New Report on Population Asks Americans to Start Talking About What Really Matters
Santa Rosa, CA (17. August 2010) - When a man and a woman have unprotected sex, babies are quite often the result. Sexual decisions not only impact the lives of those involved, but impact the planet we all share. Currently the world's population is growing by 80 million people every year. On a planet with finite resources this means we either take a rational approach to addressing population issues, or we ignore simple mathematics and pay the unimaginably horrific consequences. Sound bleak? Well it is. Which is why everyone needs to talk about it.
In his just-released report, "POPULATION: The Multiplier of Everything," Post Carbon Institute Fellow and Population Media Center founder William Ryerson cuts directly to the need to openly and thoughtfully address the critical issue of population growth.
In the 17-page report, Ryerson paints the big picture of population growth both in the United States and globally, details how our growing numbers impact food, water and energy supplies, addresses the belief that "technology will save us," and explores a number of common myths and misconceptions about population growth, which are often perpetuated by the media or special interest groups.
Ryerson succinctly clears up the following common myths:
· The "Birth Dearth" Myth
· The Belief that Science and Technology will Solve All Problems.
· The Belief that there is a Problem only with Distribution of Food and other Resources
· The Belief that Religious Barriers will Prevent the Use of Family Planning
· The Myth that Economic Development is Needed to Slow Population Growth
· The Myth that Providing Contraceptives is all that is Needed
In his introduction, Ryerson lays out why the population conversation can be so difficult:
When it comes to controversial issues, population is in a class by itself. Advocates and activists working to reduce global population growth and size are attacked by the Left for supposedly ignoring human-rights issues, glossing over Western overconsumption, or even seeking to reduce the number of people of color. They are attacked by the Right for supposedly favoring widespread abortion, promoting promiscuity via sex education, or wanting to harm economic growth. Others think the problem has been solved, or believe that the real problem is that we have a shortage of people (the so-called "birth dearth"). Still others think the population problem will solve itself, or that technological innovations will make our numbers irrelevant.
One thing is certain: The planet and its resources are finite, and it cannot support an infinite population of humans or any other species. A second thing is also certain:
The issue of population is too important to avoid just because it is controversial.