The Nourished Earth
In This Issue
Contribute Your Voice
Have something to say about sustainable development and stabilized population?
One central message you might consider when fulfilling your pledge is that stabilizing and eventually reducing human population is essential in our efforts to avert ecological disaster.
Even if each individual were to drastically reduce our consumption of natural resources, we are adding 80 million people to the world each year, each of whom must consume some resources. All of our ecological systems are showing clear signs of stress from the pressures of our current population, so further growth is clearly unsustainable. But before we can change this growth trend, the public will need to grapple with and understand the fundamental link between human population levels and environmental health.
Help get the conversation started!!! Take the pledge.
One of NECSP's most successful programs is the Massachusetts Slow Growth Initiative.
The Slow Growth Initiative (SGI) works to help Massachusetts residents and their communities create a sustainable future for the state. The SGI action plan focuses on three critical areas: implementing a truly sustainable energy plan; enforcing a sustainable development plan and providing economic growth without physical growth by harnessing green technology and new media to create jobs.
With support from NECSP members like you, the SGI mailed over 100,000 pieces of mail to 30 separate towns in MA in 2009 -- educating citizens about sprawl, unsustainable housing development practices and environmental degradation and providing them with simple action items to help make progress on these issues.
In the town of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, we had a major success fighting a high density development project along three acres of environmentally sensitive land. The parcel of land abuts the town's primary drinking water supply and a portion of the parcel is considered wetlands. With the help of the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, an environmental order was secured, limiting construction on the property to just three of its nine acres because of the discovery that a rare turtle species makes its home on the property.
This didn't stop the developer, who continued to pressure the town with their plan to build 48 units on the 3 acre parcel.
Because the developer wanted to build at such high densities, there was
no space left for parking and so they planned an underground parking
garage that would mean deep excavation near wetlands and a building
that could rise to nearly five stories (two stories higher than the
height of the local fire truck ladders)! As a concession, the developer
was promising to give the turtles a "specially designed fence." Oh boy!
The project received a local permit, but because of SGI activism, it has been halted. We contacted the abutting neighbors and hosted a conference call with an environmental lawyer (pro-bono). We educated the abutters about their legal rights to appeal the decision, which they decided to exercise. Because of this action, construction has been stopped until a Land Court judge can review the case. The project will be delayed for at least two years because of this action, giving us time to repeal the law before they can move forward.
It is this type of on-the-ground success that NECSP intends to duplicate all over New England. If you know of abusive land-development projects, mindless expansion or sprawl projects that ensure unnecessary and unstable population growth, please let us know so we can pool our collective talents and fight for a sustainable New England together.
Support NECSP by making a tax-deductible donation through our secure, easy to use fund-raising page!!!
Update for The New Year -- 2009
On Saturday, January 17th, the NECSP Board of Directors met in the conference room of Population Media Center in Shelburne VT. The meeting was marked
by positive spirit, humble focus and great results.
- George Plumb, of Vermonters for Sustainable Population, was elected as Chairman. Welcome George!!!
- Our 2009 work plan was approved. We'll be partnering with Population Media Center, Vermonters for Sustainable Population and other regional NGO's to advocate for full and robust restoration of funding for UNFPA, repeal of the Global Gag Rule, and the creation of a Cabinet-level adviser to President Obama on population and sustainability issues.
- Our by-laws were updated to reflect our continuing growth and development.
- Katie Elmore, Director of Public Relations for Population Media Center was elected to the Board, serving a 3 year term.
We are eager to talk to your civic group, religious congregation, environmental club or student-classroom. Our roving grassroots outreach coordinator has a brilliant educational Power-Point presentation to share -- and tools & training to help you support the cause of sustainable population with simple, easy, effective actions.
Contact her today to schedule your event!!!
The Need for GPSO -- What Happened?
The subject of population growth has all but disappeared from the media in the past 35 years. In the 1960s much attention was paid to the world's rapidly growing human population, when the number of people on the planet stood at 3 billion. Today the total population is 6.7 billion people and grows by 80 million per year, yet few dare to talk about it.
Population is hard to discuss because it
involves sex, reproduction, cultures, religion, and severe inequities
around the world. But the environmental crises we're now
facing--dramatic food and water shortages, increased environmental destruction and climate change--all have a common
denominator: unsustainable population growth.
Separating Population Myths From Facts
*Liberals tend to avoid discussion of population policy and stabilization because they support individual human rights and fear the "coercion" label.
* A discussion of population policy does NOT lead to coercion. The vast majority of the family planning programs are designed to make family planning easier for women and men to obtain, not to force them to control their fertility.
*Some 380 women become pregnant every minute, but half of them did not plan or want the pregnancy. These unwanted and unplanned pregnancies are contributing to rapid population growth in the U.S. and worldwide.
*It's been proven that if you educate women, give them access to health care and empower them, the birth rates drop, even among low-income populations.
* Media reports claim population expansion is slowing and will continue to do so on its own. The fact is the global population growth rate has decreased from 2.1 percent in 1970 to 1.2 percent today. However, the base population has grown so large, even decreasing rates of growth are adding enormous aggregate numbers. The United Nations projects that world population will exceed 9.2 billion by 2050.
* Anti-abortion activists, religious leaders and conservative think tanks have been influential in reducing attention to population growth. Conservatives are often against sex education, contraception, and abortion. They tend to perpetuate the myth that the population explosion is over.
*The fact is, it took a huge investment of funds and activity to get growth rates down to the current levels. That was done by meeting much of the unmet demand for family planning services. In many countries in the last eight years, growth rates have gone back up as Bush Administration priorities denied funding to family planning clinics in the developing world.
* Some claim that a high fertility rate is important to the United States for social and economic reasons such as social security and job replacement. The fact is that the U.S. adds a net 6,000 new people every day, fueled by both births and migration.