One of the obstacles to having good information in the hands of all couples making family size decisions has been misinformation, misassumptions and mischaracterizations of advocates for sustainable population levels. This has made population growth a dangerous subject to speak frankly about. I’ve seen very good people with the most worthy of intentions and motives have their character assassinated. I was warned many times during the making of the GrowthBusters movie to “avoid the topic of population.” Even good people with no intent of malice jump to inaccurate conclusions about the motives of sustainable population advocates. Advocating small family size and stable or declining population is an act of love and compassion. Love for future generations. Compassion for all the children of the world to have a chance to live a good life.

Fortunately, there are good, smart people working in this area. People like Bill Ryerson, president of Population Media Center, who cannot be intimidated into running and hiding from the truth about population’s role in the sustainability equation. I interviewed Ryerson a couple of years ago for the film. This is a clip from that interview that did not make it into the film.

Dave Gardner
Director of the documentary
GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth