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World Population Day

Monday, July 11 is World Population Day. In 1989, the United Nations (UN) Governing Council, focusing its attention on developing plans and programmes addressing the importance and urgency of population issues, recommended July 11 is observed by the International community as World Population Day.

The unprecedented decrease in mortality in the last century has led to Government offices, United Nations offices, researchers, media representatives and the public consulting the Population Division of the UN regarding population estimates and projections, and information and analyses on population and development issues.

Paul Ehrlich

Professor Paul Ehrlich, one of the world’s leading experts on population and renowned for his role in helping the world to think about resource scarcity and the impact of an ever-increasing population on demand for natural resources, was in Adelaide during November 2010 to present a series of free public seminars, hosted by the Environment Institute.

Paul Ehrlich is the Bing Professor for Populations Studies at Stanford University and the President of the University’s Centre for Conservation Biology. After completing a Bachelors degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Ehrlich completed his MA and PhD at the University of Kansas. Professor Ehrlich is particularly well known for his work on overpopulation, and in particular, his seminal work The Population Bomb.

Click here to access audio material from the event.

As the world population is expected to surpass 7 billion, this year the United Nations Population Fund and partners are launching a campaign called 7 Billion Actions. Its aim: “to engage people, spur commitment and spark actions related to the opportunities and challenges presented by a world of 7 billion people”. Read more

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One Response

  1. ProfBob says:

    We need much more of these warnings, then some politicians who are willing to do something about the problem. That’s going to be the big stumbling block. The popular free e-book series “And Gulliver Returns” –In Search of Utopia–(http://andgulliverreturns.info) does the best job I had seen on the subject. Book 1 lays out the problem. Book 4 looks at morality generally, then applies it to overpopulation. Book 6 looks at our motivations. Book 8 looks at some ways to accomplish it. Trying to solve the problem is not a simple task. We have the self-centered motivations of most of us on one side– and what is good for society on the other side of the battle line. While the intelligent thing to do is to somehow limit population, I don’t see how we can do it without a huge shift in our selfish leanings and our democratic idea of absolute freedom. We have probably passed the point of no return. But there is hope!

    Illegal immigration, poverty, global warming, famines, the reduction of freshwater and a whole slew of other problems are based on overpopulation. Ecologists know it, but the majority of us either deny the reality or hope that God or science will solve the problem for us.

    http://Overpopulation.org is a site that keeps us current on the problem.