Population news from July

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POPULATION MATTERS SUPPORTERS' UPDATE

JULY 2021

Director's message

It’s been a summer of rockets, of starry achievements! I’m not
referring to the recent ego-trips of billionaires Jeff Bezos, Richard
Branson, and soon to follow, fellow ‘Space Baron’ Elon Musk, launching
themselves, their egos and their corporate brands into space at huge cost
both financially and in greenhouse gas emissions. Those vanity projects
brought few, if any, benefits to anyone else.

In contrast, the individuals and organisations who received PM’s
‘Change Champion’ awards marking this year’s World Population Day
(see below), are bringing real, tangible benefits in transforming the lives
of some of the poorest, most deprived communities across the world. They
are the true stars who have achieved extraordinary things, motivated by
their desire to change people’s lives for the better and to enable
communities to improve their own life-sustaining environments. Their
self-effacement in accepting our modest awards shames the glory-claiming
hubris of those ageing men acting out their sci-fi fantasies.

All the more so when one of the world’s favourite sci-fi actors, William
Shatner, better known as Star Trek’s Captain James T Kirk, gave his
damning verdict [3] on those fantasies: "Humanity won’t survive to reach
a Star Trek future". His reason? The ignored, existential threat of our
current and growing overpopulation exacerbating all the environmental and
resource challenges facing us here on Earth.

Celebrating our ‘Change Champions’, indeed celebrating Population
Matters own 30th Anniversary, merits some self-congratulation by you, our
supporters, who have sustained our mission to help bring about a ‘Better
World’. Thank you.

- Robin Maynard, Director, Population Matters

NEWS FROM POPULATION MATTERS

PM turns 30!

We’ve been committed to raising the profile of population and our
collective impact on Earth since 24 July 1991, and though a cynic might
consider it counter-intuitive for us to celebrate, that cynic would be
ignorant of our unerring dedication to help create a better world, and of
the positive difference we are making! On our 30th birthday, our Director
Robin reflects on our work, what should be celebrated, and the challenges
that lie ahead.

Read more [4]

World Population Day: Celebrating Change Champions

To mark World Population Day 2021 on 11 July, Population Matters gave
awards to individuals and organisations across the globe for their
effective and brave work promoting reproductive rights, defending the
environment, and enlightening the public about the issues we face and the
solutions that are available.

Read more [5]

Calling for climate action

On 23 July, we took part in a demonstration in Parliament Square, London,
organised by colleagues in the UK Climate Coalition. With 100 days to go
before COP26, the crucial climate conference in Glasgow, we called on world
leaders to do everything they can to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C.


Read more [6]

New t-shirts!

We're excited to announce our new range of PM t-shirts! We hope the
colourful new designs with fun slogans including 'Condoms cut carbon',
'Safe sex saves species', and 'Empower women, save the planet' will help
raise awareness of the population issue and solutions.

Visit our Teemill shop [7]

POPULATION

Indian policy risks return to the dark ages of 'population control'

On World Population Day, the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh released a
worrying new draft population policy that would include incentives for
sterilisation and punishment for couples who have more than two children,
echoing aspects of India’s unethical population control history.

Read more [8]

Why declining birth rates are good news for life on Earth

"In the midst of a climate crisis with 8 billion humans on the globe,
it’s absurd to say that what’s lacking is babies." We were very pleased
to see Laura Spinney call out irrational but widespread 'baby bust' panic
in _The Guardian_.

Read more [9]

ENVIRONMENT

Earth Overshoot Day: No Plan(et) B

Earth Overshoot Day, the date on which humanity has used up all the natural
resources the Earth can regenerate within a year, fell on 29 July. Despite
urgent calls to avoid a return to our destructive pre-pandemic status quo,
we are still hurtling in the wrong direction. It is high time for those in
power to confront the uncomfortable truth, explains Population Matters'
Senior Communications Officer, Olivia Nater.

Read more [10]

New plan to save species must tackle population

This month, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity published the first
draft of its Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the international
plan to combat biodiversity loss and ensure that by 2050 humans are living
in harmony with nature. Population Matters Senior Campaigner Andrew Howard
examines whether population issues are sufficiently dealt with.

Read more [11]

WOMEN'S RIGHTS & SEXUAL HEALTH

Educate girls, protect our world

This great animation video from Girl Rising explains how empowering girls
by removing barriers to education is crucial to improving the world and
saving our environment.

Watch the video [12]

Mini pill now available over the counter

Following a landmark ruling from the UK’s drug regulator, women can now
buy the progesterone-only 'mini pill' over the counter - an important step
towards making birth control more accessible.

Read more [13]

TAKE ACTION

Support Women for Conservation

We're excited to announce a new project partner in our Empower to Plan
programme! Women for Conservation runs family planning and conservation
programmes in the tropical rainforests and unique habitats of Colombia, one
of the most biodiverse countries on Earth. They envision a world in which
women are integral to the prevention of species extinction. Will you join
them in empowering women to protect some of our Earth’s most fragile
ecosystems?

Learn more [14]

Quote of the month

_"The real reason everything is happening is there’s too many people. The
planet can’t sustain seven billion, let alone 10 billion. It’s such a
complex problem."_

- William Shatner, actor (see his interview in _The Big Issue [3]_)

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© 2021 Population Matters

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