2011 Letter

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Invitation to Join a Global Gathering of Voices

Dear Friend and Colleague,

We are contacting you today regarding the Global Population Speak Out (GPSO) of 2011.

The Population Institute, based in Washington DC, is seeking prominent scientists, scholars, and other concerned citizens to participate in this international program of action. The mission is to raise awareness in the global community about the current size and growth of the human population on Earth -- and to highlight the challenges this size and growth present as we attempt to achieve planet-scale ecological sustainability.

You are one of a group of important voices we believe can make a difference, and we urge you to speak out in some way during February 2011 on the importance of addressing the current size and growth of human population as a fundamental sustainability issue.

 

I Pledge To Speak Out

 

As the discourse of planetary sustainability takes shape and evolves, it is important that people develop respectful, thoughtful and insightful ways to approach and talk about the issue of human population. After all, population will always be a salient issue for people to think about and seek understanding of. Moreover, in the context of achieving sustainable living scenarios with our home planet, the size and growth of human population are of fundamental importance.

Yet, powerful taboos remain when it comes to speaking about population. Unfortunately, vested interests, both economic and ideological, prefer it when population discussions remain controversial and off-limits to a thoughtful society. If these taboos are allowed to dominate, we have little chance of coming together, as a global community, and achieving a truly prosperous, truly sustainable world.

Many of us supporting Population Institute’s GPSO campaign (see below) agree that we are already well into overshoot of the planet’s capacity to sustain us. There are many things that need to be done to remediate this situation. For instance, investing in maternal health, decreasing infant mortality and providing world class reproductive health care to all people on our planet are all sound investments in population stabilization. In turn, they are investments in long-term stewardship of, and sustainable living on, Earth.

We have chosen to publicly demonstrate, with our support of GPSO, that population is an approachable issue, which given proper resources and leadership, can have positive outcomes for both people and planet. That is where we need your help. Please pledge to be part of the Global Population Speak Out in February 2011.

How can you speak up? It depends. You might write a letter to the editor of a newspaper or large scientific journal. Contact a radio or TV station for an interview. Delegate to a staff member a project to publicize the population issue, or even hold a press conference. Write a post on your personal blog. Tweet. Post to all your Facebook friends. Give a lecture on the topic to your class. Hold an essay contest on your website. Shoot a video from your webcam and send it in. Be creative!

The GPSO website contains talking points, resources and other materials you may find helpful in crafting your message. Whatever way you choose to participate, you’ll be in good company during the “Speak Out.” Last year, we had over 400 participants from 39 different countries, and we expect many more this year. Visit our website to learn more.

http://www.populationspeakout.org/

If you know you’re interested in moving the world towards true sustainability and are willing to speak out on human population to do so, please click: “I pledge.”

Sincerely,

  1. Albert A. Bartlett, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Physics, Author, University of Colorado
  2. William R. Catton, Jr., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Author, Washington State University. United States of America.
  3. Gerardo J. Gonzalez Ceballos, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Mexico.
  4. Maria Luisa Cohen, Environmental activist, Founder and President of the Assisi Nature Council, Association for Environmental Education and Ethics. Italy.
  5. Gretchen Daily Ph.D., Department of Biology and Woods Institute for the Environment, Author, Stanford University. United States of America.
  6. Martin Dieterich, Ph.D., President of the European Section of the Society for Conservation Biology. Director, Institute for Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Hohenheim - Germany.
  7. Sharon Ede,Founding Member, GrowthbustersCollective; Outreach Volunteer, Global Footprint Network and Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy; Collaborating Author, Post Growth. Australia.
  8. Anne Ehrlich, Sr. Research Scientist, Biology Dept. and Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University. United States of America.
  9. Paul Ehrlich, Ph.D., Bing Professor of Population Studies, President, Center for Conservation Biology, Author, Department of Biology, Stanford University. United States of America.
  10. John Feeney, Ph.D., Environmental Writer & GPSO Founder. United States of America.
  11. Mike Freedman, Film-Maker, Activist and Artist. Critical Mass Film. United Kingdom.
  12. Helena Freitas, Ph.D., Director of the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, Portugal; Coordinator of the Centro de Ecologia Funcional; President of the Portuguese Ecological Society (SPECO); Vice-President of the Board of the European Ecological Federation. Portugal.
  13. Jenny Goldie, Sustainable Population Australia, Newsletter Editor (Former National President). Australia.
  14. Amy Gulick, Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. United States of America.
  15. Jorge L. Gutiérrez, Ph.D., Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales (GRIETA); Ciencias Biológicas Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Argentina.
  16. Lauren Harris, Director of Research and Policy for Venture Strategies for Health and Development. Research Fellow for Bixby Center for Population Health and Sustainability. United States of America.
  17. Linn Duvall Harwell, Founder of The Clara Bell Duvall Reproductive Freedom Project. United States of America.
  18. Lisa Hymas, Environmental Journalist and Senior Editor, Grist. United States of America.
  19. David W. Inouye, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, University of Maryland. United States of America.
  20. Tony Johnston, Ph.D., Executive Director, Population Communication Africa. Former Director of the UNFPA Program for Population Information, Education and Communication Research Training, Eastern and Southern Africa. Kenya.
  21. Laura E. Jones, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Mathematical Biology & Theoretical Ecology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University. United States of America.
  22. Mohammed Abul Kalam, Ph.D., Principal Scientific Officer, Department of Medical Sociology, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control & Research (IEDCR). Bangladesh.
  23. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development. Thailand.
  24. Kakaire Ayub Kirunda, Journalist and Student. Winner of the 2010 Global Media Award for Best Print Editorial. Uganda.
  25. Maya Kocian, Economist and Research Analyst, Earth Economics. United States of America.
  26. Regina Layug, Project Coordinator of Mulat Pinoy, The Philippine Center for Population and Development. Philippines.
  27. Vicky Markham, Director of the Center for Environment and Population. United States of America.
  28. Jeff McKee, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Anthroplogy, Ohio State University. United States of America.
  29. Frederick Meyerson, Ph.D., J.D., professor of Demography, Ecology and Environmental Policy, University of Rhode Island. United States of America.
  30. Katharine Milton, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA. United States of America.
  31. Karen Newman, Coordinator, Population and Sustainability Network. United Kingdom.
  32. Alexandra Ormsby, Concerned Citizen. San Francisco. United States of America.
  33. Alexandra Paul, writer and producer of JAMPACKED: The Challenge of Human Overpopulation. United States of America.
  34. Dave Paxson, Founder and President of World Population Balance. United States of America.
  35. Nitish Priyadarshi,Ph.D., Environmental Blogger; Geologist and former lecturer in Department of Environment and Water Management, Ranchi University. India.
  36. Jamie R. Rau, Ph.D., Laboratorio de Ecología, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de Los Lagos, Campus Osorno. Chile.
  37. Peter H. Raven, Ph.D., President Emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden. "Hero for the Planet" (Time Magazine). Former member of President Bill Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. Former Home Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences. United States of America.
  38. Jane Roberts, Founder of the 34 Million Friends of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). United States of America.
  39. Eugene Rosa, Ph.D., Edward R. Meyer Professor of Natural Resource & Environmental Policy, Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, Author, Washington State University. United States of America.
  40. Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D., Wildlife Program Director, WildEarth Guardians. United States of America.
  41. William Ryerson, President, Population Institute & Population Media Center. United States of America.
  42. Lisa Sammet, President of Vermonters For a Sustainable Population. United States of America.
  43. Rahul Singh, Chairman of The Global Media Awards Committee, Population Institute. Writer and Journalist. India.
  44. Navjot S. Sodhi, Ph.D., Director of The Conservation Ecology Lab, National University of Singapore. Singapore.
  45. Kirsten Stade, M.Sc., Conservation Biology. Advocacy Director for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. United States of America.
  46. Negussie Teffera, Ph.D., Former Director of the Ethiopian National Office of Population; past Chairman of the National Task Force to develop the National Population and Reproductive Health Communication and Advocacy Strategy for Ethiopia. Ethiopia.
  47. Kelvin Thomson, Member for Wills, Federal Parliament of Australia, House of Representatives
  48. Robert J. Walker, Executive Vice-President Population Institute. United States of America.
  49. Vicki Watson, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Montana. United States of America.
  50. Searle Whitney, Ph.D., Founder and Director of HowMany.org. United States of America.

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