of the documentary
GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth