News from October

Unsubscribe [1]

View in your browser [2]

POPULATION MATTERS SUPPORTERS' UPDATE

OCTOBER 2020

Director's message

I’m tempted to title this Update written in the last days of October, an
‘Octopus Update’, as one of the most impactful events of the past month
for me personally was watching the Netflix film, _My Octopus Teacher_. If
you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend this other-worldly exploration of
the bond built up over a year between a film-maker and a common octopus
(_Octopus vulgaris_).

There is nothing ‘common’ or ‘vulgar’ about the octopus star of the
film, nor in the deep nature connection and healing that Craig Foster, the
film-maker suffering from career burn-out and emotional withdrawal from his
own human family, finds from studying and interacting with the octopus over
the short, intense and dramatic single year of her life amidst the kelp
forests of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. There you go, I‘ve
referred to the octopus as ‘her’. The film flickers like the beams of
sunlight distorted through the icy-cold seawater between scientific
detachment and the anthropomorphising of an animal. One considered to be
the most ‘alien-like’ life form on our planet, which with no skeleton,
can flow like liquid through the narrowest spaces in the reef, hop out of
the water to ‘walk’ across a rock to escape a predatory pyjama shark,
and whose ‘brain’ is as much located in its 8 tentacles and 2,000
suckers as its ‘head’. The ‘money shot’ of the film is when the
octopus tentatively stretches out one tentacle to touch and fathom the
finger of the film-maker who’s immersed himself in her world.

I watched _My Octopus Teacher_ over the same period the Royal Society’s
biological research journal_ Proceedings B_ published its alarming findings
that two-thirds of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef had been damaged by
‘back to back bleachings’ caused by climate change, with more than half
of all coral populations and types lost. And not long after watching our
patron David Attenborough’s _A Life On Our Planet _(see link below),
documenting his experiences and awakening alarm at the despoiling of the
extraordinary diversity of life that he has been privileged to witness.
Again the programme makers presented the scientific facts, but showed
Attenborough’s obvious empathy and emotional connection with the natural
world, equivalent to that Michelangelo-esque Sistine Chapel image of the
octopus tentacle to finger-tip with the human. In this case, as the camera
held in close-focus on Attenborough’s face, his characteristic
mellifluous voice muted, his emotional anguish at the rending of nature,
the breaking of the myriad connections and synergies with the wild –
without which our lives and potential as a species are diminished – was
palpably clear.

My point? Our work must be underpinned by scientific evidence, but what
engages people are not the facts alone but the associated stories that
provoke personal, emotional responses and that deeper nature connection.

- Robin Maynard, Director, Population Matters

NEWS FROM POPULATION MATTERS

Poll shows people want action on extinction

Scientists are increasingly raising the alarm about the gravity of the
sixth mass extinction precipitated by human activity, yet the biodiversity
crisis gets relatively little media attention compared to the climate
crisis. A Population Matters poll shows two-thirds of people in the UK want
the same or more priority on species loss as on climate change.

Read more [3]

POPULATION

Attenborough: saving our planet requires tackling population

David Attenborough's new Netflix documentary _A Life On Our Planet_
highlights the rampant destruction of nature caused by human population
growth and unsustainable consumption, as well as the positive and urgently
needed actions we must take to save our one and only planet. Population
Matters Director Robin Maynard reviews the film.

Read more [4]

It's time environmentalists talked about the population problem

This article explains why our population growth is still often seen as a
taboo topic, and why those who care about the environment and human rights
must engage in a mature discussion about the issue.

Read more [5]

ENVIRONMENT

Can we shrink our energy footprint?

A new study suggests we can reduce global energy consumption by 75% and
still lead comfortable lives. To achieve that, the authors say we need
"radical action on all fronts", including addressing vast disparities in
consumption across the world. Our Head of Campaigns, Alistair Currie, asks
- can we do it?

Read more [6]

Is it true that '100 companies are responsible for 71% of carbon
emissions'?

The claim that just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of the world's
carbon emissions has spread far and wide, but it is misleading and
unhelpful. As this article explains, over 90% of those 71% is actually
emitted by consumers.

Read more [7]

WOMEN'S RIGHTS & SEXUAL HEALTH

Birth control: where are the male options?

There is now a whole buffet of female contraceptive methods on the market,
yet there remain only two options for men: condoms and vasectomy. Why is
this? Population Matters Senior Communications Officer Olivia Nater
investigates.

Read more [8]

Sex ed: "Teach everyone every aspect"

Dr Rebecca Foljambe, founder of our Empower to Plan partner You Before Two,
reflects on the importance of holistic relationships and sex education
(RSE). Learn more about You Before Two's amazing work with vulnerable teens
and how you can support them in these difficult times.

Read more [9]

Quote of the month

_"There is no great mystery about the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, or of
any modern pandemic. The same human activities that drive climate change
and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our
environment."_

- Dr Peter Daszak, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

TAKE ACTION

Test your knowledge on contraception!

How much do you really know about contraception and global family planning?
Find out now by taking our short quiz. Please also share it with friends
who might learn a thing or two. :)

Take the quiz [10]

135-137 Station Road, London E4 6AG, UK
Registered company no 3019081, Charity 1114109
© 2020 Population Matters

[11] [12] [13] [14]



Links:
------
[1] [link removed]
[2] [link removed]
[3] [link removed]
[4] [link removed]
[5] [link removed]
[6] [link removed]
[7] [link removed]
[8] [link removed]
[9] [link removed]
[10] [link removed]
[11] [link removed]
[12] [link removed]
[13] [link removed]
[14] [link removed]