Overpopulation Illiteracy or Overpopulation Denial - whatever you call it, it’s standing in the way of truly solving world overpopulation. Misconceptions, misassumptions, misplaced sensitivities, and fears have kept the world silent on this crisis far too long. It’s time we root out overpopulation illiteracy and replace it with the truth, and the guts to speak it.

That informs two very big conversations in this episode. The second is an announcement of a brand new initiative that’s going to be very big! So be sure to listen to the entire episode.

This episode’s agenda:

1. A recent issue of the Sierra Club’s magazine, Sierra, made a clear attempt to dissuade readers from concerning themselves about population’s role in the damage we’re doing to the life-supporting ecosystems of our planet. The writers and editors recommended focusing on our behavior instead. But if behavior is the problem, isn’t the number of people misbehaving part of the sustainability equation? Of course, so The Overpopulation Podcast team recorded this episode to set the record straight.

We’re quite familiar with those barriers to open conversation and action on the population numbers front. We understand the confluence of factors that might lead someone to conclude, “It’s not the population, stupid.” So this episode’s conversation is not intended to embarrass or deride. This is a serenade to the team at Sierra magazine, and anyone else who could benefit (Sierra Club CEO Michael Brune?): we invite you to listen to the case we make, and then join us for a follow-up conversation. Leave your fears at the door, and refrain from jumping to any conclusions. Hear us out. You might be surprised to discover that addressing human overpopulation can be a beautiful thing.

2. We’ve got to end the silence and educate the public, elected officials and journalists (and if we’re really good at this, economists, too) about the TRUTH about overpopulation and the very ethical, humane solution. Informed decisions will go a long way. And it won’t hurt if we throw in a dash of inspiration, too. So today (February 11, 2020), we’re launching the One Planet, One Child Billboard Campaign. Details later in this episode, plus at the link below. You have a crucial role to play, so DO visit the project website at www.oneplanetonechild.org.

 

DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

One Planet, One Child Billboard Campaign (help us crowdfunding this)

Educating Girls May Be Nigeria's Best Defense Against Climate Change by Wendy Becktold

Hope for the Future Lies in the Multitude A Conversation

Humans of the World: A Story in Numbers by Heather Smith

The Trump Administration Goes After Birth Control by Summer Brennan

To Have or Not to Have Children in the Age of Climate Change  by Katie O’Reilly

Time to Fix the Population Fixation  by Wendy Becktold

Why I Don’t Stay Awake at Night Worrying About Population Growth, and Neither Should You  by Wendy Becktold

How Mr. Condom Made Thailand a Better Place  Mechai Viravaidya TEDxChange Talk in 2010

Contradictions in Nigeria’s Fertility Transition: The Burdens and Benefits of Having People  by Daniel Jordan Smith in Population and Development Review

 

The Overpopulation Podcast is produced by World Population Balance, a non-profit organization committed to alerting and educating that overpopulation is the root cause of resource depletion, species extinction, poverty, and climate change. Our mission is to chart a path for human civilization that – rather than causing greater misery – enables good lives on a healthy planet. We advocate and support a smaller, truly sustainable human population – through dramatic and voluntary reduction in birth rates. 

We envision a world where no one suffers in dire poverty and misery for lack of enough food, water, and other basic needs. We see a world where all species thrive and where lower consumption and population are in balance with Earth’s finite resources.

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