Show notes
A smorgasbord of good and bad news about efforts to achieve a sustainable population on this planet. The good news is more and more people are recognizing – and speaking out about – the need for society to end our obsession with growth.
We give a shout out to James Pogue, a writer at Harper’s Magazine, for his enlightened comment on Real Time with Bill Maher about the fact that we WILL need a national conversation about ending our obsession with infinite economic growth (hear his words in this episode).
Also, good news that South Korea’s fertility rate has dropped below 1.0. While growth-addicted policymakers, economists and journalists are treating this as a problem, it is actually very good news for a nation that imports more than half its food supply.
The bad news is Canadian politician Garnett Genuis continues to defame the One Planet, One Child billboard campaign, despite Dave’s repeated attempts to correct his misassumptions. Also, scientists’ assessment of our progress on diminishing the climate crisis is not good.
A shout out to Population Matters Head of Campaigns Alistair Currie for his interview with Judy Lynn Wong, founder of the Black Environment Network, who said, “"Young people have a hunger to protect the environment – let’s talk about population. They’re ready for it."
Plus, celebrities are making big bucks with sponsored tweets announcing their pregnancies. Should World Population Balance sponsor tweets sharing the good news of negative pregnancy test results?
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Aging Population: Nothing to Fear – Episode 55 of The Overpopulation Podcasthttps://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/podcasts/2021-01-05-episode-55-aging-population-nothing-fear
Ending Overshoot publication on Medium https://medium.com/ending-overshoot
Dear Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: Build Forward to a Sustainable Futurehttps://medium.com/ending-overshoot/dear-joe-biden-and-kamala-harris-build-forward-to-a-sustainable-future-4ba74225b9c2
One Planet, One Child billboard campaign https://oneplanetonechild.org/
Biden Repeals the 'Global Gag Rule,' But Next Steps Will be 'Huge Undertaking'https://www.devex.com/news/biden-repeals-the-global-gag-rule-but-next-steps-will-be-huge-undertaking-98954
The Climate Emergency: 2020 in Review (a new World Scientists Warning) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-climate-emergency-2020-in-review/
Corey Bradshaw (lead author) interview https://youtu.be/sEHot7F_dnI
Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Futurehttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full
Greta Thunberg’s Message to the Davos Agendahttps://www.weforum.org/videos/greta-thunberg-s-message-to-the-davos-agenda
Jane Goodall: 'Change Is Happening. There Are Many Ways to Start Moving in the Right Way'https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/03/jane-goodall-change-is-happening-there-are-many-ways-to-start-moving-in-the-right-way Can Icebergs Be Towed to Water-Starved Citieshttps://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/can-icebergs-be-towed-to-water-starved-cities/ Is the US Population in Decline? More Ponzi Demographyhttps://thehill.com/opinion/finance/533411-is-the-us-population-in-decline-more-ponzi-demography
As Birthrate Falls, South Korea’s Population Declines, Posing Threat to Economyhttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/world/asia/south-korea-population.html
Demographic Crisis Cannot Be Tackled With Piecemeal Measureshttp://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinon/2020/12/202_300988.html
As Families Change, Korea’s Elderly are Turning to Suicidehttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/world/asia/in-korea-changes-in-society-and-family-dynamics-drive-rise-in-elderly-suicides.html
Celebrity Pregnancy Is Big Businesshttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/23/style/celebrity-pregnancy-social-media.html
The Love of the Human: Interview with Ludy Ling Wonghttps://populationmatters.org/news/2020/12/02/love-human-interview-judy-ling-wong
The Overpopulation Podcast is produced by World Population Balance, a non-profit organization committed to alerting and educating that overpopulation is a 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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