According to a press release from The Population Institute promoting World Population Awareness Week, October 21 through October 27, the human population has grown from one billion in 1830 to 2 billion in 1930 to three billion in 1960 and over 6 billion today. The consequences of this immense growth beginning with the Industrial Revolution are vast and complex.

In his opening remarks, Rawn Fulton, NECSP co-chair, compared the actions of the human species to the Walt Kelley character of The Bear in his book Pogo - the bear who could write but could not read. The Bear "has been with me since I was 12. The more I have thought about it recently, the more I have realized how the human species is like The Bear. Throughout history we've been writing across the planet. The planet is a history of our writing, our actions. But we have been unable to read our writing. The Worldwatch Institute is expert at reading this history of human behavior."

The Worldwatch Institute presentations began with a talk by Gary Gardner, PhD Brandeis ’86, entitled "Rich Planet, Poor Planet" in reference to not only the growing disparity of wealth but "the paradox of living in an increasingly rich world that is increasingly biologically poor." In addition to addressing the issues of the accelerating loss of biodiversity, the depletion of fresh water aquifers, and the paucity of "frontier" or virgin forest, Gardner spoke of the philosophical issues of progress and development. "We often measure progress by the amount of choice we have. In the past 30 years [a time of supposed progress] the number of overweight adults in the United States has doubled." While 61 percent of the adult population in the U.S. is now overweight, "one of every six people on Earth are underweight" due to lack of access to quality and sufficient nourishment. Gardner also pointed out the continuing rise in depression worldwide while the Amish, a culture that shuns material wealth, have a rate of depression that is one-fifth that of their Baltimore neighbors.

He went on to urge a shift in focus to the five needs of humans as outlined by former Brandeis professor Abe Maslow - food and shelter, security, self-esteem, love/belonging, and, self-actualization.

The conference proceeded with presentations from other Worldwatch Institute representatives addressing globalization; women, health, and the environment; biodiversity and sprawl; and water and food. William Moomaw of Tufts University delivered a talk on climate change and energy.

Saturated with a staggering volume of powerful and somewhat disturbing information, the conference attendees were then encouraged by Gary Gardner's hopeful look at the potential for change and his progress-oriented discussion of strategies for creating change in business, government, and civil society. According to his chapter in State of the World 2001 on "Accelerating the Shift to Sustainability," change is accomplished by a variety of personalities in society.

At the leading edge of change, for example, are what Everett Rogers of the University of New Mexico calls innovators, who tend to be well educated and socially connected. Change then spreads to early adopters, the early majority, and the late majority, each accounting for a particular share of the population. The last to adopt are the laggards, traditionalists who are often socially isolated. If opinion leaders – the innovators and early adopters – can be identified for a particular issue, change efforts can be focused on this group in the expectation that they will help the innovation or idea to spread.

After lunch, which allowed participants to browse table top exhibits, and discuss what representatives of various organizations are doing, the crowd split into six groups to have roundtable discussions to share their experiences as innovators and early adopters with those interested to contributing to change addressing the topics of the morning's speeches. With experts and interested individuals representing a wide range of backgrounds and ages, the working groups debated the days' subjects, and produced plans to turn the conference's atmosphere of critical thinking into state of the world changing action.

The brainstorming in the roundtable groups produced matrixes of what New Englanders can do to effect change in the sectors of business, government and civil society. Individuals also filled in forms indicating what they personally planned to do in the coming year. All in all, people left the conference energized and encouraged. Many new opportunities for future networking and mutual beneficial synergies among the participants had been created. The organizers were happy to deem their efforts a success.

By Sharon Wilcox

Some of the members of Z.P.G. Boston have left Z.P.G. to begin another group. One of their issues with Z.P.G. is that immigration is a major factor in the U.S population growth and most particularly that we should thus focus our attention here at home. Conversely, ZPG national has over the years come to feel very strongly that the best way to curb immigration growth here in the U.S is by helping folks in developing countries so that they want to stay there. Furthermore, it is incontestable that the "old" immigration arguments have been historically connected to racism and racist movements. The immigration issue is divisive and detracts from the positive educational work that ZPG is all about.

Of course illegal immigration is an important factor in contributing to the population increase in the U.S. and it shouldn’t be ignored.  However, the best way to remedy the overflow problem is not to blame the immigrants but to rectify the reason immigrants prefer the U.S. to their own country. If people were satisfied with the quality of life in their own countries, they wouldn’t want to leave.

In Mexico, for example, the government boasts of large increases in the number of women using birth control. While it may be true that a certain elite have access to and knowledge of birth control, millions of poverty stricken, illiterate women have neither access to birth control or even know of it’s existence. It isn’t middle class Mexicans who are pouring over our borders, it is the disenfranchised. Overpopulation IS ruining Mexico in the form of pollution, unemployment, destruction of natural habitat, limited housing options and services, etc. As a result of these waves of immigrants into the U.S., these same issues threaten the quality of life for us here in the U.S. Instead of opening our borders and allowing a massive flow of immigrants, as the Mexican President would like, we need to address these issues as a preventative measure and save both countries from ruin.

"The National Population Council …says that more than 70 per cent of Mexican women use some method of contraception to delay or limit childbearing…"*1.

"… little has changed for the millions of Mexicans in impoverished rural areas, where it is still common to see families with 10 children. For them, and for Mexicans who can no longer find work in cities, the escape valve remains the US. Government statistics show that migration to the US reduced the population by more than 300,000 this year alone." *2.

If 300,000 migrated to the U.S. just last year, of course this is going to effect our population. It is time to confront and solve this problem.

We should target and help that 30% who are illiterate and have no access to education, health care and family planning. And we should do the same in every other country where women have the same need. This is the only way to reduce the population worldwide.

1 and 2:Financial Times (London); February 23, 2002; Pg. 3
HEADLINE: Demographic Shift Makes Mexico Developed Nation
BYLINE: By SARA SILVER

Resource people: Al Norman, Sprawlbusters; Sharon McGregor, Assistant to Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand

Facilitators: Lee Strauss and Pam Sinotte, chairs of Zero Population Growth of Greater Boston

The biodiversity/sprawl afternoon workshop drew about twenty participants, including several activists in these areas, as well as interested students and citizens from around New England.

In general, the forum was a counterpoint between, on the one hand, a sober appreciation of the challenges we face protecting the environment and fighting sprawl, and on the other an introduction to the various efforts, opportunities and resources that could help us to successfully meet these challenges now and in the future.

While universal participation was encouraged from the start, and almost everyone spoke out on the issues at least once or twice, the discussion was led by the two participants who had come with the most to say, Sharon McGregor, assistant to Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand, and Al Norman, author and head of the Sprawlbusters organization devoted to stopping such mall-making titans as Walmart from taking over our lives, cultures and physical environments.

Initial concerns raised by the group included the relationship between sprawl and population, sprawl’s impact on humans in terms of psychic health, how we might better empower citizens to stop sprawl in their own communities, how each of us could better learn about local efforts and solutions in other parts of New England and elsewhere and, finally, how we might best go about educating others.

Sharon McGregor then spoke at length, giving us an overview of her department’s multi-pronged environmental program in Massachusetts. She divided it into three parts:

1) Building a Constituency of Biodiversity--She emphasized here that education is an absolute necessity when it comes to getting people on board. Their efforts include getting people to focus on native species through participation in the Massachusetts Environmental Education Plan, which involves teacher training and the now fairly well known Biodiversity Days (30,000 people across the state this year). The goal of this program is outdoor classrooms for every student in the state, K-12. (This fits in with what Worldwatch talks about as the trend in "citizen science.")

2) Identifying Core Habitats--Secretary Durand’s office is mapping the state community by community to identify important areas in the fight for environment quality. Thirty-five communities have already passed the Community Preservation Act.

3) Individual Decisions--The Community Preservation Institute is, among other things, working to create guidelines for developers--how do you chose a community, develop a site, etc. "Some developers are interested in sustainable development. ‘Saving land saves money.’ Preserving land can be cost-effective."

Sharon’s outline led us to another, brief and more general discussion of biodiversity ("all living things in the environment"--Eleanor Sterling, AMNH). Do people really care about protecting biodiversity? What are some different ways of introducing the concept, e.g., talk about health issues, water quality, etc.

Our other main presenter was Al Norman, who has quite literally written the book on "sprawlbusting". Al stressed the difficulty of individual citizens fighting the "big box stores." In many cases, it’s a "done deal" between corporations, realtors, community officials, etc. before citizens are even aware or involved: citizens without money vs. developers with deep pockets.

Al coined the following notion: citizens more or less need to call in a special SWAT TEAM (lawyers, etc.) to fight large companies like WalMart. There are various creative approaches to the problem, including zoning for square footage of stores, etc. The political fragmentation that plagues much of the environmental movement applies here as well, though, insofar as many of the efforts to stop the sprawl seem to be "piecemeal."

Sharon remarked that we need to focus on the way communities grow. Clearly there is a need for action and most effectively, cooperation at both the government and the grassroots level. The importance of each of us educating ourselves and attending town meetings, etc., was also stressed. Citizens must have sufficient access to information and tools if they are to be effective. This kind of activism must start with community.

Other thoughts around the room at this point included: Getting local officials on board, reform of zoning laws and updating codes, the difficulty of fighting real-estate lobbies, and the importance of regional planning and economic impact studies.

And, of course--VOTE!

Some recent successes in the fight were also mentioned. Walpole, NH just passed a law to cap square footage at 25,000 sq.ft. And in Vermont, Act 250 stopped big box planning.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go into as much depth on the situation in other New England states as we did for Massachusetts. How distinct, or unusual is the Massachusetts program? How effective will it ultimately be? What are some of the most important common problems and potential solutions all New England states (or for that matter all states) could point out right now? Clearly, we could easily hold an entire conference on just these subjects.

At the end of the afternoon, our speakers and other important guests provided participants with website addresses, where they could go to learn more about available resources and/or contact the speakers for help, etc. Al Norman’s is www.sprawlbusters.com and provides much good information and links to sprawlbusting efforts around the country. Sharon provided the site for the Massachusetts state environmental affairs office, (www.state.ma.us/envir), (ital. Websites) where we can find lots of detailed information about Secretary Durand’s ongoing programs. Jay Keller from ZPG national was also in attendance, and he and I provided people with the relevant ZPG website and chapter information.

The facilitators felt that, though they had not strictly followed the proposed Worldwatch flipchart structure, the roundtable went quite well. Clearly, there is still much that can and needs to be done in this area--the hope is that the conference in some small measure helped introduce people to useful new concepts, information and contacts

As our population continues to expand here in Boston, and across the world, we are faced with many new problems, including the issue of transportation. How exactly can we get around in this crowded city?

So how can we get to work and class or wherever need to be when we need to be there? In our car? Well, if that’s our only choice to us, we could be doomed. Between the almost total lack of a space to park, and the rising costs of parking stickers and lot parking (not to mention tickets & towing!), what are we Bostonians to do as our city gets more and more crowded?

What would you say if I was to tell you that you could get to work without once having to stop at a red light, stop sign, and even go down one way streets whatever way you liked? And you could have all this without having to deal with the crowds, cost, and often-ineffective routes of the subway? Well, I know of a vehicle that could save you all that time, and money, not to mention get you in shape--and you can probably get one for free from your mother.

I’m talking, of course, about bicycles! I mean, let’s face it, our city is so small. If you live and work in Boston, no matter who you are you should be riding your bike.

Trust me, you will feel better about yourself whipping by traffic instead of waiting in it, especially when Spring comes around. Don’t have a bike? And your mom isn’t forthcoming? You can probably still get one for free, as many are thrown away each day.

With overpopulated countries like China already catching on to the bike trend, America can’t be far behind. Of course we have a new personal transportation revolution in the new "It" product, Ginger. For those of you out of the loop, Ginger is a lazy revolution, we Americans need to be more healthy and active. Boston is just a small city, there aren’t really any two points that are an unreasonably long bike ride away from each other. Let’s be glad we don’t live in a huge bike nightmare like New York City. Let us all utilize this free and intelligent transportation option powered by our own energy from the food we eat. Bike on, Boston!

Soon, a woman came out and announced that the film was part of an African

film festival, and shortly thereafter the lights went out. The first thing I saw on screen was the "Media for Development" logo. Again, this was definitely not a Hollywood movie. My American mind was expecting the Universal Studios or perhaps Warner Brothers logo. Somehow it felt like this was a product of

Hollywood when two minutes into the film some teenagers appeared on the screen and began urinating and talking about sex. However, all the stars of this film were African unknowns, so this was a new and interesting twist.

Our main character was a youth named Tiani. He is a high school age football (soccer to us) player with dreams of playing in the big leagues. Soon, our hero is using cheesy lines to pick up a girl, Linda, and they have sex. He soon grows tired of her, however, and falls in love for real with a girl named, ironically, Juliet. Juliet has a rich family that doesn't really want Tiani around. Meanwhile, Tiani learns that Linda is pregnant, but he puts it out of his mind to pursue Juliet. Then, to make matters worse, we learn Tiani's woman-chasing pal is in the hospital, having tested positive for AIDS.

The theme of sex education underlies much of this film. In one scene, for example, the headmaster of

Tiani's school tells the student body that they are just having too much sex, citing the average age for an African woman to become sexually activate as 18.6 years, whereas for an African man it is just 12.0 years.

I won't reveal the ending of this film (I hate when movie reviews do that), but I will say that Tiani learns some great lessons about fatherhood and manhood, as he tries to figure out what to do with himself and his situation. Overall this movie was extremely interesting to watch, with great scenery as well as many insights into African culture and sexuality.

If you are interested in learning more about this film, please visit their website at this address: www.Yellow-card.com.

I, too, saw "Yellow Card" but have a somewhat different take, being 30 years older than John. I was transported to Africa via the presentation's awesome soundtrack and the rich portrayal of the native culture. If one could put aside the amateurish acting, this movie both entertains and delivers a tough message that ought to be seen by all teenagers worldwide--BEFORE they have sex. The movie manages to inform the audience of all the possible problems that could follow from having sex even one time, and it does it in a non-preachy, sometimes amusing way.

The main character here is a male high-school soccer player. Through his eyes, we confront the issues of unprotected sex, A.I.D.S., unwanted pregnancy, and unwanted parenthood. We see a normal teen who jeopardizes his life's ambitions and makes a mess out of his life from the after effects of

his one unprotected sexual experience. If one inappropriate scene dealing with an attempt at self-abortion could be eliminated, I would highly recommend this movie for school showings to teenage audiences, their parents, teachers, and all concerned persons.

I spoke to the aide to one of the co-sponsors of the bill, Rep. Anne Paulson of Belmont. Her name is Lisa Gurgone.

 My suspicion has long been that Finneran was responsible for keeping this bill from being heard.  Do you think the attempt to remove Finneran from the leadership position in December had anything to do with deals being made to finally get this bill passed?

She likes being a Representative because she can get involved with the people

 and with issues right here in Belmont.

Sources: Lisa Gurgone, aide to Rep. Paulson

Julie Granof, Women’s Caucus

State House News and the Boston Globe

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Simon: That is easy: Because I am a student! If you need more: I am a Ph.D. student at BU. I have been concerned with this problem from early in my life. I share the feeling that almost all the problems on the earth (like pollution, war, extinction of wild animals, energy problems, starvation, etc.) do not make sense without considering the population problem.

Yes, I was born in Korea, which I think has problems caused by over population. I came here to the US 3 years ago. The population problem in Korea is a bit serious I think. For example, in Seoul there are 10 million people. If you have time to visit there you will feel the choking air. Actually, what I believe about the population problem is that it is more of a global problem linked to politics that promotes consumption and selfish competition among nations and individuals. We need to educate people and change policies to understand which is really important for our next generations and us.

The answer is yes, schools teach environmental problems of the country and the globe. However, as ZPG people believe, they do not seem to understand the real problem, so they do not teach the students properly.

We need to develop a correct conception of living together with other species harmoniously, as a part of great nature.

Especially in 1980s, when there was a military government (under the reign of Jung-Hee Park), the education of population problem was done as a long-term project. It was a bit successful in schools and through mass media; but not anymore now. Some people think that bigger population would give more power for the country; a selfish notion.

Of course not. What the government cares is just its popularity. So the stimulation of enough consumption and creation of more jobs are the priorities than other problems including population/environmental problems. Currently I have no particular answer how we can break the vicious cycle.

Unfortunately not many, at least I do not know about them. People just don't want to think about these issues.

Its true Simon, and it's a shame. Thanks for your time.

By Lee Strauss

Technologically, we may have reached the point where we can solve global problems in unprecedentedly effective ways. Emotionally, however, we all too often still behave as if we were tribally-niched peoples running around in caves. (Both figuratively and, in the most recent war, literally.) As a world culture we have yet to come to grips in any cohent and peaceful way with an ultimate set of shared values. Confusion over the clear boundaries between spiritual, emotional, and practical/ecological reality still drives us into war. Having an infinite number of babies or consuming an infinite amount of material goods still often seem like viable options to us.

Advanced researchers in psychology and neurophysiology like Candace Pert, Bessel van der Kolk, and Judith Herman are just now beginning to map out the specific sites and patterns within the human body that correspond to the storage and perpetuation of age-old habits and obsolete behavior. But it is still far from clear whether the fruits of this cutting-edge research will make it into the mainstream soon enough for people to understand that the most intractable problems we now seem to face on a global scale have at their root an inability to change on everyone’s part. Beneath our materialism, we Americans are mostly still no less superstitious than the wild-eyed Zionist or radical Muslim.

A few centuries of relative material prosperity and technological advantage have granted us some cushion against the violence now tearing the Middle East apart. In most cases, religious tolerance still prevails in the U.S. But we should remember that the Crusades and the Inquisition happened not that long ago, and were no less violent or intolerant than anything going on today with Arabs and Jews, Serbs and Croatians, etc.

In more technologically challenged times (which still constitutes most of human history), having lots of babies, storing and consuming lots of resources, and being always ready to go to war were all, arguably, if not obviously "good things," easily defensible behaviors

Material resources, including children, were often scarce, and even during the rare times they weren’t, a sudden shift in the ecology or incursion into your land by another tribe could have devastating consequences for the understocked or ill-prepared. So to now call our "knee-jerk" tendencies to conceive, consume or fight each other addictions, compulsions, or otherwise "evil" (it’s always the other guy’s behaviors that are evil) is to miss the point. In the current situation, a state of war and fear of one another mask a looming ecological crisis of unprecedented proportions, if we don’t clear our hearts and minds in time to prevent it. Turning things around depends not on focusing on how different we are from each other, but rather on seeing how similar we all are in our inability to change our ways and thus, potentially, in our ability to change them.

Globalism has made it impossible for Americans to ignore that some peoples in the world still live and think more like our medieval ancestors than like us. Industrialization, modernization, democratization just simply haven’t happened for them yet. For them God is still very literally at the center of the universe, not merely a social construct to be visited on Sundays and holidays. But I think the key to understanding their behavior is also the key to understanding our own: that underneath our now quite thick veneer of "modern enlightenment," we too are still wild tribes running about in the jungle. (September 11^th and its aftermath did much to remind us of this.) So, if for no other reason, it would now seem clear that only an equitable and egalitarian, globally universal remedy can bring about the sort of peace and ecological self-control we crave.