The Overpopulation Project

24 April 2024. Carl Wahren (1933-2024), In Memoriam –

We note the passing of an admired leader in the field of family planning, our colleague and friend Carl Wahren. To commemorate his life and work, we share a new, wide-ranging interview with Carl about population policies and the changing role of the UN in international family planning. by The Overpopulation Project It is with […]

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16 April 2024. The Truth about Abortion –

Abortion rights are under attack in many countries. Yet a recent study shows just how damaging, both psychologically and economically, being denied an abortion can be. by Richard Grossman MD Dr. C. Everett Koop was President Ronald Reagan’s Surgeon General for most of his 2 terms. An excellent pediatric surgeon, Dr. Koop had very strong […]

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9 April 2024. Overpopulation Is Still a Huge Problem: An Interview with Jane O’Sullivan –

Despite reports that world population is peaking and fertility rates dropping, the human population is still growing at an unrelenting and unsustainable pace. In an interview by Richard Heinberg, Jane O’Sullivan sets the record straight. By Richard Heinberg, originally published by Resilience.org In February, I interviewed biochemist Chris Bystroff, whose peer-reviewed analysis suggests that world […]

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2 April 2024. Can we engineer our way out of the climate crisis? –

Many scientists excited to develop new geoengineering technologies say yes, as do capitalists who stand to profit by continuing with business as usual. But most of the commoners who will have to live with the messes left behind when technocrats fail say a resounding no. by Philip Cafaro Sunday’s New York Times included a lengthy […]

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28 March 2024. Vale Dan Carrigan –

Daniel Lee Carrigan, founder of the GAIA Earth-Balance Foundation, died on 4 March 2024 after a long struggle with heart disease. We gratefully commemorate his contribution to population and sustainability efforts. by Jane O’Sullivan Like a shooting star, Dan Carrigan’s dynamic energy lit up the population-sustainability world for a brief few years. In its wake, […]

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19 March 2024. The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) at 30 – Let’s Address the Unfinished Agenda –

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, a watershed event in international population and reproductive health policy. It’s a good time to reflect on its legacy. by Joseph Speidel and Jane N. O’Sullivan The ICPD Programme of Action (POA) has served as a […]

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12 March 2024. Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto –

Socialism or barbarism or … social democracy with a mature acceptance of limits to growth? That’s the question posed by Kohei Saito’s provocative new best-seller. by Philip Cafaro Let me admit right up front that I’m a little jealous. As a philosophy professor who’s written a few books but no best sellers (yet!), I can’t […]

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5 March 2024. Carbon emissions and the desperate search for culprits –

Are rich people with their private jets the main cause of climate change? Or are the hundreds of millions joining the middle class in China and India? Or maybe large families of poor farmers in the tropics deforesting to make room for low-productive agriculture? This blog questions the search for specific culprits, which is often […]

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27 February 2024. Kohei Saito’s Degrowth Manifesto: A nonviable solution to a misidentified problem –

An obscure Japanese philosophy professor produces a surprise best seller, urging the world to slow down and shrink consumption via economic “degrowth.” Population Institute Canada’s president provides a critical overview. by Madeline Weld Until his book “Slow down: The Degrowth Manifesto” recently hit the market and became a surprise bestseller in Japan, I had never […]

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20 February 2024. A new sustainability initiative of the Swiss People’s Party –

While population growth lies at the root of many environmental problems, concerned citizens often feel disempowered from addressing it. A popular initiative in Switzerland may provide a blueprint for activists in other developed countries. by Roland Schmutz After Swiss voters narrowly rejected joining the European Economic Area in 1992, the European Union and Switzerland began […]

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14 February 2024. Demography and reproductive rights are environmental issues: Insights from sub-Saharan Africa –

Rapid population growth impacts many social, economic, and environmental issues, and sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing region in the world. Céline Delacroix and Nkechi S. Owoo asked stakeholders in the region how important they think population growth is as a factor in meeting the region’s challenges. By Céline Delacroix Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is growing […]

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6 February 2024. Birth rates have been falling in Nigeria, though slowly. What factors cause declining fertility, according to educated people in Nigeria? –

Since 1970, birth rates have been falling in most developing countries. An earlier study by TOP researchers found that Swedes generally think that improved living conditions, including economic and educational progress, are the cause for declining fertility. What do Nigerians, living in a developing country, think about declining fertility in their country? By Frank Götmark […]

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31 January 2024. Biodiversity and the roles of human population and consumption: a debate –

It is the rich minority’s consumption that mainly affects the status of the Earth’s life support system, according to a response in Svenska Dagbladet by David Collste at Stockholm Resilience Center and Jennifer Hinton at the University of Lund to an Op-ed by Malte Andersson and Frank Götmark. But will the poor majority consent to […]

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24 January 2024. The Other Side of Reproductive Coercion –

Reproductive coercion comes in different forms – forced sterilization as well as forcing women to bear unwanted children. Both forms must be fought. By Richard Grossman Reproductive health abuses, especially coercion, have turned many people away from concern about human population. I agree: reproductive coercion should be shunned. Examples of coercive actions include sterilization of […]

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16 January 2024. Earth’s nature is being ravaged by population growth –

Humanity’s rapid expansion leads to environmental destruction, starvation and ravaged biodiversity. Population growth needs to be ended as soon as possible for sustainability. By Malte Andersson and Frank Götmark Published 2024-01-02 in Svenska Dagbladet, morning newspaper in Sweden (translated by TOP) In 1800, the world’s population was 1 billion, but in 2022 we exceeded 8 […]

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8 January 2024. Pronatalism on the Rise to Counter Growing Push for Gender Equality –

Pronatalists try to present their ideology as promoting the security of the family, but it is linked to the far-right agenda, uses falsified data to prove their points, and counteracts gender equality. By Nandita Bajaj There’s an insidious new tactic emerging for selling right-wing ideology to wider audiences, evident in [the September 2023] Budapest Demographic […]

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29 December 2023. The Quixotic pursuit of sustainability: our year in review –

As TOP turned six in 2023, we continued to explore and encourage discussion of the population / environment connection, particularly regarding climate disruption and biodiversity loss. We wish all our friends, colleagues and readers “lycka till och framgång” in the new year! by The Overpopulation Project In 2023, the world held the 28th (or was […]

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19 December 2023. Can nature-based tourism offer additional protection of wildlife in developing countries with strong population growth? –

Recently, a TOP blog emphasized the importance of addressing luxurious overconsumption, including the hypocrisy of rich people wanting to be seen as environmentally friendly. Is nature-based tourism merely pandering to this hypocrisy, or can sites with nature-based tourism or ecotourism be beneficial for wildlife in developing countries with increasing populations? By Oskar Lindvall and the […]

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12 December 2023. No need to hold COP 29: Just follow Japan’s lead! –

Japan has accomplished the difficult task of reducing their emissions, mainly through its decreasing population. by Terry Spahr COP 28, the United Nations’ annual climate summit is happening right now in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. These climate conferences have been taking place since 1995 and as Axios reported, each and every year, save for temporary recessions, […]

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28 November 2023. The United Nations Population Fund Promotes Population Denial –

Humanity heading for 9 billion and the UN’s chief population organization says forget about numbers. What’s going on? by Madeline Weld November 15, 2022. That’s the day the world population reached 8 billion, according to the UNFPA, the United Nations organization whose original raison d’être was to help end population growth. The UNFPA (reflecting its […]

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21 November 2023. Ecological Footprint and Sustainable Population –

With humanity currently in overshoot, societal changes must be enacted to return to sustainable levels. While either a country’s ecological footprint or population size could be altered to achieve the necessary level, combined efforts on both fronts would be most effective. By Denis Garnier, president of Démographie Responsable A sustainable population corresponds to the total […]

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14 November 2023. Declining population and GDP growth –

There is a general idea among businesspeople and mainstream economists that a decreasing population is not good for the economy. Our empirical work on countries experiencing population decline suggests that a declining population can bring about changes that reduce unemployment, increase wages, and lead to a larger real GDP per capita. by Theodore Lianos and […]

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7 November 2023. Wealth Never Sleeps –

Wishing away overconsumption without reducing population or affluence is a denial of math. By Brad Meiklejohn “It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” –  Mark Fisher I am congenitally cheap. There is Scottish blood in my veins, which may explain why our family crest reads: “Fix it […]

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1 November 2023. EurASP Statement on Migration –

The European Alliance for a Sustainable Population (eurASP) is a coalition of groups with the mission to raise awareness about the impact of human population, its size and density, on planet Earth. It includes groups from seven European countries. Recently they issued the following statement on migration. by The European Alliance for a Sustainable Population […]

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24 October 2023. Overpopulation as a local problem –

Overpopulation is commonly associated with global ecological overshoot, but it can occur at any level from the local to the global. Ecological overshoot in industrialised countries is complicated by labour migration, especially in urban areas. Population pressure on top of ecological overshoot should force these countries to reconsider overly permissive immigration policies. by Jan van […]

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17 October 2023. The Catalyst of Overpopulation in the Gaza Conflict –

Mountains of work have analysed the roots of the conflict in Gaza, but all have missed the catalyst of increasing population. By Jon Austen and Jane O’Sullivan The Israel-Palestine conflict has been ongoing for 75 years. The recent eruption of violence is a tragedy but not surprising. Neither side is going to back down, both […]

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10 October 2023. How to Fix the Planet, the Easy Way –

To avoid disastrous deterioration of Earth’s climate and biosphere, humanity has to reduce its demands on nature. Fewer births and a falling population is no quick fix, but compared with voluntary austerity, it has many more up-sides than down-sides. by Jon Austen Scientists are reporting that there is an existential threat to life on Earth. […]

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3 October 2023. How environmental professionals acknowledge overpopulation – and then ignore it –

We can have an environmentalism that ignores the fundamental causes of environmental problems, including lucrative careers treating overshoot’s many symptoms. Just not a successful environmentalism. by Leon Kolankiewicz Veteran population campaigners like me have long lamented the fact that at both the national and international scales, the environmental establishment (Big Green) and climate activists alike […]

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26 September 2023. Strange bedfellows of sustainability: How identity politics obstructs the future of wilderness   –

Preserving wild places is key to protecting Earth’s biodiversity. In the United States and elsewhere, identity politics undermines the commitment to do so. by Karen Shragg Preserving wilderness is in the best interests of all of us, especially the four-legged and two-legged creatures with whom we share our countries. When people give other species room, […]

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13 September 2023. Delusional population projections lead us sleepwalking into catastrophe –

Recent United Nations population projections paint a comforting picture of immanent population stabilization. But what if they are wrong? Global population growth does not appear to be slowing as quickly as UN demographers have predicted, making widespread famines and run-away climate change more likely in the coming decades. By Jane O’Sullivan The Elon Musks of […]

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