I find it interesting that we doing so much to peddle green - again - but though things like condoms are "ok" to talk about these days - well, sort of - there is either a giant lack of understanding regarding the connection between polluting and overpopulation, or somewhere somehow, "no one" wants to admit it. (Well, unless we are talking about the "Third World." That is, after all, where the momentum to peddle condom use began - when Western leaders decided in the 70s that those backward nations were going to cause a modern Malthusian kind of thing. )
Consider:
With over 6.6 billion human beings in the world, our species has reached into inch of our planet. Human population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050. With 78 million new human beings being born each year, population growth has a direct impact on the environment. Many experts assert that when women have better access to birth control, including condoms, they can decide when to have children and how many to have. Currently, 41% of pregnancies globally are unintended (try over 60% in the US and UK!). What would happen if women around the world have access to good health services so they can make their own decisions about reproduction?
According to Population Connection, our world population has grown more since 1950 than it has in the previous four million years.
As a result of population growth:
*Greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 400%
*80% of the original rain forests have been cleared or degraded
*27,000 species of animal or plant life each year become extinct, one every 20 minutes
*One-third to one-half of the Earth’s land surface has been developed or commercialized
*505 million people live in countries with scarce water conditions. By 2025, almost 48% of the Earth’s population will be living in areas of water scarcity.
So why isn’t anybody talking about birth control as a way to “save the planet”? We can change all our lightbulbs, buy organic cotton, and drive hybrid cars but if we don’t have enough food to eat or clean water to drink, it simply won’t matter.
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