{"id":15753,"date":"2013-07-11T07:33:54","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T13:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15753"},"modified":"2013-07-11T07:33:54","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T13:33:54","slug":"world-population-day-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/world-population-day-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"World Population Day: Let’s Celebrate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"crowd<\/a><\/p>\n

Today is World Population Day, and I am pleased to tell you that human population growth<\/a> is no longer an issue! We can close up shop, go home, put up our feet and crack a beer!<\/p>\n

OK, not really.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that plenty of people have been running around with their hair (or, more accurately, their pants) on fire, saying that America is on the cusp of a terrible baby shortage<\/a>, Western civilization is doomed<\/a> and human beings might actually go extinct<\/a>. (I\u2019m not even joking. Someone wrote that.)<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not even close.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true that the United States\u2019 birthrate has slipped slightly below replacement<\/a> \u2013 it tends to do that when the economy\u2019s weak \u2013 the Census Bureau projects that our population will rise from its current 316 million to 400 million<\/a> by 2051. Neither the United States nor the world is running out of people<\/a>. We\u2019re more likely to run out of water, food and fertile farmland first.<\/p>\n

Only a few years ago, UN demographers projected that we\u2019d hit a world population of 10.1 billion by 2100. Now, they\u2019ve raised their projections<\/a> to 10.9 billion. Currently, there are around 7.1 billion<\/a> of us sharing this little planet.<\/p>\n

At our current rate of growth, the global dinner table needs an additional quarter million seats<\/a> every night \u2013 the equivalent of five Yankee Stadiums<\/a>. And nearly all of this growth is happening in nations least able to cope with it, where land, food and water resources are already being stretched to the limit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a worrisome trend \u2013 for people and our planet.<\/p>\n

Today, one in every eight people is hungry.<\/a> Agriculture experts project that food prices will double<\/a> by 2050 thanks to climate change\u2019s effect on crop yields<\/a>. In places where people live on less than $2 per day and spend a larger percentage of their income on food<\/a> than we do here in the United States, millions might starve.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t live without water, but only 2.5 percent<\/a> of the planet\u2019s water is fit for consumption. And more than a billion people<\/a> already live in water-scarce areas. It\u2019s estimated that by 2025, half of the world\u2019s population will live in areas of water stress.<\/p>\n

And who can forget the effect on wildlife? There\u2019s no avoiding it: When human populations expand, they often crowd out other species<\/a>. It\u2019s a sober reality for the animal lovers among us.<\/p>\n

So now that I\u2019ve ruined World Population Day for you, what should we do about it?<\/p>\n

Empower girls and women.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the right thing to do. It\u2019s also the ecologically smart thing to do. It\u2019s estimated that 222 million women in the developing world want to avoid pregnancy but don\u2019t have access to affordable, appropriate contraception. Closing that gap doesn\u2019t just give them power over their own lives. It improves children\u2019s health<\/a>, boosts educational attainment<\/a>, helps communities better weather the effects of climate change<\/a> and allows nations to harness the power of the demographic dividend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And here in the United States \u2013 the planet\u2019s real resource hogs<\/a> \u2013 nearly half of pregnancies are unintended<\/a>. Ensuring that women can choose if and when to have children could have lasting benefits for our overtaxed planet.<\/p>\n

Here are a few concrete steps you can take:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Demand that your lawmakers support funding for international family planning programs<\/a> \u2013 $1 billion is America\u2019s fair share.<\/li>\n
  2. Fight back against laws that make reproductive health care harder to access here at home.<\/li>\n
  3. Speak up for the empowerment of women and girls everywhere.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    We haven\u2019t reached zero population growth yet. But we can get there. That will be the year World Population Day will be a day to celebrate, and we can toast to a better quality of life for everyone.<\/p>\n

    John Seager is President of Population Connection, the nation\u2019s largest grassroots population organization. The organization\u2019s website is populationconnection.org.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Image credit:<\/strong> alexkess<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On World Population Day, Population Connection president John Seager offers ideas on how we can turn this event from a day meant to raise concern to one for celebration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":15754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[886,2441,19,1717,888,104,4393,6512],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Celebrate World Population Day<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On World Population Day, Population Connection president John Seager offers ideas on how we can turn this event into a day for celebration.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/world-population-day-2013\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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