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"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."
There are more than 6 billion people on the planet. The reproductive choices that families make today will have a tremendous impact on the future. The problems are not insurmountable, and the solutions can be sensitive, positive and workable. These are issues that should be addressed at their roots, with women and their families around the world, understanding the choices and challenges they face. By protecting the health of women, increasing their reproductive options and providing families with educational and economic opportunities, we can slow population growth, reduce wasteful consumption and protect the health of our families, our communities and our environment. Shrinking Planet Our precious natural resources - water, land and air - are being consumed at ever-increasing rates. More than 500 million people worldwide currently do not have have enough clean water to drink. By the year 2025, up to 3 billion people may be living in water-scarce conditions. As a result of how we power our homes, cars and factories, humans have increased the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The earth's temperature and sea levels are rising as a result. In the last 100 years, the amount of carbon dioxide has increased by 30 percent and the level of methane has increased by 145 percent and dramatically altered the earth's climate system. We are losing species at a rate not seen since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. Biologists project that within the next 25 years, one of every five species will die out. Nearly 17 species of plants and animals become extinct every hour, and many of these extinctions are the result of habitat loss due to the growing human population. Ecological Footprint World population has doubled since 1960. The United Nations estimates that by 2050, the human population could range from 7.3 to 10.7 billion people. For the first time in human history, 1 billion people are between the ages of 15 and 24, entering their reproductive years. The global population is still increasing. There are millions of families around the world that want, but do not have access to, reproductive health care services. In fact, at least 150 million couples worldwide would like family planning and safe motherhood services, but are unable to obtain these services. Each year, more than 600,000 women die of childbirth and pregnancy-related causes. Most of these deaths could be prevented with proper health care services. Facing the Challenge We must face the fact that global population coupled with wasteful consumption of natural resources is having dire consequences on our environment. Fortunately, there are ways to address this situation that respect the choices that families face around the world. It has been proven that women who have access to, and information about, reproductive health care and family planning are better able to protect their health, the health of their families and the health of the earth. Programs that increase education and economic opportunities for women and girls also have a positive effect on slowing population growth. Women and adolescent girls who benefit from these programs are more likely to stay in school longer, have more control over their reproductive lives and choose to have smaller, and ultimately healthier families. By raising the status of women in society and by helping to improve everyone's living standards, families are less likely to feel compelled to leave their homes in search of a better life. Providing access to voluntary family planning services and changing our wasteful consumption patterns are key to responsible planning for the future health of the planet and protection of our finite natural resources. The United States currently spends less than one half of 1 percent of the federal budget on foreign aid. And only a fraction of that half a percent is spent on international family planning education and assistance. The first step we can take is to increase support for the programs that educate and assist families around the world to make responsible choices for themselves, their communities and the planet. Solutions The Sierra Club is actively working to address the connections between population, environment and natural resource consumption through programs that:
To learn more: Global Population and Environment Program Photo courtesy www.imagesoftheworld.org Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
There is a direct connection between people and the health of the earth's environment. Right now, the rate at which we are consuming natural resources is jeopardizing the health of the planet and threatening the availability of our water, forests and air for generations that follow.