July 11th, World Population Day

This picture was taken during the annual Madison art festival. This little girl would wave and smile at everyone and everything. Today is World Population Day and the girl child is the most discussed topic.

The world population is growing at an alarming rate of 80 million a year. That is 10 New York cities a year. It sends jolts down my spine every time I think about it. This growth has grave consequences. Urgent stabilization of human population is vital for a sustainable future.

Easy for me to sit here and yak. Right ? Anyway , getting back to the point.

Women's rights and respect for the girl child is the foundation of a stable society. In the developing countries, women are struggling to be heard. Poor reproductive health care and education, renders all efforts to solve the problem of population explosion, a failure.

One of the organizations leading the effort for Women's rights and sustainable development is UNFPA. Their mission statement...

UNFPA seeks to improve the lives and expand the choices of individuals and couples. Over time, the reproductive choices they make, multiplied across communities and countries, alter population structures and trends.

Unfortunately, the task is easier stated than done. The subject of population stabilization gets into collision course with the religious right. The current US administration decided to withdraw their support and funding for UNFPA. I am guessing, they were kissing up to a key vote base. In India too where population stabilization is the only path to any future, the issue gets muddied by religious fundamentalism. A few Indian politicians grotesquely confuse people telling him that one particular religion is the cause of population explosion.

I like to be optimistic. There is always a silver lining. Two women, dedicated to the cause, created a movement called 34 million friends of UNFPA. The idea is for 34 million people to donate 1 dollar a year to compensate for the 34 million dollar funding cut off by the US administration. Till date they have raised $2,676,657. Contribute I did. Contribute you can too.






In India... Industry leaders, media experts and activists have come together to create a media and communications based campaign called PopulationFirst. They work together with UNFPA and local NGOs to reach the grass roots. Their latest campaign ad is definitely worth a watch.




All said and done, population is a time bomb and we need to diffuse it. The resources of mother nature are finite. Any number of scientific innovations cannot change that fact. If we are to live the way God intended us to, we should give God's other creations a chance too.



Quotes of the day
"Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land”... The Holy Bible, Isaiah 5:8

"Efforts to slow down population growth, to reduce poverty, to achieve economic progress, to improve environmental protection, and to reduce unsustainable consumption and production patterns are mutually reinforcing. Slower population growth has in many countries increased those countries ability to attack poverty, protect and repair the environment, and build the base for future sustainable development" ...The virtous circle, UNFPA

"The generation that destroys the environment is usually not the generation that suffers"...Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan activist and the first African lady to get the Nobel prize

"Children are God's gift. I am pretty sure he wouldn't mind, if we procreated a little less and adopted a little more" .... This one is 100% me

Footnote in history
On July 8th 2005, the leaders of the most powerful 8 nations concluded their summit in Gleneagles. They failed to arrive at a strategy to combat global warming. 7 among them wanted to solve the problem. One refused to listen.