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April 30, 2002   New Scientist   Men's Murky Motives for Romance .   Men are more likely to spoil their female partners and keep a close eye on their movements around the time of ovulation.

April 29, 2002   Population Reference Bureau   ****International Migration: Facing the Challenge .     This important report needs summarization. If you would like to help, click on the red arrow and follow the instructions.

April 29, 2002   Population Council release   Responding to Cairo: Case Studies of Changing Practice in Reproductive Health and Family Planning .   - a new book published by the Population Council. It examines global efforts to translate the Cairo commitments into practice. Notable findings: Some of the population policies that impinged on women's rights and freedom of choice were abolished or modified—including in India and China. Nonetheless, strong pressures to achieve demographic goals by promoting contraceptive use persist in some settings. Sexuality is increasingly regarded as a legitimate part of reproductive health care and is being incorporated into some programs. However, deeply entrenched gender biases remain, and concerted, long-term efforts will be required to eliminate these ingrained obstacles to change. A wider range of reproductive health needs is being addressed. Efforts to broaden the content of services have met with considerable success, often at low or no additional cost. Progress in this area has been enhanced by some technological innovations and has been hindered by some technological gaps (e.g., the lack of simple, low-cost methods to diagnose reproductive tract infections and of female controlled methods of sexually transmitted infection prevention, such as microbicides). Efforts to empower women as health care consumers, equal partners in sexual relationships, and important members of their families and communities are feasible and desired.

April 29, 2002   African News/The Herald (Harare)   Use of Contraceptives in Zimbabwe Is Up .   The harsh economic climate in Zimbabwe has made it imperative for people to reduce the sizes of their families. 50% of Zimbabwean women - 60% in urban and 48% rural - use contraception. Inflation has been rising at an alarming rate, peaking at over 116%, and many cannot afford basic commodities or even 3 meals daily. Men are afraid to have a vasectomy, thinking they would not be able to perform effectively and enjoy sex with their partners after the operation. Only 14% of men and 6% of married men use condoms. Abortion is widely used, particularly when women get pregnant while suckling infants.

April 26, 2002   Daily Mail   UK: Mobile Pharmacy to Sell Morning After Pill at Pop Concerts .   Young women at UK pop festivals will be sold the morning after pill (emergency contraception - EC) from mobile pharmacies. The project was designed to help young women who may 'fall victim to a moment of festival passion'. For £19.99 the emergency contraceptive, Levonelle will be available at festivals in Bristol, London, Essex, Staffordshire, Leeds and Kinross in Scotland.

April 26, 2002   IRIN Africa English reports   Two Ethiopian Teenagers to Promote Child Concerns at UN Session .   At a UN Special Session on Children, May 8-10, hundreds of youths representing the children of their country will attend. They will each urge member states to help end the suffering of children in their country. 150 million children across the planet are still malnourished and 100 million do not go to school. Half a million children have died of AIDS and two million were killed in conflicts in the 1990s. The goal of the conference is to develop a Plan of Action to improve the lives of children over the next 10 years. Tens of thousands of children were surveyed in Ethiopia, in a joint venture with UNICEF and Save the Children Alliance, to give priorities for improving their lives. Concerns that they expressed were: care for street children, fulfilling children's basic needs, ending harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, promoting child participation, care for AIDS-infected children and orphans, and ending the wars.

April 26, 2002   CAPS release   Population Activist, CAPS Director, Elected to Sierra Club's National Board of Directors .   Ben Zuckerman, a long-time environmentalist and advocate for reducing population growth, received the highest vote total of any candidate for election to the Sierra Club Board of Directors. His vote total was 8% higher than the next highest of the five winning candidates. Zuckerman is a professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA and a board member of Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS). Zuckerman's candidate statement said: "We should provide members with much more information about overpopulation and what they can do about it."

April 24, 2002   The Washington Post   Abstinence Moves to the Head of the Class; Topic Gains Favor, and Funding, in Sex Education Courses .   President Bush has proposed nearly doubling federal spending next year on programs that adhere to eight strict criteria prohibiting any mention of contraception except failure rates. Belle Sawhill, senior researcher at the Brookings Institution and president of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy said "There is some merit in promoting abstinence," ... "But it's also the case that there are going to be kids, no matter what adults tell them, who are going to be sexually active, and it doesn't make sense to deny them information about how to protect themselves." 65% of students have already engaged in intercourse by the time they leave high school, said Lloyd J. Kolbe, director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bush administration officials say the dramatic increase is needed to bring federal spending up to par with other forms of sex education. But much of what the administtration categorizes as comprehensive sex education is found in Title X, a federal program which allows poor women to receive medical services. Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.) says "Title X funding is not about school-based educational programs. This is not even a case of apples and oranges; it's apples and marmalade." Greenwood and Rep. Barbara T. Lee (D-Calif.) sponsor legislation to fund programs teaching a combination of abstinence and contraception. "Since 1996, Congress has committed over half a billion dollars to abstinence-only education programs and zero dollars to comprehensive sexuality education. . . . It is time for a more balanced approach." The most compelling case for abstinance-only was found in virginity pledge programs where some teens who signed such pledges were able to delay sexual activity by about 18 months. But Peter S. Bearman,of Columbia University, found that teens who broke the pledge were less likely to use contraception during intercourse. "All adolescents should learn how to protect themselves," he wrote. Researcher Douglas Kirby said "there is very strong evidence that some, but not all, comprehensive sex education programs can delay sex, reduce frequency of sex, reduce the number of partners, increase condom use and increase contraceptive use." While abstinence-only programs tend to lack scientific data as proof of their effectiveness, CDC has evaluated hundreds of sex education programs and found that under the CDC designated "Programs That Work", sexual activity among students in grades 9 through 12 dropped from 54% to 50%, and teen pregnancies fell from 8% to 6.4%.

April 24, 2002   Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California   California Family Planning and Reproductive Choice Bills .   Here are a few California bills to lobby for or against: AB 130 (2001) Expands state funding for preventative health services, including family planning services, to women under 65. Specifies that condoms are within the scope of covered contraceptive methods. SJR 23 (2001) Calls on Congress and the President to enact the "Family Planning State Empowerment Act of 2001," which would allow states to expand funding for family planning and other health services without obtaining a waiver from the federal government. SB 1291 (2002) Requires the DMV to create "Choose Life" license plates. Funds go to non-profit agencies within the state that provide counseling and other services that meet the needs of pregnant women committed to placing their children for adoption. AB 2537 (2002) Requires that an ultrasound be performed 24 hours prior to obtaining an abortion. The woman is required to view the ultrasound prior to receiving abortion services.

April 23, 2002     Worldwatch Interactive Timeline .   The Worldwatch Institute released a new interactive web-based timeline - The Path To Johannesburg, to build momentum for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will open in Johannesburg, South Africa. The timeline provides a snapshot of some of the world's most significant environmental moments and allows users to learn more on a wide range of issues-from biodiversity to global warming to third world debt-by accessing Worldwatch's vast library of research and other resources on the web. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 to September 6, 2002. The WSSD will bring together world leaders, concerned citizens, international agencies, multilateral financial institutions, and other major actors to assess global change since the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (also known as the Rio "Earth Summit"). For more information go to http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/.

April 23, 2002   WOA!! website   WOA!! Honors Jacob Lund Fisker as An Outstanding Volunteer .   Steadfastly summarizing pertinent sustainability and environmental impacts articles, Jacob Lund Fisker has contributed significantly to the World Population Awareness webpage. "Without the help of volunteers, this web site would be significantly more static," says editor-publisher Karen Gaia Pitts. "Jacob is keenly aware of the environmental and resource depletion problems resulting from overpopulation - this is obvious in his summarizations." Jacob says he is a graduate student in theoretical physics. His primary concern is how resource depletion will enact Leibig's law on the human population as it runs out of fossil fuels, potable water, top soil,biodiversity, etc.. Jacob's own web site can be seen at http://quasar.physik.unibas.ch/~fisker/401/oil/oil.html.   [Now I need to ask him what is Leibig's law.]   kgp

April 23, 2002   Long Beach Press-Telegram   U.S.: California Assembly Unanimously Passes Bill Requiring Hospitals to Provide EC to Rape Survivors.   Bill AB 1860 that would require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape survivors when they receive medical treatment. Over 10% of the 300,000 American women who are raped each year become pregnant. If taken within 72 hours of sex, EC is "at least" 75% effective at preventing pregnancy. The bill now goes to the state Senate. If passed, California would be the forth state passing such a bill.

April 22, 2002   Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean   Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2001 .   For researchers interested in Latin America and the Caribbean.

April 19, 2002   MTV release   MTV, Kaiser Family Foundation Launch Yearlong Campaign to Inform Teens About Sexual Health .   "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself," is a year-long effort to teach young people about sexual health issues through media programming, grassroots campaigns, a sexual health guide and an Internet site. The campaign will kick off on April 20th at 1 p.m. with the television premiere of "MTV's First National Sex Quiz." Other parts of the campaign include a sexual health guide: "It's Your (Sex) Life: Your Guide to Safe & Responsible Sex" which discusses HIV/AIDS and other STDs, contraception and "pressing issues surrounding teenage sexuality." The guide, free, can be obtained at (1 888 BE SAFE 1) or through the MTV Web site; a made-for-television movie titled "Everybody's Doing It" that examines sex education in schools and the effects of peer pressure on sexual decision-making; public service announcements; grassroots campaigns: a "Sexual Health 101" forum in cities across the country, "HIV testing drives", and efforts to "mobiliz young people in support of comprehensive sex education"; the MTV web site with the sex quiz, information about the campaign and its events, a list of HIV testing facilities and links to Internet resources on sexual health and teen sexuality. "When it comes to issues directly impacting them, our audience overwhelmingly calls sexual health their number one concern. With one in four sexually active teens set to get an STD this year and over 50% of new HIV infections occurring among those under 25, there is little question that sexual health issues hit young people the hardest," Brian Graden, president of entertainment for MTV, said.

April 18, 2002   New York Times*   Study Sees 6,000 Deaths From Power Plants.   A study prepared for the Rockefeller Family Fund by a technical consulting firm "estimates that pollution from … 80 power plants owned by eight electric utilities will cause 6,000 premature deaths in the year 2007". In the same year, the study predicts, pollutants from these same utilities will cause "140,000 asthma attacks and 14,000 cases of acute bronchitis". This study adds to the debate over the best way to diminish air pollution; the Bush administration wishes to replace the measures used to enforce the Clean Air Act with a "strategy call Clear Skies" which is condemned by many environmental groups. The 8 companies mentioned operate 83 of the more than 9350 power plant in the U.S. and "all eight … have been cited by the Justice Department as being in violation of the Clean Air Act and are in various stages of legal action." The greatest impact on health will be in Pennsylvania, which is downwind of the plants, but New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will also be affected. Not unexpectedly, spokespersons for the industry have "cast doubt on the study’s credibility".     st

April 18, 2002   Zero Population Growth   Time for Activists to Think About Title X Funding.   Low income Americans face many obstacles to receiving family planning information and services. Federal funds for the Title X (ten) program - the only federal program dedicated to making family planning available to Americans - are woefully inadequate. As Congress begins to consider the 2003 federal budget, they should support a funding increase for the crucial Title X program. Help make sure that America's women and teens have access to the full range of family planning services. It's time for members of Congress to make decisions about fiscal year 2003 funding. Ask your lawmakers to request an increase for Title X - the nation's domestic family planning program. Click on the headline link to take action from the ZPG website.

April 18, 2002   Los Angeles Times   Dispel the Myth That Cheap Food Comes Without High Costs.   In this commentary, the Lappes decry "the hidden costs of our ‘factory farming’ model of agriculture" which undermine the sustainability of current agricultural practices. These costs include: "the loss of plant diversity" arising from the aggressive sale of a limited selection of seeds, overexploitation of the ocean, soil erosion on prime farmland, the loss of marine life by nitrogen runoff of fertilizers, the poisoning of wells in the Midwest by farm chemicals and the loss of "rural communities [because of] rising farm costs and lower returns". The meat industry, resisting the added costs of "food safety procedures" adds "more than 5,000 deaths each year [due to] food-borne illnesses". They suggest instead ways "to align with nature’s genius to create sustainable efficiency". The authors cite studies, reported last year, of "sustainable farming practices, covering 70 million acres in more than 50 countries", which showed that ecologically sound agricultural practices increased yields (there were increases of 150% in root crops). Using these techniques, the productivity of some crops was reduced, but because production costs dropped even more, farmers’ incomes rose. The authors note that "overproduction, not underproduction, has been the bane of U.S. agriculture." Subsidizing organic practices and supporting ecologically minded farmers would go a long way to alleviating these problems.   In the context of a rising world's population, climate change which may threaten food production in some parts of the world and problems with food distribution, sustainable agricultural methods become increasingly important.  st

April 17, 2002   Earth Policy Institute   New York: Garbage Capital of the World.   Each day, New York City produces 11,000 tons of garbage. To haul it away to fiscally strapped local communities in other states requires 550 tractor trailers in a convoy nearly nine miles long, impeding traffic, polluting the air, raising carbon emissions, and increasing road maintenance costs. But landfills in adjacent states will soon begin to fill up, pushing disposal costs ever higher. For every 40,000 tons of garbage added to a landfill at least one acre of land is lost to future use. And surrounding residential areas must be buffered against potentially toxic wastes. Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposes to halt the recycling of metal, glass and plastic to save money, proposing incineration of the garbage instead. But burning 11,000 tons of garbage each day will only add to air pollution, making already unhealthy city air even worse. The list of throwaway products that we use has steadily grown. We must replace the throwaway economy with a reduce/reuse/recycle economy. The costs of such an economy are manifested not only in landfill space, but in the energy use, the disruption from mining, and the deforestation that throwaway economy requires. The challenge is not so much what to do with the garbage as it is how to avoid producing it in the first place. New York recycles only 18% of its municipal waste. Los Angeles recycles 44% and Chicago 47%. While Seattle and Minneapolis both have high rates of recycling - near 60% - they are not close to exploiting the full potential of garbage recycling.

April 17, 2002   Guardian Unlimited   Scientists Warn of Himalayan Floods.   Within the next five years, rising temperatures in the world's highest mountain range, caused by global warming, are expected to cause 44 rising glacier-fed lakes high in the Himalayas to burst their banks, sending millions of gallons of water and rock cascading on to settlements in the valleys of Nepal and Bhutan below. Millions of people live in similar danger areas in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet and China. Pradeep Mool, from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said Tsho Rolpa, a melting glacier-fed lake in Nepal, has grown sixfold since the 1950s and is now 2.6km long by 500 metres wide, with a depth of 107 metres. When the ice in the pile of frozen rock which dams it melts, it will become unstable. "A flood from this lake could cause serious damage down to the village of Tribeni, 108km downstream, threatening 10,000 lives," Mool said. Even though the temperature has risen by only 1C since the 1950s, this is enough to cause the glaciers to retreat an average of 30 metres a year. One such ice dam, the Sangwang dam on the Tibet-Nepal border, broke in 1954, resulting in 40 metre high flood, destroying the city of Gyangze, 120km away and killing many thousands. Surendra Shrestha, Asian regional coordinator for the United Nations environment programme's early warning division, said: "For most of the Himalayas the risk is unknown, but it is very great. This is a seismic zone, and a catastrophic flood could be sparked by an earthquake." Scientists have found it difficult to investigate the sitution since many of the retreating glaciers are in sensitive border areas where governments are reluctant to allow investigation and also because most of the lakes are at altitudes of 4,500 to 5,000 metres.

April 16, 2002   Durex Parliamentary Briefing   Durex 'Easy-on Launch .   One in 7 people are still having unprotected sex and young people are reported to be the greatest risk-takers. To overcome excuses for not practising safer sex Durex has created a uniquely shaped range of condoms designed to be easier to put on and more comfortable to wear and includes a latex odour masker.

April 16, 2002   Reuters Health   Incentives Fail to Halt Declining Birth Rates in Asian Countries .   Singapore's fertility rate is 1.42 births per woman. South Korea's is about 1.4, Taiwan's is 1.5, and Japan's is 1.3 births per family. These countries have Asia's strongest economies. All are offering incentives for couples to have more children. Singapore and Japan offer cash incentives which have been shown as not working. It is argued that there needs to be better support facilities, such as child-care alternatives, and a change in the work environment. In Japan, only a small number of workers use the cash incentives because of social pressure to continue working.

April 15, 2002   Nature magazine   Climate Change Pinpointed in Global Amphibian Declines.   Climate change may be the cause for the declining population of amphibians a new article in "Nature" suggests. Populations have been declining around the world sometimes leading to the extinction of entire species. Amphibians usually spawn in shallow water, but when water levels decline due to changed weather patterns UV-B radiation from the sun reaches the eggs leaving the embryos vulnerable to infection. "Extreme climatic events" may also cause outbreaks of certain pathogens affecting the amphibians. According to the new hypothesis it is not increased radiation levels due to ozone-depletion but rather the changing weather patterns due to global warming which is the cause of the die-off which have been observed in various regions around the world e.g. in Central America, where adult golden toads and other mountain amphibians are dying from dry conditions. Scientist also observed that species whose eggs are shielded from direct sunlight also show lower population numbers suggesting that several factors must be taken into account. However even if the changing climate is not the only significant factor "there is clearly a need for a rapid transition to cleaner energy sources if we are to avoid staggering losses of biodiversity," scientist Alan Pounds comments. jlf

April 15, 2002   Seattle Times   The Arctic Meltdown: Quick Thaw Alarms Natives and Scientists.   In the Russian, Alaskan, Canadian and Greenland Artic, where the ground is usuallly frozen nearly year-round, the tundra and ice are starting to thaw. Seabirds die by the thousands; seal pups are found deformed; whales are sick and undernourished; the walrus and tundra rabbits are becoming scarce; reindeer herd numbers are declining; tree lines are advancing north; and native whale and walrus hunters are coming back empty handed. In people's experience, where there had always been ice, there is now the dark swell of the open ocean. Parts of the Arctic have warmed by 10 degrees Fahrenheit — 10 times the global average. Ice covers 15% less of the Arctic Ocean than it did 20 years ago, and that ice has thinned from an average of 10 feet to less than 6.

April 15, 2002   Deutsche Presse-Agentur   Sexual Trafficking in Bangladesh .   Every month, nearly 400 teenage Bangladeshi women become victims of organised human trafficking, Dr Saira Akhtar of the Bangladesh Gynaecological Society reported. These teenagers frequently suffer early pregnancies and have a high maternal mortality rate. Young girls from impoverished families are lured by offers of jobs and marriage, but end up in brothels in both India and Bangladesh. There is considerable social and religious pressure for girls from impoverished families to marry as soon as girls reach puberty because they are considered an economic burden. The legal marriage age at 20 for women and 22 for men.

April 15, 2002   New Scientist   Forest Experiment Questions Greenhouse Gas Strategy.   Some countries, including the US, are relying on carbon sequestration by growing forests to control their increasing carbon dioxide output in an attempt to slow climate change while avoiding measures aimed at lowering CO2 production. According to William Schlesinger this may not work. Schlesinger and his group at Duke University in North Carolina surrounded six plots of trees, each of which were 30 meters in diameter, with rings of 32 vertical pipes. Around three plots, pipes pumped out carbon dioxide enriched air (mimicking CO2 concentrations in the air of 2050); around the other three plots, pipes pumped out air characteristic of current air. They found that although the trees breathing 2050 air absorbed and converted into plant matter 27% more CO2 than do control trees, they calculated that temperate forests all over the world in 2050 "will absorb only 10% of human-generated CO2". That is, "the effect is not as large as people had expected", said Peter Cox at Britain’s Meteorological Office in Bracknell, Berkshire. Schlesinger, Cox and other specialists in this area agree that "forests cannot solve the problem of global warming, and emissions need to be reduced." Other factors which could undermine the ability of forests to absorb increasing amounts of CO2 in future years include the likelihood of increasing frequency of forests fires with a greater release of carbon and the more rapid "breakdown of leaf litter by microbes" at higher temperatures, which is already being observed in the wetlands of the Amazon rainforest. All workers in this area agree that many factors in the entire ecosystem must be studied to predict the outcome.     st

April 14, 2002   New York Times   China's Growing Deserts Are Suffocating Korea.   In Seoul, South Korea, for the third consecutive year, huge clouds of dust have blown in from China's deserts 750 miles away. Consequently, Seoul's residents have suffered breathing problems, school closures, cancelled domestic flights, workplace absenteeism, and dipping retail sales. 70 micrograms of dust per cubic meter of air is normal for Seoul, but a recently a record measurement of 2,070 micrograms was reported. The dust is a result of the rapid desertification in China and a prolonged drought affecting that country and other parts of Northeast Asia. The desertification is due to overfarming, overgrazing and the widespread destruction of forests. The Gobi desert grew by 20,000 square miles from 1994 to 1999, reaching a point 150 miles north of Beijing. The dust from the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts in rapidly industrializing China binds with toxic industrial pollutants, including arsenic, cadmium and lead. Not only South Korea is affected - Tokyo has seen an unusually dusty spring; particles of the airborne sand now travel 7,000 miles to Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, by riding the jet stream.

April 08, 2002   World Health Organization   Womens Health Factsheets .   Click on the link in the headline to see factsheets and FAQs on womens reproductive health matters.

April 07, 2002   New York Times*   U.N. Agency on Population Blames U.S. for Cutbacks.   The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) has been forced to make serious cut backs as a result of the current U.S. administration's decision to withhold $34 million appropriated by Congress for the Fund's use. The cut amounted to 13% of the agency's $260 million budget for 2002. Thoraya Obaid, the fund's executive director, says that this cut comes at a time when the need for reproductive health services is great and growing and that demand will rise by 40% over the next 15 years. According to Stirling Scruggs, a fund spokesman, this cut would result in million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 induced abortions, 4700 maternal deaths and 77,000 infant and child deaths. The UNFPA also supplies condoms to men in groups at high risk for HIV/AIDS. Cuts in contributions to the fund have also been made by Japan and Denmark, two other large contributors, because of budgetary constraints. Amy Coen, the president of Population Action International, a private organization in Washington that focuses on voluntary population planning and related health issues, called the cut 'pure politics.' It occurred after Representative Christopher H. Smith, a Republican of New Jersey wrote President Bush charging that the population fund acquiesced in Chinese birth control policies that include forced abortions and involuntary sterilization. This charge was made by the Population Research Institute, an organization founded by Human Life International, an anti-abortion group with branches in dozens of countries. The UNFPA counters this charge by observing that they fund programs only in counties where the one-child family policy is no longer enforced.

April 03, 2002   Arizona Republic   Arizona House Passes Contraceptive Coverage Bill .   HB 2115 would require insurers in the state who offer prescription drug coverage in their health plans to also offer coverage for FDA-approved prescription contraceptives. The bill, which applies only to group health plans, was passed by the House. A similar bill is before the state Senate.

April 02, 2002   New York Times   California, USA: Farms and Growth Threaten a Sea and Its Creatures.   California's largest lake and home to some 400 species of birds, its total bird population is second only to the Gulf Coast of Texas, the Salton Sea is now 25% saltier than the ocean and getting more so each day. But a rich nitrogen and phosphorus agricultural runoff has turned the Salton Sea into a briny soup oozing with algae and other life. Outbreaks of botulism and very low oxygen levels have killed thousands of birds and fish. Since over 90% of California's coastal wetlands have disappeared beneath bulldozers and asphalt, migrating birds such as the brown pelican and Yuma clapper rail (both endangered) white pelicans, cormorants, great blue herons, snowy egrets and other birds have turned to the Salton sea. Evaporation increases the salt load in the lake each year by more than four million tons — the equivalent of a mile-long freight train filled with salt, which will make it inhospitable to life by 2030. The sea is an accident of water transfers and may soon dry up if water rights are again transfered, creating serious wind erosion and hazardous air pollution problems, if water from the Imperial Valley is diverted. The city of San Diego needs the water that is going to the Salton Sea, to support economic activity and development in the area. Dr. Stuart Hurlbert, a biology professor at San Diego State and director of the Center for Inland Waters, a group of Salton Sea researchers, says the real problem is trying to maintain San Diego's high growth rate. "As a San Diegan, the worst thing that could happen is to have the water come here to add a million more people."

April 2002   Vogue magazine   AIDS: Vogue Profiles Research, Development of Microbicides .   Polly Harrison, director of the Alliance for Microbicide Development, said that there are currently 40 to 50 microbicidal agents in development, one of which, BufferGel, is scheduled to enter Phase II/III clinical trials this summer. Another product, recently acquired by Biosyn, "waits" for HIV, "paralyzes" it and then prevents the virus from replicating. Although development of microbicides has been hampered by a lack of funding, and only only 2% of the 2001 HIV/AIDS research budget for NIH was directed to microbicide research, now pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms have begun to look to microbicide research as the AIDS epidemic has worsened and hopes for a vaccine have "faded." Women want a method of STD protection that they can control.   [Note: microbicides may be developed that will combine AIDs suppression with pregnancy prevention.]

April 2002   Population Reference Bureau   The West Bank and Gaza: A Population Profile .   The West Bank and Gaza both experience population growth rates which are among the highest in the world: 3.4% in the West Bank and 4% in Gaza. Children under 15 years of age comprise 45% of the West Bank population and 50% in Gaza. With 4,091 people per square kilometer, Palestinian-controlled Gaza is one of the most densely population countries of the world. The Palestinian literacy rate is high at 92% males and 80% for females. About 78% of Gazans and 30% of West Bankers (includes descendants) are registered refugees from the 1948 war, with 55% of Gaza refugees and 27% of West Bank refugees living in refugee camps. While life expectancy at birth is relatively high, the area faces several significant health concerns relating to underdevelopment, the occupation, and political turmoil and violence. Over 1,000 Palestinians were killed and over 17,000 injured in clashes with Israelis from October 2000 to late February 2002. Escalation in conflict has resulted to reduced access to health and medical facilities. During 1992-1996, real per capita gross domestic product for Palestinians declined by over 36%, due to both falling aggregate incomes and high population growth. 21% of the population were below the poverty level in Fall 2000. In the 3 months following the uprising that began in October 2000, the Palestinian economy fell by 50% and unemployment rose to 40%. In Gaza, the groundwater is polluted by untreated sewage, garbage and industrial waste, and fertilizers from agricultural runoff.

March 30, 2002   Women's Health Weekly   Population - U.S. Women Are Having More Children, New Report Shows .   The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) birth statistics show that women in the U.S. are having more births than at any time in the last 30 years. Teen births, however, have continued to decline to 22% below the 1991 record high. In the 1970s and 1980s, births were below replacement level, which is 2.1 per woman. In 2000 the rate was at 2.1. U.S. birth rates increased 3% from 1999 to 2000 which was the third straight increase after the decline of the 1990s to 1997. White, Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian women all had total fertility rates of 2.1, and black women had a total fertility rate of 2.2. For Hispanic women, the total fertility rate was 3.1 and for Mexican women it was 3.3.

March 28, 2002   Agence France Presse   Many Mouths, Few Resources: Tajikistan Struggles with Birthrate.   While one mother of eight believes it is "a good thing to have lots of children, as they can look after their parents when they're old", desperate poverty and crippling unemployment have strained Tajikistan's economy due to the preference here for large families - with an average of 5 children per family. 80% of the population is below the poverty line. The population, at 6.2 million, is expected to reach eight million by 2010.Even the 150,000 left dead and hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee the country - due to the civil war - have not made a large difference. 93% of the country is mountainous, with little room for expanding agriculture. Many Tajik children work, typically as street vendors, to help their family eke out a living - they have no time for school. Tajikistan is primarily a Muslim nation where contraception is frowned upon and men often illegally take several wives.

March 28, 2002   Toronto Globe and Mail   Effects of Warming 'Clearly Visible'.   Many of the world's plants and animals are already experiencing extensive disruptions because of global warming, indicating the planet's environment is sensitive to even small climate fluctuations, according to ground-breaking scientific research.   [This article needs summarization - if you would like to help, click on the red arrow and follow the instructions].

March 27, 2002   Associated Press   California USA: Gov. Davis Orders HMOs to Cover Morning After Pill .   By order of the governor, California's health maintenance organizations must cover "morning-after" contraceptives for women. "A woman's right to choose must never be held up by red tape," said Governor Davis, who has been promoting abortion rights and increased access to contraceptives in his fight to re-election.

March 27, 2002   Atlanta Journal and Constitution   Profile of Georgia Woman Providing Reproductive Health Care in Peruvian Jungle .   The Peruvian Amazon Conservation, founded in 1991 by Eleanor Smithwick, provides women in the jungles of Peru with reproductive health care. Smithwick had visited Peru as a tourist and felt that a "little effort" would solve most of the population problems she observed in the Amazon. It was not unusual for women to have given birth to 15 children. 2,500 people in 14 villages are helped by handing out contraceptives, teaching local women how to use injectable birth control and educating couples about basic prenatal and postnatal care. The women are now having fewer children and delaying their age at first pregnancy. Infant mortality rates have decreased while family income levels have increased. More money would help, but a "lack of government will and responsibility" as impediments to further progress.

March 25, 2002   PAHO   New Gender and Health Website .   The Women, Health and Development Program of the Pan-American Health Organization, (PAHO/WHO) has announced the launch of a new website devoted to Gender and Health issues. Features included are: the latest Gender and Health news e-mailed to you; Fact Sheets or Advocacy Kits; a Virtual Library on Gender and Health; locator for training courses, seminars or workshops; information about gender and women's studies programmes throughout the Americas, and a calendar of events.

March 25, 2002   St. Louis Post-Dispatch   Strong Families, Strong Nations .   The recent U.N. conference on international development in Monterrey, Mexico stressed fighting poverty and fostering development, but neglected the need for family planning. President Bush also overlooked this need when he threatened to withhold funds from the UNFPA. A $50 million investment in contraception and family planning would mean 1 million fewer abortions and 100,000 fewer infant deaths as well as the prevention of nearly 3 million unwanted pregnancies, 7,000 maternal deaths and 90,000 serious maternal illnesses, according to the Population Fund's director, Thoraya A. Obaid. Thanks to the UNFPA, birth rates in Bangladesh have been halved in 20 years, women in India now have an average of three children, compared to five about 20 years ago. In Indonesia, family size has dropped to about 2.5 children, down from 4 children in 1980; and Mexico, which saw a fertility of about 7 children per woman in the late '60s, now sees an average of less than 3 children per woman. These trends tend to uplift women and bolster families, Obaid said.   [Not to mention lowering poverty]

March 25, 2002   CNN.com   'Crown jewels' of U.S. Parks Endangered Yellowstone, Glacier Bay, Mojave on the List.     [This article needs summarization. If you would like to help, click on the red arrow and follow the instructions.]

March 25, 2002   Asia Intelligence Wire   Australian Scientists Develop Effective Male Pill .   A male contraceptive pill developed by Australian researchers has been shown in a study group to result in zero pregnancies after two years. The pill, developed by scientists from the ANZAC Research Institute in Sydney and Prince Henry's Institute in Melbourne. The increase in hormones tricks the body's normal capacity to produce sperm.

March 25, 2002   InfoProd   Jordan: Family Planning as Key to Population Control.   Jordanian national family planning programs have helped reduce the fertility rate from 5.6 children per family in 1990 to 3.5 in 2001, but more needs to be done. The government wants to lower the birth rate to 2.1 children per family by 2020.

March 25, 2002   Europe Intelligence Wire   Ireland: Young Women 'Unaware of Sexual Health Issues' .   In Ireland a IFPA study found that many women aged 20 to 24 did not know the terminology for their reproductive organs and are not informed about contraception and sexually transmitted infections - and many mistakenly believe the contraceptive pill protects them from sexual diseases. Girls are often not getting sex education at home, and if they do not attend biology or home economics classes, or drop out of school early, they miss out altogether.The survey found that those who received little or no sex education were more likely to lose their virginity earlier, have more sexual partners and engage in unprotected sex. The Government introduced the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) programme to schools in 1995, but less than half of secondary schools have it.

March 23, 2002   UN Wire   Mexico and Guatemala Launch Plans to Reduce Maternal Mortality.   Using a World Health Organization strategy, Mexico and Guatemala plan to improve health care for their poorest populations. Health Secretary Julio Frenk said that good health, like education, is necessary for development and growth . "Most of the women who die from hemorrhages did not receive adequate care," said Julio Garcia Colindres, director of the new National Program on Reproductive Health. "They live so far away that when they arrive at the nearest hospital, it is already too late." Hemorrhages account for 40% of maternal deaths in Guatemala, while 21% are associated with complications from abortion. Women will be taught the importance of spacing pregnancies by at least two years, to have children between the ages of 20 and 35, and to seek prenatal and postnatal care. Public and private health services in Guatemala reach only about 58% of the population.

March 23, 2002   The Guardian   Disease Stalks the Megacities: 6,000 Children a Day Die From Water-Borne Illnesses That Could Be Cheaply Eradicated.   Two leading British development groups, Tearfund and WaterAid, warned in their report, The Human Waste that sanitation in many of the world's cities is in crisis and will dramatically worsen with the continuing growth of cities and slums. 2.5 billion people, 40% of the world's population, lack access to even the most minimal toilet facilities and up to 6,000 children a day die from water-borne diseases which could be eradicated cheaply and quickly. Sewage pollution, they say, is one of the biggest and most common causes of illnesses In Asia, the level of sewage in rivers is 50 times higher than UN guidelines. According to WHO, the World Health Organization, diarrhoea is the world's second most serious killer of children, despite the fact that in 90% of cases it can be easily prevented or treated. In Latin America only 2% of sewage receives any treatment at all." As people move to the cities, the number of people without sanitation will double to almost 5 billion within 23 years. In developing countries, "Contaminated water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene cause over 80% of all disease." "Half of all hospital beds in developing countries are full of people suffering waterborne diseases. Human waste is responsible for cholera, typhoid, trachoma, schistosomiasis and other infectious diseases that affect billions of people."

March 23, 2002   Xinhua/United News of Bangladesh/UNwire   Bangladesh: Maternal Morbidity Threatens Development, Says UNFPA .   Long-term maternal morbidity threatens about 9 million women in Bangladesh. "Changes in health condition directly affects development prospects, and the chances of eradicating poverty becomes less," UNFPA said. Fistulas, urinary incontinence and urinary prolapse are common problems. The maternal mortality rate is high at 4 deaths per 1,000 live births, with only 12% of births receiving skilled attention. Postpartum hemorrhaging accounts for 28%, and abortion accounts for 21% of maternal deaths. Mortality among adolescent mothers is almost double the national average, with women under 20 accounting for the largest segment of births.

March 22, 2002   PRNewswire   Catholic Health Association Supports Medically Appropriate, Morally Acceptable Care for Sexual Assault Victims .   Rev. Michael D. Place, STD, president of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) said "... a female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from a sexual assault. ... If, after appropriate testing, it is considered medically appropriate, approved FDA drugs can be administered in a Catholic hospital for contraceptive purposes for the prevention of fertilization." However, "a Catholic hospital cannot provide these drugs if their effect would be abortifacient: that is, the fertilized ovum would be destroyed."

March 22, 2002   Negative Population Growth   USA: Florida’s Population Increasing Faster Than Expected .   Florida’s population is projected to reach 25 million by 2030, University of Florida demographers said last week. Those numbers, higher than expected, will cause Florida’s population to surpass New York’s, making it the third largest state. June Nogle, a demographer with the university's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said that accommodating so many people will be a large challenge. Providing adequate housing could mean increasing density restrictions in zoning so more people can be squeezed into developments. "The smaller counties may be major development targets and the major counties will have to start demolishing to make room for different style of housing," said Nogle. The report said that Florida’s population growth is being fueled primarily by a population shift within the U.S. from the Northeast to the Sunbelt. About 85% of the new residents are expected to come from other parts of the country, with the remainder made up mainly of immigrants. The new people will need for new highways and mass transit systems, expanded seaports and airports, new schools and teachers, new water and sewage treatment plants and utility lines, new police, firefighters and paramedics, new parks and recreation centers and expanded health and social services. They sometimes destroy natural habitat for plants and animals and cause air and water pollution."

March 22, 2002   Seattle Times   Talking About Burqas, Bush and Birth Control.   [This is a summary of an opinion by Ellen Goodman, syndicated columnist.] The war in Afghanistan has been appropriately praised as a victory for the freedom of women. On International Women's Day at the United Nations, first lady Laura Bush said, "We affirm out mission to protect human rights for women in Afghanistan and around the world." But something is missing. The Bush administration has talked about the right to work, the right to education, the right to walk freely on streets, but nothing about rights that have to do with sex and childbearing, as if women's freedom didn't include the freedom to decide when and how to have children. Women living under the Taliban's rule had the second-highest rate of maternal death in the world. Only 5% of women were literate, they bore an average of eight children and one of every 15 women died from complications of pregnancy. Bush's attitude towards womens reproductive freedom is particularly evident when he withheld the $34 million for family planning that Congress approved for the U.N. Population Fund (the UNFPA) - he withheld it due to Rep. Chris Smith's (NJ) rant about how the money was supporting China's coercive one-child policies. Which is untrue, since the UNFPA only works in areas where the programs are voluntary and has been pushing China to change. Adrienne Germain of the International Women's Health Coalition says: "If women can't control their own bodies, make their own decisions about when to have children and how many to have, they have difficulty getting an education or employment. If they are forced to have sex, denied information and protection about sexual diseases, it limits how they can be and act in the world."

March 20, 2002   EurekaAlert!   Report Supports Sustainable Food Production Environment and Public Health Could Benefit From Shift in Agricultural Practices.   According to a review by the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, published in the May 2002 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the current industrial methods of food production are not sustainable because of their "damaging impacts on the environment and public health". These methods harm the environment: "heavy farm machinery degrades soil health and poor farming practices deplete soil fertility, excessive fertilizer and pesticide use pollute waterways, and monocropping?diminishes biodiversity." These methods also harm human health. The heavy reliance on "growth-promoting antibiotics" in animal husbandry promotes antibiotic resistance, and "animal crowding in factory farms and high-speed processing of food animals [results in] an increased incidence of foodborne diseases." Heavy pesticide use is associated with an elevated risk of cancer, and diets with high meat content have been linked to an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes further burdening our health care system. Given the world?s high current population density and its anticipated growth - 6 billion ballooning to 9.3 billion by 2050 - the impacts of industrial animal farming on our environment and health are unsustainable. "The authors describe various farming methods that enhance sustainability", but emphasize that these will be effective only when it is generally acknowledged that agriculture depends on a finite natural resource base. For a start, each of us should cut our meat consumption.     jlf

March 20, 2002   Xinhua   U.N. Official Calls for Investment in Women .   The 10 richest nations individually are wealthier than the 10 poorest nations combined, with the results that illiteracy and ill health are still the norm for half the world, said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) at a press conference in Monterrey, Mexico. One sure way of dealing with those problems was investing in women. World leaders should pledge more support for women and free them from lack of education and poor health such as malnutrition, chronic ill health, exposure to communicable diseases, maternal mortally, and HIV/AIDS. 17 billion dollars were to have been mobilized in 2000 for population activities, but, only 11 billion dollars has been raised. Developed countries have not even reached 50% of their share, while poor countries have attained 80% from domestic resources to meet their commitments. "Investing in women is investing in change and in the future," said Obaid.

March 20, 2002   Canberra Times   Salt Ravages Australia's Environment .   Salinity ravages key waterways and agricultural zones in Australia, according to the new Australian State of the Environment report by over 100 scientists, government agencies and private sector groups. The report also cited growing damage to the nation's coral reefs, vegetation loss. Committee chairman Bruce Thom said "Although there has been some improvement since 1996, as a nation we are not sustainable in environmental concerns." In the same report, Australia's biodiversity was found to be better protected, particularly in Sydney Harbour, and urban air was cleaner, but the salinity is increasing in the Murray-Darling basin which provides 40% of Australia's agricultural value. 5.7 million hectares of land are at risk from salinity and 17 million hectares are expected to be impacted by 2050. Greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 16.9% from 1990 to 1998 while the government has so far refused to ratify the international Kyoto treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions, instead partnering with the U.S. Bush administration to find practical approaches to deal with climate change. A $1.5 billion conservation plan was developed.

March 19, 2002     "The Stork"    by Nina Paley.  Click on the link to see a great cartoon video of the effects of overpopulation.

March 19, 2002   Los Angeles Times   Study Urges Trawling Ban in Fragile Marine Habitats Fisheries: A Practice Likened to 'Clear-Cutting' the Oceans Needs to Use Less Damaging Gear, Federal Researchers Say.   A report released by the National Academy of Sciences says that numerous areas of concern along the Pacific Coast, the North Atlantic, the Gulf coasts and waters around Alaska are impacted by modern practices of 'bottom trawling' which, in modern day practice, uses rollers attached to nets which allow them to scour deep, uneven terrain that functions as fish nurseries. Bottom trawling scrapes away cold-water coral, sponges and various plants, and a single pass wipes out 68% of sea anemones and 21% of starfish. Repeated passes result in a 93% reduction in these bottom-dwelling creatures. The Academy recommends that the federal government reduce bottom trawling and require trawlers to modify their gear to minimize damage. "We need to reduce fishing efforts because we have too many boats chasing too few fish." The recommendation is supported by environmental groups such as the American Oceans Campaign as well as the recreational fishing lobby who blame commercial trawling for ruining fishing for everyone else.

March 19, 2002   Planet Ark   Desertification Seen Ravaging Farming and Wildlife .   Desertification is devastating farm production and the variety of plant and animal life in many parts of the world, adding to pressure to produce food more efficiently, according to delegates to a conference in Egypt. Adel El-Beltagy, of the Syria-based International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) said "We continue to lose good land to desertification through wind and water erosion, salinity, urbanisation and unsuitable farming practices." .. and "drought is the worst enemy of the poor." One billion people live in the world's dry areas, with West Asia and North Africa facing the most serious threat of water shortages. 40% of the world's farmland was severely degraded. To make matters worse, the world's fast-growing population will be concentrated in area where dry lands are widespread. The global population may grow to over eight billion by 2020. Brian Johnson, a leading British geneticist, said intensive farming methods, such as over-grazing, were degrading soils at an alarming rate and cutting their capacity to hold water. Genetically modified foods that are drought and salt tolerant may be the answer, he said, but they also could lead to changes in land and water use that damage wildlife and promote intensification of agriculture and forestry.

March 19, 2002   IRIN Plus News   Religious Leaders in Tanzania Opposed to Condoms .   AIDS NGOs Network in East Africa (ANNEA), is concerned about religious leaders recent statement that they were implacably against the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS, saying "all holy books" across the world were against the use of condoms." An estimated two million people in Tanzania were now believed to be living with HIV, some 70% of whom are between 25 and 49 years old. There is already a high level of HIV/AIDS awareness among Tanzanians.

March 19, 2002   New York Times   White House Adds Billions to An Increase in Foreign Aid .   Preceeding President Bush's visit to a development meeting in Mexico, his administration proposed to double what the president had previously promised in foreign towards fighting world poverty in coming years. Bush will increase foreign aid spending by 50% over three years beginning in the 2004 fiscal year. The proposal would raise development assistance to $15 billion, from $10 billion by 2006, the officials said, and would not decrease it thereafter. Mark Malloch Brown, head of the United Nations Development Program, said the goal set by world leaders in 2000 was to cut poverty in half by 2015.

March 18, 2002   IRIN/Africa News   Rwanda: Sexual Activity Among Street Children in Kigali.   Most of the street children in Kigali knew about HIV/AIDS and wanted more information about it. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University conducted survey in conjunction the Myboboh Club of street children and youths with a median age of 13 years, ranging from six to 20. Most of them - 184 - were male, while 54 were female. Over 50% of those interviewed had lost both parents, and 13% had one parent. 50% the boys and over 75% of the girls interviewed reported having had sex. 35% of those under 10 were found to be sexually active.

March 18, 2002   Asia Intelligence Wire   China: Healthy Plea for Family Man .   Chinese men will be asked to take more responsibility for family planning by health experts and family planning workers - to show they care for their family and to guarantee their equal rights to information and access to services. This will lessen unwanted pregnancy and prevent reproductive tract and other sexually transmitted infections - particularly since female contraceptives do not prevent transmitted diseases. State Family Planning Commission figures show that 46.3% of those using family planning measures take intra-uterine devices and 37.6% have chosen female sterilization, and only 2% use condoms. 77.8% of those surveyed in Northeast China's Jilin Province refused to use condoms, saying it is inconvenient or makes sex less enjoyable, but with the promotion of condom use and the dissemination of male sexual health knowledge, condom use increased by 45.8%. Men are also being urged to educate children about safe sex and avoid resorting to domestic violence.

March 17, 2002   Earth Policy Institute   Our Closest Relatives Are Disappearing .   At the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago, baboons outnumbered humans by 2 to 1. The invention of agriculture allowed the humans to grow at an unprecedented rate and about 2,000 years ago humans became the most populous primate. In 1930 the human population was outnumbered all the other primates combined. Today the human population has grown to 6.2 billion but many other primate species are in danger of going extinct. Only recently scientists verified the disappearance of the monkey known as "Miss Waldron's red colobus", a subspecies of a West African Monkey. This happened after more than a century without any known extinction of a primate species. Out of the 244 known primate species 19 are "critically endangered" (up from 13 in 1996), 46 are "endangered" (up from 29 in 1996), and 19 are classified as "vulnerable". The critically endangered group counts species which have suffered extreme losses and now only count populations to at most a few thousand. If humanity continues their present actions some species will disappear within this decade. The species in endangered group will most likely be extinct within the next two decades, whereas the vulnerable species may go extinct within this century. In contrast to humans which have spread themselves all over the Earth 75% of the all other primates live in just four countries: Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, and Madagascar. In all of these countries forest cover is diminishing due to human activity. In Indonesia almost two million hectares are cleared annually and by 2005 all the lowland forest of Sumatra will be gone taking with it the Sumatran orangutang among many other species. The Borneo orangutan is not likely to stay with us past 2010 if present trends continue. In Congo the bonobo which is homo sapiens closest relative, genetically speaking, numbered 100,000 in 1980, but now there are fewer than 10,000 left. In comparison more than 300,000 human babies are born daily - more than the total population of the great apes. Congo contains half of Africa's remaining tropical forests but is plagued by civil war which though it has created millions of human refugees and an increased demand for wild meat may cynically be considered a good thing for the apes as it slows "economic development" of the region. IF stability were to return the rate of forest logging would likely increase by several factors. Gorilla populations have dropped due to commercial hunting for wild meat. Fewer than 325 mountain gorillas are left. The Cross River Gorilla is limited to only 150-200 individuals scattered around the Cameroon/Nigeria border region. In parts of West and Central Africa hunting is a greater threat than habitat destruction/forest logging. The combined "bushmeat" trade is estimated at $1 billion a year and up to 60% are consumed in the cities. Almost half of the 30 million people living in the forested regions of Central Africa are fed on bushmeat from collapsing primate populations. To save the primates resources are needed to curb illegal hunting and logging. Large areas can be converted into parks and ecotourism can be used to support primate conservation, where former hunters may find an alternative income in park protection once they realize that live animals are worth more than dead ones.     jlf

March 17, 2002   Women's E-News   FDA 'Red Tape' Delays Reintroduction of Today Sponge Contraceptive in United States .   The popular Today sponge contraceptive was taken off the U.S. market eight years ago. Now "red tape" has delayed its reintroduction. The sponge is reported to be one of the "few over-the-counter, non-hormonal, woman-controlled contraceptives" approved in the United States. It can be placed in the vagina up to 24 hours before intercourse and is 90% effective in preventing pregnancy by releasing a spermicide. The former manufacturer Whitehall-Robbins (now Wyeth Consumer Health Care), did not want to make the equipment upgrades necessary for maintaining FDA approval. Allendale Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to the sponge in 1999. The product is still sold in Canada. The FDA has required "significant packaging changes" to the sponge, including adding a warning about toxic shock syndrome. Allendale says that FDA officials have also cancelled two appointments to inspect for compliance with changes, leading some reproductive health advocates to suspect that the agency may be "stalling for reasons unrelated to the sponge itself." Gene Detroyer, Allendale's CEO, said "Today's sponge is an approved product ... there has never been a major health risk or health problem from it. What better proof that you have a safe and advantageous product than a quarter of a billion uses?" The FDA approval process is 'tougher' under the Bush administration.

March 17, 2002   Miami Herald   Florida State Employees Enrolled in PPO Would Receive Contraceptive Coverage Under Budget Proposal .   Florida employees who receive health insurance coverage through the state's PPO health plan would also receive coverage for prescription contraceptives under a provision added to the state's budget proposal. Florida's personnel agency estimated that the cost to the state would be $1.6 million, but this cost would be offset by savings resulting from fewer unintended pregnancies and abortions. Contraceptive coverage for federal employees was approved by Congress in 1998, and 17 states have passed laws requiring private insurers to include contraceptives in their coverage plans.   [Note: while the U.S. has reached replacement level fertility, it still grows by about a million avoidable pregnancies. The growth rate of the US is an unacceptable 1%, the increase due immigration, births, and long lives.

March 16, 2002   Womens ENews   USA: Arizona State Senator Introduces Bill Mandating Comprehensive, Medically Accurate' Sex Education .   In Arizona, a bill (SB 1157) has been introduced by state Sen. Susan Gerard (R) requiring public schools that opt to teach sex education to give students comprehensive, "medically accurate" information drawn from the CDC and peer-reviewed medical journals. Schools would be required to provide "up-to-date, judgement-free information" about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases - if they teach sex ed. The bill is intended to counter abstinence-only sex education such as the Bush administration has proposed a $33 million funding increase for fiscal year 2003. Gerard said "Abstinence is fine, but we need to deal with the realities of today. Kids are having sex and they aren't getting the information they need to make important decisions." California, Oregon, Missouri and Alabama all have "medically accurate" sex education laws, and Washington state is considering similar legislation to require comprehensive education.

March 15, 2002   University of Florida   USA: Florida’s Population Increasing Faster Than Expected .   Researchers at University of Florida said this week that the state can expect steady population growth over the next three decades and will replace New York as the third-largest state. Projects show Florida’s population is expected to grow from the current 15.9 million people to 24.5 million. Broward County in South Florida is expected to have the largest population increase, growing by 940,000 people over the next 30 years. npg

March 15, 2002   Negative Population Growth   USA: Growing Population Strains Water Resources.   Due to increasing demand by an increasing population underground aquifiers -which supply 60% of the U.S.'s fresh water - are mined faster than they are replenished. With surface water also being stressed situations of shortages are appearing all over the country now. With water becoming more scarce, conflicts are growing as diminishing supplies have to be distributed between industries, farmers, ordinary citizens, and fish and wildlife.   [In CIA's "Global Trends 2015", water shortages are listed as one of the problems facing the U.S.]  jlf

March 15, 2002   Associated Press   Vatican Attacks UN Birth Control Policy .   Msgr Renato Martino, a Vatican official said the latest population figures "give the lie to the doom mongers who have been spreading alarming forecasts on world population growth," and said that women's fertility was falling because of "poverty, AIDS, lack of water, disease and long conflicts" and that they are penalized by family planning policies which in some cases, like China, even impose punishments, and by a model of development based on industrialisation. He said that, while a family with eight children is a catastrophe for someone living in New York, "it's a blessing for a Brazilian mother, who needs strong arms in the field."   [Note: Msgr Martino needs to tell us on what planet has poverty, AIDS, lack of water or long conflicts slowed women's fertility. He should check out the conditions and fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, for example. And where in Brazil is this mother of eight going to find enough arable land to grow enough food with which to feed her brood?]

March 14, 2002   The Jerusalem Post online   Emergency Contraception Available Without Prescription in Israel .   A "morning after" pill called Postinor 2 is being changed by the Israeli Health Ministry from a prescription-only to an over-the-counter (OTC) drug since many young girls become pregnant on weekends, when access to a physician is limited. England, France, Norway, Portugal and Belgium, already offer it as an OTC drug. A study involving 95,000 women in Britain showed that only a small percentage of them took Postinor 2 a second time after unprotected sex. 90% of the participants at a recent conference of the Israel Society for Contraception and Sexual Health said they supported the new policy.

March 14, 2002   The Independent   New Pill Means Less Periods for Women .   "Seasonale" is a new version of the oral contraceptive pill undergoing clinical trials in America. It will allow women to lengthen their menstrual cycle to three or four months. It will not change the chance of women becoming pregnant if they stop taking it, says Professor John Guillebaud, medical director at the Margarete Pyke health centre in London. Those are effectively put to sleep, the same as when a woman is pregnant. Seasonale contains the same combination of female hormones, but with different packaging.

March 14, 2002   Grist Magazine   How's the Weather? Taking the Earth's Temperature .   The world just experienced the warmest January ever recorded according to measurements by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Global temperatures with up 0.69C (1.24F) above the 30 year 1951-1980 baseline. In large areas of North America and Central Asia the temperature was 4C (7F) above average. February did not set a record - 1998 was warmer. The period 11/2001-01/2002 were the second warmest on record going 0.57C (1.03F) above average. According to NOAA scientist water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have increased bt 2C (3.75F) in February eventually leading into a full-fledged El Nino in the next three months. An El Nino typically brings heavy rains and floods to the U.S. and South America and drought and forest fires to many areas of Southeast Asia, Australia, and the western Pacific. The last El Nino occurred in 1997.     jlf

March 14, 2002   The Independent   New Pill Means Less Periods for Women .   "Seasonale" is a new version of the oral contraceptive pill undergoing clinical trials in America. It will allow women to lengthen their menstrual cycle to three or four months. It will not change the chance of women becoming pregnant if they stop taking it, says Professor John Guillebaud, medical director at the Margarete Pyke health centre in London. Those are effectively put to sleep, the same as when a woman is pregnant. Seasonale contains the same combination of female hormones, but with different packaging.

March 14, 2002   New York Times*   F.D.A. Considers New Tests for Environmental Effects.   In light of the recent discoveries of medicine traces in much of the U.S. water system, the FDA are now considering to reevaluate their 1997 cut-backs (as suggested by the Clinton administration) of the environmental tests in the drug-approval process. The survey, published in the online journal, Environmental Science and Technology and also relased on http://toxics.usgs.gov, investigated more than 100 waterways in 30 states and found traces of medications excreted by humans and animals and not captured by sewage treatment plants. Additional studies, investigating whether the contamination also reaches human drinking water supply, are coordinated under the $14 million toxic substances hydrology program of the US Geological Survey which is slated to be eliminated by the Bush administration and replaced by a $10 million program for water quality studies coordinated by the NSF. The USGS program provided the first comprehensive concrete data on levels of antibiotics, hormones and other drugs in American waterways many of which are not defined as pollution under the clean-water laws and consequently not checked. A previous drug assessments turned up no instances where the compounds had an adverse effect, FDA officials said. However some categories were excluded from such assessments, including hormones, like estrogen, which are natural substances. Estrogens are increasingly the focus of the EPA and it is now thought that they alter sexual characteristics in fish and other aquatic species. "As we look more at low levels of drugs, it appears that some of them have real biological effects in real situations," said Dr. Rebecca Goldburg, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense, a private lobbying and research group. Some 40% of the investigated streams showed traces of estrogen or other reproductive hormones.   [Another example of the IPAT formula at work: environmental Impacts (I) = Population (P) X Affluence (A) X Technology (T) ]     jlf

March 14, 2002   New York Times   U.S. Finds Trace Levels of Medications in Waterways .   A federal survey of more than 100 waterways have discovered trace levels of medicine such as antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, cough suppressants, and disinfectants throughout the U.S. Many of these are unchecked as they are not defined as pollution under clean water laws. Additionally the environmental impact of most drugs has not examined by the FDA since 1997 and long-term health effects are unknown. A USGS project to study whether such contamination reaches drinking water has been slashed under proposed Bush administration budget cuts.   [More under the article entitled F.D.A. Considers New Tests for Environmental Effects below.]  jlf

March 14, 2002   Honolulu Star-Bulletin   Hawaii House Passes Legislation to Allow Pharmacists to Dispense EC Without a Prescription .   Pharmacists would be allowed to dispense emergency contraception to women over the age of 18 without a doctor's prescription, under a bill (HB 2806) passed by the Hawaii House. Supporters say the bill would benefit women without health insurance and women in rural areas who have access to few clinics or doctors and would allow women to avoid the wait for an appointment with a doctor that "could inhibit women from being able to take advantage" of the benefits of EC. The pill must be taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. The state Board of Pharmacy is opposed to the bill. Opponents say that only physicians can determine whether "harmful side effects are likely" in women who use EC. An amendment to the bill would exclude minors from being eligible to receive EC without a physician's prescription even though under current law minors to have access to medical care regarding venereal diseases, pregnancy and family planning services."

March 12, 2002   Development Gateway   New Food Aid Database .   Food Aid Management's database catalogues and describes the more than 8,000 materials in the Food Security Resource Center. Topics covered include (but are not limited to): food security, monitoring, evaluation, monetization, local capacity building. participatory approaches, agriculture, integrated pest management, commodity management, maternal/child health, nutrition, child survival, water and sanitation, ethics, and biotechnology.

March 12, 2002   Newsday   Group is Mislabeled .   Why is the White House giving credence to unsubstantiated information provided by a group whose avowed goal is to reduce - if not end - U.S. involvement in international family planning efforts? The administration is ignoring the factual evidence and recommendations supplied by its own State Department. In your March 1 issue, "Bush Holds UN Aid for Family Planning" the Population Research Institute is portrayed as a "watchdog group in family planning but in June 2001, PRI President Steven Mosher stated that "the use of contraceptives and sterilization is offensive to human dignity in many ways, but not the least because of its connection to abortion and euthanasia." The aim of PRI is to dismantle and defund any and all international family planning programs. The UNFPA has saved and improved the lives of millions of women and has worked since 1969 to expand family planning and related health services to families across the globe.   [Summarized from a letter to the editor by Terri L. Bartlett of Population Action International].

March 11, 2002   Christian Science Monitor   New Global Forecast: Population Decline in Sight.   James Chamie, director of the United Nation's population division (UNFPA) estimates that the growth of the human population will level off by the end of this century. He attributes this to a combination of international family-planning programs, growing prosperity, and better education of women, which is credited with reducing fertility rates worldwide. Last year, UN experts projected that the population would grow to 9.3 billion in 2050, and stabilize at 10 billion in 2150. The new projections are based on the trends in 74 "intermediate-fertility countries" where women now have about three children on average - India, Brazil, the Philippines, Syria, Israel, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Egypt are in this category. China, with 1.2 billion people - and Russia, another populous nation, already have fertility rates below the replacement rate. Once fertility falls below the replacement rate, it takes a generation or two for the population to cease growing and then decline. Wolfgang Lutz of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna puts the world's population peak at 9 billion in 2070, while 4 years ago he figured that the population would peak at 10.5 billion to 11 billion in 2075. Some experts are concerned that the new population projections may discourage the financing of family planning in developing countries by the world's wealthy nations. Sally Ethelston, a spokeswoman for Population Action International in Washington says that 9 billion is still a 50% rise in world population. "The rationale for expanding family-planning access still exists." Many experts see risks of overcrowding resulting in famine, spreading disease, other catastrophes, and political unrest. Even in some poor nations with high illiteracy, fertility rates have been falling. In Tunisia, with nearly 40% illiteracy among women, the fertility rate has fallen to the replacement level. Couples in these countries have perhaps been influenced by family-planning information. Mr. Sanderson, of State University of New York at Stony Brook said, "The average Bangladeshi woman knows seven methods of contraception." Average fertility rates are still high in Africa and the Middle East. Economist Warren Anderson said "It really means that human beings are able to control their fertility before it reaches the carrying capacity of their environment."

March 11, 2002   CNSNews.com   Massachusetts, USA: Contraceptive Coverage Bill Becomes Law .   Acting Gov. Jane Swift (R) on Thursday signed into law a bill requiring all private insurers that offer prescription drug benefits to cover prescription contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, Legislators rejected an amendment that would have allowed religiously affiliated organizations, including hospitals, universities and nursing homes, to opt out of the requirement if they have a moral objection to birth control. Organizations directly controlled by religious groups are already excluded from mandatory contraception coverage by federal law.

March 10, 2002   New York Times*   Population Estimates Fall as Poor Women Assert Control.   Experts once thought that some of the big developing nations would push the world population to 10 billion people by the end of this century. But new evidence from women in rural villages and big megacities in Brazil, Egypt, India, and Mexico run contrary to these past estimates. Many once thought, and still believe, that in order to decrease birth rates, one must first improve the country's living standards and educational opportunities. A decrease in birth rates, however, has been seen in countries that are still impoverished and have low literacy rates. In India alone, there may be 600 million fewer people by 2100 than predicted. Demographers will meet next week to reassess the outlook on global population and may lower population estimates for the century. Some are being bold enough to even say that lower birth rates have little to do with government policies on family planning and foreign aid. In Brazil, fertility levels tumbled from 6.15 to 2.27 children per woman in the last half-century without an official national family planning policy. Women's health organizations say that fertility rates are decreasing because women are starting to have control over their reproductive lives. Cynthia Steele, Vice President of programs for the International Women's Health Coalition in New York, said "Women have always known what's best for them and their families." Demographers even think that fertility rates may drop below the replacement level of 2.1 children per women in the big developing countries. This would follow trends in industrialized countries, which have caused concern about the shrinking labor force and an aging population. John C. Caldwell of the Australian National University warns that countries are not homogenous however and that some large countries in Africa and Asia will continue to prefer more children.     rs

March 08, 2002   New York Times*   Afghanistan: Children as Barter in a Famished Land.   Afghanistan is now in its fourth year of drought, and with has come famine. The hungry cope by selling their possessions, eating fodder, and wandering away to beg. But still, they see their family members die one by one. To survive they must sometimes sell their children into labor. Even without famine, more than 1 in 5 children die and life expectancy is 44. Even with food aid, roads are few and distribution is poor. Many villages are several days away from food distribuition - far from roads and isolated by high mountains and snow. Girls have always been "sold" for marriage, but now for children it is closer to the practice of bonded labor. Arrangements differ but most often the child is exchanged for a continuing supply of cash or wheat.

March 08, 2002   Wall Street Journal   ACOG Sends Letter to Physicians Urging Them to Prescribe Advance Doses of EC to Patients .   The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has launched an "unprecedented" campaign to expand access to emergency contraception urging its 40,000 member physicians to give patients advance prescriptions for EC in case of "emergencies," and to lobby local pharmacies - many of which do not stock EC due to low demand - to stock the pills. EC can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, [It does not cause abortion]. Although 50% of U.S. women between the ages of 15 and 44 have had an unintended pregnancy, only 2% of women in this age group have ever used EC.

March 08, 2002   Asia Intelligence Wire   WHO Calls for the Reduction of High-risk Maternity .   Dr. Seipati Mothebesoane-Anoh, regional co-ordinator of the Making Pregnancy Safer(MPS) of WHO said that WHO aims to "ensure that women could have access to reproductive health care and appropriate action at community level." Assisted childbirth, emergency obstetrical care of quality and PAC were proposed. High- risk maternity should be reduced by at least 50% of 2000 levels. The improvement of the quality of services and accessibility to post-abortion care, educating the community on reproductive health and high-risk abortion, as well as amending laws and policies on women's reproductive health, protection can help reduce high-risk pregnancy considerably.

March 08, 2002   Planet Ark   Wind Energy Grows Worldwide .   Wind turbine installations increased by 45% last year, powering 10 million homes, making wind the world's fastest growing energy source. Europe, was leader at 4,500 MW; the U.S. came in second, increasing capacity by 1,700 MW, and India added about 240 MW. In the U.S. tax credits encouraging new wind power projects expired at the end of 2001 have yet to renewed, so the U.S. risks losing 2nd place.

March 06, 2002   The Washington Post   Study Ties Pollution, Risk of Lung Cancer; Effects Similar to Secondhand Smoke .   Long-term exposure to microscopic particles from coal-fired power plants, factories, refineries, and diesel trucks which can be compared to the effects of second-hand smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows. Previous research by Harvard University and the American Cancer Society linked the particles to high mortality rates from cardiopulmonary diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and asthma. People living in the most heavily polluted metropolitan areas are 12% more likely to die from lung cancer than people in the least polluted areas. The particles so small (>2.5 micrometers) that they evade the lungs natural defenses and are thus inhaled deeply. The new findings come as the Bush administration considers proposals to ease restrictions on aging coal-fired power plants. Coal plants built before 1980 supplies half of the U.S. electricity but according to experts they emits nearly all of the utility industry's unhealthy sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and soot. Though air pollution has declined during the past 20 years due to increased enforcement of clean air laws though EPA limits are still exceeded in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington. About 30,100 American deaths a year can be related to power plant emissions.     jlf

March 05, 2002   North Jersey News   N.J. Water Contains Traces of Daily Life.   Epilepsy drugs, deodorants,traces of antibiotics, flame retardants, artificial colors, and fuel additives, and other compounds have been discovered in minute amounts in 30 of New Jersey's brooks and rivers. Carbamazepine, a painkiller; AHTN, a fragrance in consumer products; and prometon, a herbicide, were most common. The chemicals were in such tiny concentrations that many scientists think they pose no risk. Many of the compounds have not been studied at low concentrations ingested over months, years, or a lifetime. Of the 139 streams across the country 80% had at least one compound. Half had traces of seven or more. Much of the contamination comes from drugs and chemicals that flow through our bodies, down our drains, and eventually end up in the lakes, rivers, and underground pools that feed our tap water. We don't know that any of this is a danger. European scientists have tied an ingredient in birth control pills to male fish that produce female hormones. Shrunken testes in alligators have been linked to pesticides. Experts are scrambling to learn what's in the water. Testing methods have become able to pick up low levels of a chemical that may have previously been undetectable. Others are newcomers. The body can excrete drugs and food additives, or turn them into new compounds. Hormones and antibiotics are pumped into livestock and then seep into nearby streams. Chemicals leak out of landfills, and even cemeteries. Sewage and water treatment plants have been designed to take out traditional pollutants. The findings are tentative and researchers are trying to figure out what danger, if any, the compounds pose. In general, levels were far below health standards;, however, for most of the compounds found, no standards exist. It could take years to figure out what the low levels mean, especially in tandem with hundreds of other unusual chemicals.     rw

March 04, 2002   IPPF   China's First Clinic for Teenagers .   China's first clinic for teenagers opened in Beijing Saturday to cater to their special needs. The clinic has departments of gynecology, maternity, and psychological consultation and will provide education on safe sex practices.

March 02, 2002   United Nations Population Fund   UNFPA Executive Director Warns of Implications of Rapid Population Growth as Preparations Continue for Sustainable Development Summit .   Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), warned that "today, population growth is a matter for the poorest countries, but it affects the world, and demands a global response". Speaking before a preparatory meeting for the World Summit On Sustainable Development (WSSD) to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September, she said that, in the next 50 years, the combined population of the least developed countries was expected to triple from 658 million to 1.8 billion, and that "if they have no other choices, the damage to the environment will be profound and permanent." An estimated 120 million couples would use family planning services, if they had access to them and said, "as a matter of human rights and as a basis for their other choices, women need ready access to the full range of reproductive health information and services, including voluntary family planning."

March 02, 2002   United Nations Population Fund   Minister Says Increasing Population is a Challenge to Rwanda .   With a population density of 250.7 people per square kilometer (1998 figures), Rwanda is one of the most crowded nations in the world. Growing at 3.2% per year, it's size will double to 16 million by 2020. Donald Kaberuka, the country’s Finance and Economic Planning Minister, says this presents a challenge to the government. The country would need to increase its gross domestic product 7 or 8% per annum by 2020. Such an effort would fail unless agriculture was transformed from subsistence to commercial production. To meet development goals, there must be good government, poverty reduction, prudent management of the economy, training of people for a service-based economy and implementation of a vigorous rural development policy.

March 2002   The White House   Bush's Plan to Dramatically Increase Developing Country Assistance.   The U.S. will increase assistance to developing countries by 50% in the next 3 years, a $5 billion annual increase by FY 2006. A White House report says that in two generations, per capita income in developing countries has nearly doubled. Illiteracy has been cut by a third. Infant mortality in the poorest countries has been almost halved. However, over half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. To receive funding, countries must demonstrate a commitment to three goals: 1. Root out corruption, uphold human rights, adhere to the rule of law. 2. Invest in education, health care, and immunization. 3. Foster enterprise and entrepreneurship. Open markets, sustainable budgets and support for entrepreneurship unleash growth and prosperity. This will be the largest increase in foreign assistance in 40 years. The complaint has been raised that the new compact rewards past performance rather than future promise and the old system has not worked.     rw

February 28, 2002   PRB release   Women of Our World 2002 Wallchart .   The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) has produced the "Women of Our World 2002" wallchart, an updated data sheet that catalogues the status of women in 168 countries. Women have seen major gains in health, education, and rights over the last half-century, but women in the poorest countries continue to be held back by gender inequality that limits their schooling, hinders their ability to plan their pregnancies, and affords them few economic opportunities. The data sheet was released in advance of International Women's Day on March 8. Contact PRB at prborders@prb.org.

February 27, 2002   planetwire.org   Information on the UNFPA Funding Hearings Available .   On February 27 Senator Barbara Boxer chaired a Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on the UNFPA funding situation. www.PLANetWIRE.org will be posting a summary and analysis of the hearing, including a full Webcast and copies of statements. Included will be background information, latest media coverage (including a link to a BBC News expose' of Population Research Institute), copies of letters written by NGOs and members of Congress in favor of continuing funding of UNFPA, spokespeople contact information and much more. As of today, 50 editorials have been written in support of full funding. It is imperative that the White House sees the groundswell of support that exists around the country for the full funding of UNFPA. Please continue to call the editorial boards, fax those memos and submit letters to the editor. The White House has seen all of the editorials, articles and letters placed to date. Please contact Tawana at 202-326-8724 or tjacobs@ccmc.org if you have any questions or need assistance.

February 27, 2002   BBC News   Abortion Row Threatens UN Funds.   Accusations by the Population Research Institute (PRI) could cause the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to lose more than 10% of its annual funding this year. The UNFPA says its mission is to save women's lives and promote better reproductive health care and family planning; but PRI has accused UNFPA of assisting in the slaughter of tens of millions of children, and aiding and abetting genocide in the developing world. PRI says the UNFPA is guilty of assisting the Chinese authorities in a brutal campaign of population control in which some women are forced to abort their babies, while others are sterilised after giving birth to their first child. UNFPA policy director Stirling Scruggs says that even if the charges were true, there would be no way to escape the close scrutiny of other foreign donor nations. "Switzerland, Sweden, the UK, developing countries all over the world who all care about human rights would be outraged," if the allegations were true. "We'd go out of business, we couldn't do this in secret. They all monitor what the UN does. They visit us, we talk with them all the time. People would know." Unfortunately, the Population Research Institute peddles false allegations about coercive abortion and sterilisation campaigns to the media in the developing world where they are oftentimes believed. The UNFPA says the potential U.S. donation of $34m for family planning is enough to prevent almost 5,000 maternal deaths, two million unwanted pregnancies, nearly 60,000 cases of serious maternal illness, and almost 80,000 infant and child deaths.

February 27, 2002     Dear President Bush.   The threatened retraction of the $34 million payment to the United Nations Population Fund for family planning does not make sense. I can understand your desire to avoid activities that involve abortions. But these funds would support programs that prevent abortions by allowing couples to choose methods of family planning that prevent pregnancies - making abortion unnecessary. In addition these funds would help save women's lives and protect the environment. The UNFPA is charged with the policies established by the 1994 International Conference on Population and development, Cairo, signed by 180 nations - couples should have the freedom to choose whether or not to limit their family size. ... There some organizations that would stoop to telling lies about the UNFPA. One of them, the Population Research Institute, bad-mouths the contraceptive Norplant, the implant that prevents pregnancy for 5 years. My daughter used it with no ill-effects, and she is a well-informed educated woman who can afford to pick and choose whatever means of birth control she chooses. She kept it in her arm for 8 years, until she finally chose to have it removed only because the implants were slightly visible. You will find that organizations such as these are down on any kind of effort to limit family sizes, despite the fact the vast majority of Americans have voluntarily chosen to reduce their own birth rate from 4-5 children in the early part of the 20th century to around 2 by the last part of the 20th century. ... You see, the UNFPA realizes, along with many others, that the very best way to lower birth rates is to allow voluntary reduction of family size. Americans did it; Spain did it; Italy did it; Japan did it, Thailand did it, and Mexico did it. Iran and Bangladesh are doing it. Europe even did it many, many years before modern methods of contraception were available. All people need is a some help with their basic health needs, a lowering of the infant and maternal mortality rate, and some acceptable means of birth control. ... Please let the funding for UNFPA proceed. Women's lives depend on it. Karen Gaia Pitts

February 26, 2002   BBC News   Trawlers 'Smashing' Cold-water Corals .   UK, French, and Norwegian scientists call for controls on deep-sea fishing in a report published in the Proceedings of the Royal Sociey. Submersible vehicles used for off-shore oil exploration have found evidence that trawlers gouging scars up to four kilometers long in the 4500 year old and extremely slow growing reefs in the NE Atlantic. The affected reefs are located at depths between 200 meters and 1300 meters. "Most of us associate coral reefs with warm, well-lit waters off tropical coasts - it surprises many that the grey north-east Atlantic harbours these amazing reefs," said Dr Jason Hall-Spencer (University of Glasgow and Millport Marine Station, Scotland) who is the lead author of the report. Two Norwegian reefs were investigated. One had been intensively trawled and the other had not. The trawled reef was littered with coral rubble and covered with trenches five to 10 centimetres deep, while there was no damage to the untrawled reef. "The Norwegians think they've already lost 50% of their coral, and they've just imposed a blanket ban on fishing in their largest coral area." In 1999, a London court ruled that the UK broke EU wildlife protection rules by permitting oil companies to explore the NE Atlantic. The court accepted a submission by Greenpeace and other environmental groups that the rules should be applied to waters up to 350 km (200 nautical miles) from the British coast, not just 20 km (12 nautical miles). "This paper vindicates everything Greenpeace has been saying about the north-east Atlantic and the urgent need to protect this fragile ecosystem," said Stephen Tindale, executive director of Greenpeace: "We defeated the government in court. It would now seem reasonable for it actually to do something to protect these endangered corals."     jlf

February 22, 2002     The Miniature Earth.   The 'Global Village' is a concept originated by Donella Meadows. It is a village consisting of exactly 100 inhabitants who represent the entire world. This concept comes beautifully alive in a short video created by Allysson Lucca www.luccaco.com. Please click on the above headline for a special understanding of the way it is. You'll never be provincial again

February 22, 2002   WOA!! website   UNFPA Funding and China.   [This and the following two pieces should be read together] It doesn't make sense. To be morally against abortion is one thing. To deny funding to an organization that is preventing abortions is another. It doesn't make sense to treat abortions and helping families voluntarily limit their size as one and the same. Yet switchboard operators at the Whitehouse respond to callers advocating funding for the UNFPA with accusations that they are promoting abortions. The arguments have been said over and over: family planning prevents abortions; the UNFPA promotes voluntary family planning and does not promote abortions. Bush is turning a deaf ear to leaders in Congress who have voted for UNFPA funding and have called Bush on his threatening to administratively cut funding to the UNFPA. He seems to be listening only to the leaders of the far conservative right who accuse the UNFPA of aiding and abetting China in its forced abortions and involuntary sterilzations, even though these are not policies of the Chinese government, even though the UNFPA follows the principles of Cairo which calls for letting each couple choose their family size. Does Bush even realize that China has a population problem? Does he realize the effects of 1 billion hungry Chinese upon the rest of the world? President Bush would do well to listen to others. To turn a deaf ear is a sign of disrespect. To deny family planning is like turning his back on the vast majority of Americans who do believe in family planning, who have proven this in polls, and who have proven this by lowering their own birth rate from 3-4 in the first half of the 20th century to around 2 by the end of the same century. The planet, with its limited resources, the environment, and the billions of poor and often starving people in the developing part of the world deserve and need ways to limit the size of human families. Americans enjoy this capability - why not, for just a few cents per taxpayer, let the rest of the world have a way to meet their great unmet need? Please read the following two articles. Then let Bush know that you disapprove. I trust that eventually he will listen to reason. Karen Gaia Pitts

February 22, 2002   Negative Population Growth   Growth Remains Coloradans’ Top Issue.   Fifty-two percent of Coloradans cited growth as the most important issue facing the state, more than double the number of voters who cited education or the economy. Sixty-four percent of Coloradans said lawmakers have not done enough to control growth, and 61% believe that a citizen ballot initiative is the only way to get effective action taken. The poll was commissioned by the Colorado Environmental Coalition and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Talmey-Drake Research and Strategy earlier this month. The findings mirror the results of a poll commissioned by NPG last year. Those results are available on our web site, at http://www.npg.org/poll0301/CO_NPG_Survey.html . NPG’s report "Colorado's Population in 2050: A Road Paved With Good Intentions" is online (click on above headline). .

February 22, 2002   NPG   Florida Tap Water Costs to Double in 10-15 Years.   Florida state water officials says that the Floridian’s monthly tap water costs could double in the next ten to 15 years, as it becomes an increasingly precious commodity. "Our greatest environmental challenge of the 21st century will be water, both quantity and quality," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told a University of Central Florida conference on water resources last week. Florida draws most of its water supply from an underground aquifer. But population growth, drained wetlands, farming, and drought have taxed the supply. About 800 new people arrive in Florida each day.

February 22, 2002   Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report   New Permanent Contraceptive Method Available Soon in Europe and Canada.   Previously known as "STOP", Essure provides permanent contraception without an incision, using small coils that are inserted through the cervix and implanted in the fallopian tubes, prompting scar tissue to grow and permanently "plug" the tube. The procedure takes 30 minutes and requires only a local anaesthetic. It is less expensive and less invasive than the traditional tubal ligation, which requires general anesthesia and several days of recovery. Essure has been introduced to the markets in several European countries and Canada, and the developer, Conceptus, Inc. is expected to apply this year for full approval to market Essure in the United States.

February 21, 2002   BBC Monitoring International Reports   Tajik Leader Concerned Over Rapid Population Growth.   Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov said his country's population increased by nearly 14%, from 5.5 million to 6.25 million over the past 10 years, while the country's GDP decreased by 64% in the same decade. Since 93% of the country is mountainous, agriculture is limited. 70% of the population lives in rural areas. Unregistered births are increasing. 42% of births take place at home. Muslim girls are often married at age 14 or 15. The poor account for more than 60% of the population. The falling living standards result from the high birth rate and the constant natural growth.

February 21, 2002   PLANetWIRE.org   China Angered by United States Witholding of UN Population Funding.   "Beijing is furious with Mr. Bush by reports implicating the UNFPA in abuses of the one-child policy," reported London’s Sunday Telegraph on February 3. The Telegraph noted that the Bush Administration’s decision in January to halt UNFPA funding would 'inject a sour note' into his China visit on February 21. Bush's decision to administratively cut UNFPA funding would be a startling reversal of legislation passed unanimously in the US Senate and by a 3-to-1 margin in the House; it would also be a reversal of the previous Administration policy and a reversal of Bush's own request for UNFPA funding in his first budget proposal. On January 30, over 130 members of Congress – both Republicans and Democrats - sent the President a letter, urging him to fully fund the UNFPA. Secretary of State Colin Powell testified to Congress that UNFPA "provides critical population assistance to developing countries." The Tulsa World wrote that "a handful of conservative members of Congress has asked Bush to withhold the money because the U.N. Population Fund operates programs in China, where the regime's one-child policy is brutally enforced, including coerced abortions in some provinces. However, even in China, the fund has elicited an agreement that the one-child policy will not be enforced in countries where its programs operate. Voluntary, education-based family planning actually can reduce the brutish excesses of the one-child policy in China, just as it can reduce abortions in other poor countries by helping to make sure that every child is a wanted child."

February 20, 2002   IPPF   Reproductive Health Meeting for Afghanistan.   The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation brought together reproductive health experts and representatives from USAID, UNFPA, PATH, the Gates Foundation, Columbia University, IPPF, and the CONCEPT Foundation to discuss reproductive health, family planning and the autonomy of Afghan women. It was agreed that rapid, bold but thoughtful actions aimed at reducing maternal mortality, improving access to family planning and increasing the status of women were needed in the next six months to help avoid the development of regulations and guidelines by the new government that might be unnecessarily restrictive, constraining the availability of contraception and voluntary sterilization and preventing evidence based policies to delegate obstetric procedures to non-physicians. Most needed are evidence-based systems of emergency obstetric care and appropriate family planning choices; and focus on the urban as a model to establish reasonable policies. Initiatives could include; non-prescription, social marketing distribution of oral contraceptives, injectables and condoms; and training of selected midwives and paramedical workers to undertake emergency obstetric care. Funding and follow-up activities are underway.

February 20, 2002   China Internet Information Center   Shanghai Will Amend Family Statute .   Shanghai, with a population of 16.7 million people,has its own family planning regulations, established in 1990. The new version will stop illegal gender-checks of fetus and reduce unplanned births among the migrant population, but alleviate punishment for unplanned births. Under the new regulation, parents whose first-borns are non-hereditary handicapped, or when both the parents come from one-child families may, after paying about 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) for "social expenditures" to the government, rear the second child. Other restrictions will be removed in the revised rule - such as restrictions on the child going to school or finding a job, or on welfare eligibility, or on chances of promotion. Still, employers and the neighborhood committees will face punishment if their employees or residents violate family planning laws. It will be up to them to try and persuade the couple to go for an abortion if it is found that the pregnancy does not conform to the policy on having a second child. The biggest problem is enforcing the one-child policy among migrants. The new regulation would establish a tracking system to register migrants. And health workers and neighborhood committee staff would give lectures on birth control, launch strict supervision and distribute contraceptives. Shanghai's present birth rate is 0.55 percent.

February 18, 2002   This Day (Nigeria)   Women Tasked on Abandoned Children.   Increasing cases of abandoned children has prompted the president and founder of Klub 20/36 Women Indigenes, Alhaja (Princess) Mulikat Olufunke Ajaga, to say: "If you are not ready for child bearing, protect yourself sexually or go to family planning outfit, or better still, avoid early or premature pregnancy"

February 18, 2002   This Day (Nigeria)   Nigeria: Vision Launched.   Vision is a $1O million cooperative agreement awarded to EngenderHealth by the United States Agency for Intrenational Development (USAID) Nigeria Mission. It seeks to shape the future of Nigeria's farmily planning and reproductive health program by preserving what is worth saving from the past, while unleashing the great potential for success that now exists in the country. The goal is to develop a strategic framework for the future and to establish models of high-performing family planning and reproductive health service delivery networks across three Nigerian states which will eventurally be implemented on a larger, state-wide scale.

February 18, 2002   New Scientist   Complete Collapse of North Atlantic Fishing Predicted.   The North Atlantic is so severely overfished that it may have completely collapsed by 2010 according to a new study which includes the most comprehensive survey of the region so far. North Atlantic catches are down to half of what they were in 1950 despite a tripling of the fishing effort. The total number of fish have gone down even further. So-called "high quality table fish" have gone down over 80% since 1900 and if ocean-wide management plans are not instituted very soon "We'll all be eating jellyfish sandwiches," says Reg Watson, a fisheries scientist at the University of British Columbia. "The jellyfish sandwich is not a metaphor - jellyfish is being exported from the US," says Daniel Pauly, also at the University of British Columbia. "In the Gulf of Maine people were catching cod a few decades ago. Now they're catching sea cucumber. By earlier standards, these things are repulsive". According to Pauly only a public reaction comparable to the one against whaling in the 1970s would bring about sufficient change to sustainably manage fish stocks. Normally falling catches would cause some fishers to go out of business and thus reduce the fleet, but the fleet is actually subsidized by government and thus kept artificially alive.   [For instance the EU fleet is estimated to be some 40% too big. Suggestions to reduce the subsidies for building new boats have been opposed by the countries receiving the subsidies.]  jlf

February 17, 2002   New York Times*   Despite a Ban, Teaching Safe Abortions in Kenya.   There are a hundred ways to end a pregnancy. Women will pour malaria pills down their throats, take a mixture of herbs and tree bark prescribed by tradidtional healers, take rides rough country roads in hopes of shaking the embryo loose, or use coat hangers, bicycle spokes, tree branches, and knitting needles. While abortion in Africa is steeped in taboo and against the law throughout most of the continent, it is widely practiced outside of the confines of modern medicine. Dr. Solomon Orero debates abortion on Kenya television, helps teach health practitioners how to complete botched abortions and performs abortions in a country that bans them. He does not fear government clampdown because he may legally end a pregnancy if the procedure is aimed at "the preservation of the mother's life" and if it is performed "in good faith and with reasonable care and skill. Women in Africa are more likely to die during unsafe abortions than women in any other place in the world, with one in 150 abortions in ending in death. He receives backing from Pacific Institute for Women's Health. On the other hand, Marie Stopes International, a British family planning organization, has been forced to reduce the staff at some of its clinics in Africa that provide abortions due to U.S. President Bush's Mexico City Policy which dictates that the U.S. cannot give funds to organizations that provide abortions, lobby for them or in any way facilitate them. One such clinic, God's Will Center, opted to run the operation themselves without the backing of Marie Stopes or USAID. Abortion there costs about $15, a significant sum in Kenya. "If we don't do it, she'll go in the street and get it done by someone who doesn't know what they're doing," said Sammy Said, the nurse who runs the God's Will Center. "She'll come back here again anyway - but with problems." .

February 17, 2002   BBC News   Sea Level Rises 'Underestimated'.   A new study shows that glaciers and polar ice caps are retreating far faster than previously thought. "In some glaciers, like the South Cascade Glacier in Washington that I have studied for years, we know that the present rate of melting is greater than it ever has been for the last 5,000 years," Professor Mark Meier of the University of Colorado at Boulder said at annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. This would result in an sea level rise three times higher (between 17-27cm by 2100) than previously estimated (the IPCC numbers are about 5 to 11 cm). According to Meier the difference between the new and the old results is due to the IPCC not having the latest data and not taking into account of the increased sensitivity of glaciers to rising temperatures. However glacier melting is only one aspect of the sea rise - increasing temperatures in the oceans is a much bigger factor. Based on computer modeling the IPCC expects sea levels to rise between 11 and 88 cm during this century with a current yearly increase of 0.8 mm/a.     jlf

February 17, 2002   BBC News   Sea Level Rises 'Underestimated'.   A new study shows that glaciers and polar ice caps are retreating far faster than previously thought. "In some glaciers, like the South Cascade Glacier in Washington that I have studied for years, we know that the present rate of melting is greater than it ever has been for the last 5,000 years," Professor Mark Meier of the University of Colorado at Boulder said at annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. This would result in an sea level rise three times higher (between 17-27cm by 2100) than previously estimated (the IPCC numbers are about 5 to 11 cm). According to Meier the difference between the new and the old results is due to the IPCC not having the latest data and not taking into account of the increased sensitivity of glaciers to rising temperatures. However glacier melting is only one aspect of the sea rise - increasing temperatures in the oceans is a much bigger factor. Based on computer modeling the IPCC expects sea levels to rise between 11 and 88 cm during this century with a current yearly increase of 0.8 mm/a.     jlf

February 17, 2002   Los Angeles Times   Little Drummer Buoy.   Between 1946 and 1970 years the government and private agencies dumped about 48,000 55-gallon drums of radioactive waste in the San Francisco bay area just a few miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge then known as the "Farallon Islands Nuclear Waste Site" and now known as the "Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary", which protects 1,225 square miles of ocean and being the home to 36 species of marine mammals. Environmentalist are concerned that the waste might be affecting marine life. Scientist have mapped 15% of the area and the leaking radiation does not appear to be above natural background levels. "If it is getting into the food chain, what precautions are being taken?" said Maurice Campbell, a member of Community First Coalition, which has pushed for a government cleanup of radioactive waste However, the drums some of which were sunk with bullet holes(!) were dumped over a 530 square mile wide area and now lies on depths between 300 and 6,000 feet, so cleanup might be difficult. "All of the balances indicated that there was very low radiation, and sometimes, it was at background level," said Janet Hashimoto, of the EPA's regional office in San Francisco. With most of the commercial fish harvested in the region living at depths shallower than the nearby drums, government tests on seafood carried out every few years have not shown cause for alarm, said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Assn. According to a study published in 1996 by Thomas Suchanek, then a research ecologist with UC Davis, increased radiation levels have been detected in Dover sole and some other deep-sea fish that people eat. Now with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Suchanek proposed more testing on organisms spending their entire life near the barrels. While a USGS study concluded that ocean currents probably do not carry contaminants into the bay area some local residents want more monitoring to ensure that radioactive material does not wash up on the beaches or gets into the food chain. "The real solution there is ongoing monitoring and taking tissues from the sea life and water fowl," said Saul Bloom, executive director of Arc Ecology, a public interest group that has followed the issue.

February 15, 2002   New York Times*   Ersatz Climate Policy: Bush Offers Plan for Voluntary Measures to Limit Gas Emissions.   "President Bush announced his long-awaited plans today for slowing the buildup of gases linked to climate change and for cutting power plant pollution." His plan would rely on "inducements instead of requirements, using tax breaks and the prospect of a future trade in emissions credits to encourage industry and individuals to trim releases of" greenhouse gases. This is a voluntary method of "dealing with climate change" and would require that businesses "voluntarily report their emissions" and receive credits that could later be traded for permission to pollute "if an emissions trading system were adopted". But "only after 2012 would there be an assessment of how the country was doing without concrete caps". Because Bush believes that "power plant pollution poses a clear health risk, …he called for deep mandatory reductions in … pollutants from power plants –sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury"-- none of which contribute to global warming. The policy comes after his outright rejection of the Kyoto Protocol which "require(s) prompt and mandatory reductions by 2012 in gas emissions to levels well below those (of) 1990". Almost all other industrial powers and developing countries have agreed to but not yet ratified this Protocol. Bush asserts that the economy comes first, and his plan would "allow gas emissions to continue to rise". "Mr. Bush said China, India and other large countries with fast-growing economies were already the dominant source of warming gases". However, "the United States remains the single largest producer of greenhouse emissions, generating about 20% of the global total". The response to his plan was mixed. Kevin J. Fay, head of a group representing "multinational manufacturers who support some climate controls" thought this was a "starting point". Opponents, including environmental groups and Democrats, argued that the plan was dictated by the fossil fuel industry and would have no more effect than "existing laws and trends." ... ERSATZ CLIMATE POLICY - http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/15/opinion/15KRUG.html - his plan "offers [only] the illusion of environmentalism. He proposes to "reduce ‘greenhouse gas intensity’ by 18%" over the next decade; this is the "volume of greenhouse gas emissions divided by gross domestic product" or GDP. Most experts predict that the GDP will "expand 30% or more" over the next decade, allowing a substantial increase in emissions". Krugman argues that a rate of growth of emissions which is slower than the growth rate of the economy "might well be achieved without any policy actions". This is so because our economic growth depends on the growth of "knowledge and service industries", which requires less energy, much more than it does on the growth of "smokestack" industries, which requires more. But, while the rate of growth of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) adjusted for GDP may slow, the absolute amount of GHG emissions "continues to rise". In fact, the plan uses tax credits (more tax cuts) to encourage various "planet-friendly activities". These measures are "just too small to do the job". The other aspect of the plan is a voluntary "registry" in which "companies can, if they choose, report their emissions of GHGs". This plan, which will accomplish little in the way of reducing the actual concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, is designed to placate the public with whom the "administration if clearly out of step", "by announcing policies that sound impressive but are nearly content-free". st

February 15, 2002   American Association for the Advancement of Science   Peter Raven Calls on Scientists to Address Poverty and Environmental Damage.   In the opening address of the AAAS annual meeting President Peter H. Raven described humanity's destruction of the environment and loss of biodiversity. "The world has been converted in an instant of time from a wild, natural one to one in which human beings are consuming, wasting, or diverting an estimated 45% of total net biological productivity on land and using more than half the renewable fresh water." Further into the speech Raven pointed out that 700 million af malnourished and that 14 million children die of starvation annually. Raven sternly criticized the U.S. With only 4.5% of the world population controlling 25% of the world's wealth and being responsible for 25-30% of the pollution "it is remarkable that the United States, the richest nation that has ever existed on the face of the earth, is the lowest donor of international development assistance on a per capita basis of any industrialized nation." Raven called for a "development of a culture of science throughout the world" noting that an awareness in developed nations can influence both companies and governments. "The people who are pursuing sustainability in a direct and personal way will hugely affect the shape of the world in the future," he said. jlf

February 13, 2002   Pambazuka News/Telegraph/National Post   Women in Uganda Offered Prizes to Remain Virgins.   To curb the spread of HIV, women in Buganda, the largest of Uganda's four kingdoms, will be offered prizes of television sets, electrical appliances or money if they remain virgins until marriage. This is an improvement over the traditional goat given to virgins when they wed. The woman's husband will be responsible for determining her sexual status on their wedding night.

February 11, 2002   United Nations Population Fund   New UNFPA Population Database.   The United Nations Population Fund has a searchable database giving population and various population statistics by country or regions and high, medium, or low projections over a selected time period. Click on above link to see it.

February 11, 2002   American Journal of Obstetetrics and Gynecology   Contraceptive Patch is Safe.   The transdermal contraceptive patch Ortho Evra was found in trials to be as effective as any oral contraceptive and has been approved by the US FDA. The patch can be applied to the lower abdomen, buttocks, upper body or upper outer arm, and is worn continuously for 7 days before being replaced with a new patch on the same day of the week. The regimen is followed for 3 weeks, with no patch applied in the fourth week. Patch wearers were less likely to experience the "typical-use failure rates" of the oral method, estimated to be as high as 8%.

February 10, 2002   New York Times*   Big Farms Making a Mess of U.S. Waters, Cities Say.   Throughout the US, metropolitan water agencies are battling increasing pollution from huge livestock feedlots and farm fertilizer runoff which are among the fastest-growing sources of pollution in oceans thousands of miles away, according to a recent study by the Pew Oceans Commission. A $171 billion, 10-year farm bill proposes to reduce water pollution by encouraging encourage farmers to practice conservation, protecting wetlands, and limiting subsidies subsidies so the federal program will not underwrite further farm consolidation. Federal subsidies encourage big farms to grow bigger, buying out smaller farmers who tend to be better conservationists. Craig A. Cox, executive vice president of the Soil and Water Conservation Society in Iowa said "Farmsteads with groves of trees, patches of wetland and well-planted river banks have been eliminated. Without those natural buffers, we've short-circuited the natural filters and ended up with these water problems." The average number of hogs per farm shot up to 1,300 in 2001, from 400 in 1995, creating the huge manure lagoons scattered across Iowa which seep into the state's groundwater. The bill will encourage farmers to plant filtering grasses along the water ways to filter the manure from the runoff.

February 05, 2002   Earth Policy Institute   World's Rangelands Deteriorating Under Mounting Pressure.   From 1950 to 2001 the world population of humans increased from 2.5 billion to 6.1 billion. Meanwhile the number of cattle increased from 0.72 billion to 1.53 billion, while the number of sheep and goats increased from 1.04 billion to 1.75 billion putting the rangelands under heavy pressure from overgrazing which eventually leads to desertification. Rangeland consists mainly of land that is unable to support crop production and account for 20% of the world's land surface twice as much as the land area used for crops. Degraded world rangeland now totals 6.8 million km². About 80% of the world's beef and mutton production (52 million tons annually) comes from foraging animals. 230 million cattle, 246 million sheep, and 175 million goats are supported almost entirely on grazing and browsing in Africa, where livestock is often a cornerstone of the economy. A study finds that carrying capacity is diminishing in nine southern African countries. In almost all developing countries fodder needs now exceed the sustainable yield of rangelands. In India the demand in 2000 was estimated at 700 million tons but only 540 million tons could be supplied sustainably. The northwest of China where no land ownership rights exist is experiencing its own tragedy of the commons. In Gonge County, for example, in eastern Qinghai Province an estimated 3.7 million sheep can be supported locally, yet by the end of 1998, the region's flock had reached 5.5 million. According to 1991 U.N. assessment production losses from rangeland degradation accounts for $23 billion annually. In Africa the annual loss is estimated at $7 billion. In Asia more than $8 billion. Various techniques for mitigating livestock are suggested, but it will require a huge effort to stabilize livestock populations at sustainable levels and restore the rangeland that once were. Failing to do so will be even costlier as desertification forces large scale migration out of the affected areas.     jlf

February 2002   Scientific American   The Bottleneck.   PART I. We have entered the Century of the Environment, in which the immediate future is usefully conceived as a bottleneck: science and technology, combined with foresight and moral courage, must see us through it and out. This is the first part of the summary of an article by E. O. Wilson in the Scientific American of Feb 2002 on his book, The Future of Life. In it, he underscores the critical need in the coming century for humanity to determine how to satisfy the needs and wants of a rapidly growing human population in an ecologically sustainable way. Despite the great technological, scientific and sociopolitical advances of the 20th century, we have "managed … to decimate the natural environment and draw down the nonrenewable resources of the planet". Now at 6 billion, world population will reach 8 or more billion by 2050, and "per capita freshwater and arable land" are rapidly decreasing. Unless humanity changes its ways of living, these trends will get worse. The ecological footprint – the "average amount of productive land and shallow sea appropriated by each person…for food, water, housing, energy, transportation, commerce, and waste absorption – is about one hectare (2.5 acres) in developing nations but about 9.6 hectares (24 acres) in the U.S.". "For every person in the world to reach present U.S. levels of consumption … would require four more planet Earths". Because of increasing population and the spread of lifestyles of developed countries to developing ones, our species "has become a geophysical force". We have increased "atmospheric carbon dioxide to the highest levels in … 200,000 years, unbalanced the nitrogen cycle, and contributed to a global warming that will ultimately be bad news everywhere." The great threat that these developments pose to human and indeed all life on the planet becomes apparent when one considers the nature of Earth’s biosphere, a model which has developed in recent decades. It is an infinitely "complex layer of living creatures whose activities are locked together in precise but tenuous global cycles of energy and transformed organic matter"…which "[re]creates our special world anew every day" and upon which we are utterly dependent. When we alter this delicate balance, we "threaten our own existence". This is the essence of the environmental worldview. This worldview is not perceived by many; evidently our evolution has shaped our brains to appreciate only limited geographic, social and temporal dimensions. "The great dilemma of environmental reasoning stems from this conflict between short-term and long-term values", a conflict which is evident in the apparently divergent worldviews of the economist and the environmentalist. The economist sees the rising gross domestic products of the industrial countries and of the Asian tigers, the continuous rise of per capita income and meat production and the fact that world food production "has more than kept pace" with the "explosive 1.8% each year" of population growth since 1950. Social growth has paralleled economic growth with a worldwide rise in literacy, democracy and the empowerment of women. Malthus’ predictions, although locally observed, were general outwitted by human ingenuity. The environmentalist, on the other hand, sees that human activity occurs within the context of the biosphere which provides the resources upon which economic and social progress totally depend. Environmentalists believe that economists have not factored the true costs of Earth’s finite resources into their balance sheets. They believe that if "freshwater and arable land … continue to diminish at their present per capital rate, the economic boom will lose steam" and threaten the survival of a "large part of the world’s fauna and flora". Wilson has presented these two polar views for the sake of argument. In fact, "most economists today … recognize very well that the world has limits and that the human population cannot afford to grow much larger". He suggests that it may be more appropriate to formulate a "real-world view" in which "balanced accounting will be routine". He suggests that a "genuine progress indicator" (or GPI), "which includes estimates of environmental costs of economic activity" replace the current gross domestic product (GDP), a change which has been endorsed by a "growing number of economists, scientist, political leaders and others". Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., and with Little, Brown in the U.K.,which will publish the book there in April 2002 (£17.99). Parts II and II to follow. st

February 2002   Scientific American   The Bottleneck.   Part. II: Population Dynamics and Carrying Capacity. ... Humankind poses a growing threat to the health of Earth’s biosphere because of its growing population and the tendency for an increasingly large fraction of it to adopt the lavish consumption patterns of the developed countries. Earth’s human population, like bacterial populations, is growing exponentially. That is, the more people that are reproducing, the faster the population grows. Currently 6 billion, world population now increases annually by 1.4%, adding 200,000 people daily. Put another way, those "born in 1950 were the first to see the human population double in their lifetime, from 2.5 billion to over six billion". By now, we have "already exceeded … by 100 times the biomass of any large animal species that ever existed on the land." By the late 1990s, population growth began to slow; "the worldwide average number of children per woman fell from 4.3 in 1960 to 2.6 in 2000". When the number of children per woman equals 2.1, birth and death rates are equal and human population size remains stable or zero population growth occurs (this is because on average 0.1 children per woman dies in infancy or childhood). Any number greater or less than 2.1 results in an increase or decrease in population growth rate. However, the attainment of zero population birth rate does not cause immediate stabilization of population size. This is because the children born prior to the newly stabilized birth rate have their reproductive years ahead of them. Thus zero population growth rates will be attained only after their children reproduce, provided that the average female in the population has 2.1 children during her lifetime. "By 2000 the replacement rate in … western Europe had dropped below 2.1". This also occurred in Thailand and in the nonimmigrant American population. This decline in the rate of global population growth results from economic globalization, urbanization and, most importantly, the empowerment of women. Wilson believes that the tendency of women to respond to social and economic empowerment by having a smaller number of children is "indeed almost miraculous, [a] gift of human nature to future generations". Women "opted for a smaller number of quality children, who could be raised with better health and education" and "chose better, more secure lives for themselves." This tendency "will eventually halt … and afterward reverse" population growth. But it is not clear at what number human population will peak, when it will occur and what the environmental costs will be during that time. The U.N. has estimated the population in 2050 will range from 7.3 to 14.4 billion, most likely between 9 and 10 billion. Wilson is guardedly optimistic because, given the "choice and affordable contraceptive methods", women "generally practice birth control". "More than half of all developing countries…also had official population policies… and more than 90 percent of the rest…intended to follow suit". "The U.S. … remain[s] a stunning exception." The bottleneck depends almost entirely on what happens in developing countries. "They now account for virtually all global population growth, and their drive toward higher per capita consumption will be relentless". Noteworthy about this is the demography of developing countries. "In at least 68 of the countries, more than 40 percent of the population is under 15 years of age". The youth and poverty of these countries increases the difficulty of providing "minimal health services and education for its people". It "also provides cannon fodder for ethnic strife and war". As their populations increase and "water and arable land grow scarcer", developed countries will feel increasing immigration pressures and a "risk of spreading international terrorism". The answer to the question: "How many people can the planet support?" depends on "three conditions: how far into the future the planetary support is expected to last, how evenly the resources are to be distributed, and the quality of life most of humanity expects to achieve". Food is often considered a surrogate measure of carrying capacity. The world currently produces 2 billion tons of grain, which "provide[s] most of humanity’s calories annually". This amount will feed 10 billion East Indians, "who eat primarily grains" but only 2.5 billion Americans, who consume grains in the form of livestock and poultry. Thus, to feed a rising population, either industrialized populations must become more vegetarian or grain production must increase very significantly. st

February 2002   Urban Institute   Involving Males in Preventing Teen Pregnancy: A Guide for Program Planners.   Preventing teenagers from having unplanned pregnancies is an important goal that has been pursued since the 1970s, when births to teenagers were first diagnosed as a major social problem. This guide pulls together data on programs around the country—what is currently known about male reproductive behavior and programs designed to influence how males could and should participate in pregnancy prevention efforts.

February 2002   United Nations Population Fund   Financial Resource Flows for Population Activities in 1999.   Financial Resource Flows for Population Activities in 1999, monitors progress towards achievement of the financial targets agreed in Cairo at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, ICPD. This report provides information on donor assistance and domestic expenditures for population activities, including reproductive health services, family planning services, STD/HIV/AIDS activities, and basic research, data and population and development policy analysis.

February 2002   The Cincinnati Post   U.S. Moms Having More Children.   Women in the United States are having more children than at any time in almost 30 years, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention birth statistics released this week. In 2000, the average number of children born to women over a lifetime was 2.13. Increased fertility in 2000 was reported for all age groups except teenagers. The birth rate for teenagers between 15 and 19 years old dropped 2% between 1999 and 2000 to a record low and has decreased 22% since 1991. There were 4,058,814 births in the United States in 2000, a 3% increase from 1999 and the first time since 1993 — when the number of women in their childbearing years was higher — that births topped 4 million. Researchers said the roaring economy of the 1990s was probably a major factor, helping potential parents feel more comfortable about supporting a family. Among developed countries, the U.S. is unique in having such a high fertility rate. It will take several years to tell whether the jump in 2000 was a temporary blip on the fertility-rate screen or a more permanent trend, demographers say. npg

February 2002   Scientific American   Assembling the Future - How International Migrants Are Shaping the 21st Century.   Immigration is now the major contributor to demographic change in many developed countries, Scientific American reports this month. During the past six years, the U.S. received 27% of the world's international migrants, compared with 9% by Germany, the second most popular destination. High immigration is "good news for employers and for the affluent, who can continue to buy goods and services on the cheap. The economy as a whole will benefit to the extent that cheap labor helps to control inflation. But there is a specter haunting immigration: Can the U.S. economy really provide decent wages for the 46 million workers expected in the next 50 years? They may depress not only the wages of traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as blacks and Hispanics, but also the wages of American middle-class professionals, particularly if the U.S. continues to relax the rules for entry of high-tech workers." npg

February 2002   IPPF   Directory of Hormonal Contraceptives.   Are there injectable contraceptives in Greece or implants in India? The answer can be found in the Directory of Hormonal Contraceptives - the first searchable, worldwide, on-line database of hormonal contraceptives launched on IPPF's website today. The Directory will be available on the IPPF website for a two month free introductory period - after that time, the service is available on an annual subscription of £12, $17 or 19 Euros.

February 2002     USA: Population & Energy: An Inseparable Relationship.   By Gene Weeks Any of us who live in North Georgia are aware of the affects of sprawl. These include traffic congestion, reduced greenspace, lowered water and air quality, and high property taxes to pay for infrastructure costs. The trend in population growth for Georgia since 1900 should be alarming to any of us. In the 1990s Georgia grew a phenomenal 20.2%, more than 45 other states, with only Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Arizona surpassing us. Much disagreement exists as to what should be done largely due to controversy surrounding immigration policy. Even the recent increase in power plant construction is driven by Georgia's high population growth rate. A huge number of power plants (20 - 32) are planned for Georgia, many from out-of-state entrepreneurs. This capacity being planned exceeds even the growth expected here in Georgia. Almost every single environmental problem is aggravated by population growth. Efforts to accommodate growth include "smart growth" initiatives, conservation, bikeways and better public transit. But these initiatives have no effect on population growth per se. Some such initiatives even perversely make further population growth possible. Even the best-intentioned smart growth efforts will eventually run up against population pressures. More people mean more water, electric and commercial usage, no matter how smart the growth. Conservation is certainly important: we could easily double auto fuel efficiency. Appliance efficiency can be further improved, but more people will eventually negate these effects. Low-density settlements such as North Georgia negates a reliance on mass transit. Peter Calthorpe, noted architect and designer of many transit-oriented developments, says the minimum density for mass transit to be economically viable is twelve dwelling units per acre. It simply won't work here like it does in Europe. According to the US EPA, our households contribute more to air pollution than our cars. Four tons of coal per year are burned for every Georgian right now. The solution is slower and eventually zero or negative population growth. According to the Energy Information Administration of The US Dept. of Energy, per capita consumption of electricity in Georgia has been fairly constant over the last forty years (figure 2), despite larger homes and more electricity consuming gadgetry such as computers. Energy efficiency has improved also, which has counterbalanced this increase in electricity usage. At the same time, industry usage of electricity has gone down, as energy intensive industries move overseas. These opposing effects interact with each other to yield a surprising one to one ratio between population and electricity sales in Georgia. But obviously this still means we are consuming ever-increasing amounts. By extrapolating this graph out, in 25 years, our population will consume a 30% increase in electrical sales. This translates into four or five big coal burners like plant Scherer or 6 more nukes like Vogtle or Hatch, or if you don't like these figures, try dozens of small scale natural gas plants that are currently being planned all over the state. Electrical generating capacity will need to increase from the current 25,011 to 33,072 megawatts, a 32% increase in 25 years, using non-linear regression. This is assuming the price of coal and gas remain constant, demand does not change dramatically, growth control initiatives are not passed, and of course, population pressure remains constant. -- The Rates of Growth -- The rate of growth in Georgia is ominous: in the last decade, three counties near Atlanta doubled in size. Atlanta registered the largest population gain of any metropolitan area in the nation. Georgia may double its present size of 8.1 million people to 16.2 million people in 50 years. This growth will be centered in North Georgia. This means our parks will be more overcrowded, there will be twice the number of commercial centers, possibly twice the number of roads, and there may be very little natural resources such as water and space left for wildlife. It will be hard to recognize Georgia with 16.2 million people within its borders. The sprawl of Atlanta, Chattanooga, Athens, and Macon may merge, forming a continuous chain of housing developments, schools and shopping districts. It is going to be a shock to anyone who leaves Georgia now and returns in 50 years. -- What Has Happened in California -- We are somewhat like California 20 years ago with rapid population growth. Over the last decade Georgia grew much faster than California (26.4 vs. 13.6%). Although not solely the fault of environmentalists, California did not build any new power plants over the last decade while since 1970 California's population grew 70%. California was the first state to deregulate its power industry. This, along with a heat wave, lowered hydroelectric power production due to drought, price freezing of electric rates, and retired sources of energy have been blamed for the mess in California over the last several years. But one very important factor is often left out in California's energy crisis: California has been one of the fastest growing states (both economically and in terms of population) in the country during the last half of the twentieth century. Right now dozens of power plants are being planned and built in California. This was no way to plan California's energy future. Right now Georgia is on the verge of the same population explosion. Georgia will need a lot of energy. -- What Can be Done -- Population growth must be reduced if Georgia is to remain a place with a high standard of living and wonderful natural areas. There are ways to reduce growth, including reductions in fertility and migration. Native-born American families are reproducing at replacement levels, however about 1 million immigrants are admitted into the U.S. each year. This does not count illegal immigrants and the children born to immigrants. Georgia is the second most popular destination for interstate moves. The job market in Georgia and our abundant clean water and air, and space make Georgia a prime target for new business ventures. University of Georgia demographer Douglas Bachtel described it best when he said, ". . .Job growth is drawing millions from other states and other countries, and the very presence of these people coming here creates still more jobs, its growth begets more growth". The question is not how to reduce population growth or even should we, but when will it be a severe enough problem to merit intervention. Although it is difficult to say with certainty, many believe there are already too many people living on Earth right now, and the United States in particular. In the U.S. we make up only 5%t of the world's population but we consume 23% of its resources. We can wait until the world population doubles again in around 40 years. Then do we take a strong interventionist role? It is up to us in the environmental community to speak loudly. Winston Churchill said wisely, "I always avoid prophesying beforehand, because it is a much better policy to prophesy after the event has taken place." Many things that affect electrical usage can take place over the next few years and are dependent on technology, costs of energy, politics, migration rates, and type of economy. But one thing is for certain, people will continue to move to Georgia in the short term. There are solutions to avoid an overpopulated Georgia and these need to start being discussed. Become educated on the issue. Sign up for the Georgia Population and Sustainability Coalition's e-mail list (www.poptalk.org). They meet bimonthly, usually at the Sierra Club office. Also, learn about the Sierra Club's population program by visiting: www.sierraclub.org/population. Pay close attention to political candidate's statements regarding growth as well as candidates for the Sierra Club board of directors, and join one of the many population oriented national groups, such as ZPG.

February 2002   Scientific American   The Bottleneck - Part III.   This will summarize the third aspect of E. O. Wilson’s article in the Feb. 2002 issue of Scientific American, which discusses the clash between China’s rising population and her increasingly limited resources. China is of great interest "because it is so far advanced along the path to which the rest of humanity seems inexorably headed. If China solves its problems, the lessons learned can be applied elsewhere…includ[ing] the U.S. whose citizens are working at a furious pace to overpopulate and exhaust their own land and water". China represents "the paradigm of population stress". In 2000, its population was "one fifth of the world total" or 1.2 billion and is expected to be 1.6 billion by 2030. Most of their population increase in the last 50 years – 700 million – is "crammed into the basins of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers [in an area] about equal to that of the eastern U.S." Although China, along with the U.S., is one of the world’s leading grain producers, China is "on the verge of consuming more than it can produce". It is expected that by 2025 – 2030, China "will need to import 175…to 200 million tons [of grain]", an amount equal to the world’s annual grain exports. But the amount of grain exported by the Big Five grain exporters (the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Australia and the E. U.) "does not seem likely to increase to any significant degree" because of constraints on the amount of productive cropland, water limitations, etc. Further increases in China’s grain output is significantly limited by water shortages which are becoming increasingly acute. China’s agriculture "relies heavily on irrigation" from aquifers and rivers. However, while "two thirds of China’s agriculture is in the north, … four fifths of the water supply is in the outh – in the Yangtze River Basin", since irrigation and "withdrawals for domestic and industrial use have depleted" the rivers and lowered groundwater levels in the north. This excessive water use has already resulted in "crop losses in 1997 alone [of] 1.7$billion". The Chinese are attempting to move water from the South to the North by building dams (the Xiaolangdi and Three Gorges Dams) both to control periodic flooding and drought; but these may not "maintain … agriculture and economic growth" and may be "complicated by formidable side effects", including silting up of the river beds. Despite its continuous water shortages, water deficits are "not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is that China has too many people." And its people are industrious and ambitious, which increases both residential and industrial water demands. Moreover, with increasing per capital income, the Chinese demand a diet richer in meat and dairy products, foods whose production ultimately requires more water per calorie to produce than do vegetables. As both water and food supply is outstripped by the increasing demands of a larger and more prosperous populace, the price of both increases. "China seems destined to drive up the price of grain and make it harder for the … developing countries to meet their own needs." "Meanwhile the surtax levied on the environment to support China’s growth … is escalating to a ruinous level" as evidenced by its severe water pollution. According to the UN FAO, "80% [of its 50,000 kilometers of rivers] no longer support fish". In addition to controlling population growth, other solutions to the seemingly inevitable clash between the people and their resources "include shifts from grain to fruit and vegetables" as well as "strict water conservation measures, … the use of sprinkler and drip irrigation in cultivation, … and private land ownership…to increase conservation incentives for farmers." China’s "own data show that it will be skirting the edge of disaster … as it shift[s] to industrialization and megahydrological engineering". But it is "vulnerable to the wild cards of history. A war, internal political turmoil, … droughts, or crop disease can kick the economy into a downspin. Its enormous population makes rescue by other countries impracticable." st

February , 2002   C.J.Campbell   World: Oil and Gas Industry - Peak Oil: An Outlook on Crude Oil Depletion.   by C.J. Campbell .. Conventional oil is about 95% of all oil produced so far. Middle East production will rise; the rest of the world is in terminal decline. Capacity limits were breached in 2000, causing prices to soar, leading to world recession that may be permanent because recovery will lead to demand, re-imposing recession in a vicious circle. The prosperity of the 20th Century was driven by cheap, oil-based energy. We need to find how to live without it. The warning signals have been plain but the world failed to read the message. You have to find oil before you can produce it, production mirrors discovery after a time lag and discovery peaked in the 1960s. The peak of production is now upon us. We need to know how many oilfields are left. The price of oil reflects tax, scarcity and control of supply. There are many different kinds of oil and each contributes differently to peak. Conventional oil will dominate into the future. But there is no agreement on how to define it. We ask how much oil has been found? and when? There is no consistency in what is reported. Reserve estimates are less reliable. The industry database, which is relatively reliable, is too expensive for most analysts to access. Different sources provide different numbers. The industry is required to furnish estimates of Proved Reserves in its financial reports which state what the wells are expected to produce, but say little about what the field may eventually deliver. We need to know the real record of the past if we are to use the trend to forecast the future. We need the Proved & Probable reserves, such that any revisions are statistically neutral. If we want a discovery trend, we need to backdate to the discovery of the field. Failure to backdate gives the illusion that more is being found than is the case. It has misled many analysts. Financial institutions too are beginning to understand the reality of the depletion of oil. No one disputes the technological advances of the industry, but exploration shows where oil is and where it is NOT - thus allowing better estimates but has little impact on the reserves. Most modern fields are produced to maximum efficiency. A geochemical breakthrough in the 1980s made it possible to identify and map the generating belts. They are few and far between and we know where most of them are. Once we have secured valid data we can plot discovery against exploration. The larger fields are found first, being too large to miss. The curve flattens until new discoveries are too small to be viable and gives a good idea of how much is left. The numbers show we have produced half of what is there, and found about 90%. We find one barrel for every four we consume. The depletion rate is 2% a year. In 2000, we had two large finds in the Caspian and Iran, which had been areas closed to the industry. The peak of discovery is followed by the peak of production, which comes close to the midpoint of depletion when half the total has been used. US-48, the most mature oil country, has every incentive and large prospective territory. Discovery peaked in 1930; production peaked 40 years later. The oil shocks of the 1970s cut world demand so that the actual peak came later and lower than would otherwise have been the case. The five Middle East major producers have been forced for a limited period to make up the difference between world demand and what the rest of the world can produce. Their share reached 29% in 2000, before falling to 25% in 2001 in response to falling demand. It is set to reach 40% by 2010, which will likely represent the limit of capacity. Middle East countries will be under pressure to increase their production to offset the decline elsewhere. World capacity limits were breached at the end of 2000, and oil prices began to soar when it became clear that the growth at about 2% could not be maintained. The high prices triggered economic recession. The demand for oil fell 5% between 2000 and 2001 and prices crumbled. The United States pretends that it does not depend on Middle East oil. OPEC fears losing its oil market on which it depends, with its rapidly rising population. Its notion of "reserve growth" is flawed, it is simply an artefact of reporting practice. The International Energy Agency was established by the OECD countries and showed a so-called balancing item which miraculously rises from zero in 2010 to 19 Mb/d in 2020. The identified deposits are a euphemism for rank shortage. It is not realistic to imagine that oil price will still be $25/b when the Middle East supplies 62% of the world's needs. A new study appears in which the mythical balancing item has disappeared, and non-Middle East production by 2020 is shown to almost double the previous estimate. No credence can be given to such fluid pronouncements. The drilling rig count over the last 12 years has reached bottom because oil companies are not going to keep rigs employed to drill dry holes. The merger mania is a scaling down of a dying industry. These are moves to downsize because there are no major investment opportunities left.   This article is worth reading in its entirety - please follow the headline link.

February 2002   C.J.Campbell - Revised   World: Oil and Gas Industry - Peak Oil: An Outlook on Crude Oil Depletion.   This is a long and complex article on the limits of the world’s oil and gas supply, on the past and future impact of those limits on the world’s economy and on how we might best adapt to those limits. Using the paper’s own summary, the essential points are 1. Conventional oil [excluding oil from coal and shale, from deepwater and the poles and from "heavy oil"] "provides most of the oil produced today, ...and [constitutes] 95% of all oil that has been produced" and will "dominate supply" for the future; 2. "Its discovery peaked in the 1960s. We now find one barrel for every four we consume." 3. The world’s oil production "peaked in 1997 and [is in] terminal decline"; the Middle East will produce an increasingly large proportion of the world’s oil; 4. The use of non-conventional oil will ameliorate, but not reverse, the decline; 5. Gas production will peak around 2020; 6. The breaching of capacity limits (on production and/or discovery) may underlie the economic recessions of both 2000 and currently. The article urges a far-sighted and intelligent response to this situation with an emphasis on increasing fuel efficiency and presumably increased reliance on alternative and sustainable forms of energy arguing: "If you don’t deal with reality, reality will deal with you."   Reading this illuminating article is well worth the effort; it is brief relative to the importance and the complexity of the problem.  st

January 30, 2002   Scripps Howard News Service   Dangers to Mountain Health Increase.   A combination of war, pollution, tourism, climate change, population pressure, deforestation, erosion, and overdevelopment is threatening mountain ranges around the world according to a new report from the United Nations University in Tokyo which was written by Jack Ives, professor of geography and environmental science, Carleton University, Ottawa. Mountains are the primary fresh water supply to half of the world's population and the home of 600 million people. A big problem is climate change. The glaciers in Glacier National Park in northern Montana are expected to have disappeared in 30 years. The snow covering the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has retreated 82% during the past century and will probably be gone in another decade or two. In the Snowy Mountains in Australia 250+ species are threated by decreasing snowfall and warmer winters. Sub-alpine trees are migrating upwards. In the Canadian Rockies insect infestation now threaten 1931 square miles of forest. The Great Smoky Mountains suffer from tourism and ozone-pollution which affects plant life. Tourism is also a problem in the European Alps which supply the four major European rivers with water. The number of visitors the the Rocky Mountains has increased 50% over the last two decades. Accounting for 10% of the world's gross domestic product, the WTO regards tourism as a low-impact benefit to the economy of these areas however, it is now recognized that tourism carries it's own environmental price. In the developing world the problems are more complex. One cited example is the Himalaya-Karakorum-Hindu Kush ranges which are threatened by a combination of poverty, drought, deforestation, general out-migration and oppressive governments. jlf

January 29, 2002   Newsweek   Bill Gates: Bill's Biggest Bet Yet.   Haiti has a population of 8 million, with 1 million in the 27-square-mile slum Soleil, the capital's front door, where people live in shanties lacking plumbing, electricity or permanent roofs. Per capita income is $1.26 a day, and health-care spending averages $16 per year. One child in nine dies before reaching school age. Bill and Melinda Gates' goal is to bridge the most fundamental gap separating the poor countries - such as Haiti - from the rich ones: the gap in human health. It is an outrage that 11 million people every year are killed by infections that can be prevented or treated for pennies - and that 2 billion lack access to basic, low-cost medicine, such as penicillin. About 27 countries have yet to achieve life expectancies of 50. The Gates Foundation is now the largest in history with assets at more than $24 billion. Though it supports some programs to improve schools and wire libraries to the Internet, its primary focus is health.

January 28, 2002   Unicef Innocenti Research Centre   League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations .   An estimated 1.25 million teenagers become pregnant each year. 500,000 of these will seek an abortion and about 750,000 will become teenage mothers. A comprehensive survey of teenage birth rates in the industrialized world (28 OECD nations) is in UNICEF's "A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations". It also attempts some analysis of why some countries have teenage birth rates that are 10-15 times higher than others. Korea, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden have the lowest teen birth rates while the US has birth rate in the world, at 52.1 per 1,000 - more than twice the European average.

January 25, 2002   Los Angeles Times   Paul R. Ehrlich and Katherine Ellison on US Population.   "At a time when we've shown how quickly a nation can unite against the threat of terrorism, our lack of resolution in the face of increasingly threatening population pressures seems all the more strange ... The world's relentless population growth, including our own weighty share in it as Americans, is inexorably leading us to an environmental breakdown. Yet, our attention to this problem now seems to be waning just when urgent action is needed ... Advocacy groups raise alarms at each new population forecast. Yet, there's little debate about how many world citizens--or, in particular, Americans--is desirable and how we can get to that number. The world's richest, most powerful, most can-do nation, which adds about 1.7 million people to the world's population each year, far more than any other industrialized country, still has virtually no domestic policy and only a weak foreign policy on population." npg

January 25, 2002   Los Angeles Times   U.N. Report Warns of Threats to World’s Water.   A report funded by the United Nations Environment Program warns of unprecedented threats to the world’s dwindling sources of fresh water, including massive loss of wetlands and increasing waste contamination. Degradation of fresh-water ecosystems has already led to the loss of half of the world’s wetlands in the past century. "Growing populations, increasing water pollution and the wild card of climate change all point to an upcoming crisis," said lead author Peter Gleick. npg

January 25, 2002   Arkansas Democrat-Gazette   USA: Population Growth Raises Costs for Arkansas Town.   Springdale, Arkansas Mayor Jerre Van Hoose says the town’s population growth has been both a blessing and a curse. Springdale’s population is growing 4.5 percent a year, while city revenues are going up just 2.8 percent a year. New residents have also placed increased demands on city services, and the city’s revenues aren't rising fast enough to meet them, the mayor said. The city needs to hire more city employees to keep up with the population increase, but the revenue shortage has led to a hiring freeze for most departments. New roadways needed to accommodate the growing population will require tax increases, according to the mayor. Residents are increasingly objecting to large development plans in the city. npg

January 25, 2002   Negative Population Growth   USA: The Most Overpopulated Nation - 2002.   Paul Ehrlich has kindly added an addendum to his popular NPG Forum paper, The Most Overpopulated Nation, updating it for 2002. Click on the link above.

January 25, 2002   CNN.com/Xinhua   Nations Concerned About China's Planned Dams.   China is planning to build six dams along its half of the 4,840-kilometer (3,025-mile) Mekong river in order to power economic development in the southwest of the country. Combined with two existing Chinese dams on the Mekong, they could generate a total of 15.6 gigawatts of electricity per year, Xinhua news reported. The dams would also ease flooding during annual rains and add water during the dry season. The four countries downstream, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, would suffer reduced water flow and water quality levels, posing problems for fishing communities downriver and blocking the migration of rare Mekong species. Joern Kristensen, chief executive of the Mekong River Commission secretariat in Phnom Penh said "And if the water's quality is altered, then that could impact downstream fisheries which provide the single most important source of protein for millions of Cambodians." Environmental groups say the dams will filter out important nutrients and block the migration of rare Mekong species like the giant freshwater catfish which can weigh up to 290 kilograms (650 pounds).

January 24, 2002   Congress Daily   Appropriators Warn Bush to Spend Money for U.N. Population Fund.   A price will have to be paid, President Bush was warned, if he decides not to spend $34 million in the FY02 Foreign Operations appropriation for the United Nations Population Fund. Subcommittee Chairman Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., said that while the bill technically gives the president discretion over how much to spend, up to a $34 million ceiling, spending the entire amount "was clearly the intent" of negotiators. Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. noted that the administration itself had sought $25 million for the program - "There was never a disagreement about whether to fund UNFPA, only about how much to provide." The additional funding for the UNFPA was provided only when Senate sponsors agreed to drop language that would have reversed Bush's policy restricting US funds for international family planning groups that perform or support abortion. However, on the day that the bill was signed, Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., wrote the president urging him to withhold all the money, charging that "The UNFPA has funded, provided crucial technical support and, most importantly, provided cover for massive crimes of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization." But Sarah Craven, chief of the agency's Washington office said: "Our main goal is to show the Chinese they can meet demographic goals without resorting to violations of human rights or coercion."

January 24, 2002   Sierra Club Population News listserve   Family Planning Funding Withheld-the Pressure is On! Action Needed by Tomorrow!.   The pressure is on President George W. Bush to release the $34 million intended for the United Nations Population Fund. A letter has been crafted and signed by 53 members of congress, urging President Bush to fully fund the UNFPA for the current fiscal year. Calls have been and are currently being made to encourage specific members who are supportive of International Family Planning and specifically the UNFPA, to sign on to the letter.

January 24, 2002   National Audubon Society   Congressional "Dear Colleague" Letter Supports Full Funding for the United Nations Population Fund - to Help, Act Today.   Please take a minute to call your member of congress TODAY and ask them to sign on to a "Dear Colleague" letter in support of full funding for the United Nations Population Fund at the $34 million level. This letter is being circulated by Representative Connie Morella (R-MD) and Representative Jim Greenwood (R-PA) as a way of discouraging President Bush from rescinding the $34 million allocated to the UNFPA by Congress. Click above to take action for this worthy cause.

January 24, 2002   World Watch Institute   World Watch: Meet the Authors of State of World 2002! Friday Jan 25th.   Click on the link to participate in the second in a series of eight online discussions with the authors of State of the World 2002. Each week through March 8 from 12:00-13:00 EST (17:00-18:00 GMT), one chapter author will be available to talk with you and answer your questions. (click here for more information). This week's guest is Seth Dunn, co-author of Chapter 2, "Moving the Climate Change Agenda." The world has not stood still in the decade since the signature and ratification of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Rather, the science, economics, business, and politics of the climate issue have evolved. This chapter looks back on the climate treaty's first decade, examines its growing pains under the Kyoto Protocol, and explores the potential obstacles to its further development.

January 22, 2002   Newsday (New York)   Afghan Women Get Caught in U.S. Abortion Politics.   STOP the sanitary napkins! The Bush administration has decided to withhold funds to the United Nations Population Fund which is in the process of sending clean underwear, sanitary napkins and sterile delivery kits - soap, a string, a clean razor blade - to Afghan women in refugee camps. First Lady Laura Bush claimed she was so concerned about these same women only two months ago, bemoaning that women were denied care for even their most basic health needs. The foreign-operations funding bill with the $34 milion for the UN program has already been signed by Bush after the House votes in favor by 357 to 66 and in the Senate, it was unanimous. Last year the president included $25 million for the UN population program in his own budget. But anti-abortion extremists like Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) claim that UNFPA promotes forced abortion and sterilization, an allegation which has been proved false by Secretary of State Colin Powell who says that the UN population fund is "fully consistent with overall U.S. efforts in developing countries to raise the standard of living, reduce poverty and lessen disparities of wealth among countries."

January 21, 2002   Ananova   Global Warming Increases UK Malaria Risk.   Due to global warming part of England and Wales including The Thames Estuary, Essex, parts of Kent, the Fens, and the Somerset Levels will be threatened by outbreaks of malaria according to government studies. The salt marshes in those areas are good breeding grounds for malaria carrying mosquitos. "By 2050 large parts of Southern England could get malarial transmissions and the season could be increased to four months by the end of the century," said Dr Steve Lindsay of Durham University and continues: "There is no way it could become entrenched but an outbreak is possible". The research used a model to compute the effect of the changing climate on mosquito survival rates. Along similar reasoning UK tourists are now more likely to bring tropical diseases back home. jlf

January 21, 2002   The Washington Post   USA: Racing for the 'Last Great Place.   The federal and New Hampshire governments, the Trust for Public Land, and the Nature Conservancy are going to buy 171,500 acres of land for $44 million from the International Paper Company to protect important habitat for coyotes, moose, loons, and bears. The land is part of the 26 million-acre Great North Woods one of the last patches of wilderness in the north east. However, only 25,000 acres will be set aside as wilderness. Some logging and use of herbicides will be permitted in other areas. jlf

January 20, 2002   China Internet Information Center   Chinese Children Receive Sex Education .   In a pilot scheme in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, children as young as 12 will receive sex education in schools. Textbooks on sex education, designed for junior and senior middle school and college students, will provide basic knowledge on sex to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases. And universities are starting to teach sex education courses.

January 18, 2002   ENN   NAFTA Report Demonstrates Need for Solutions.   According to a new report, called The North American Mosaic, by an environmental commission set up through NAFTA, human activities have severely degraded half of the North American continent and put 230 animal species close to extinction, writes ecologist David Suzuki. Because of global warming climatic patterns have been disturbing leading to more severe weather causing potential flooding of low-lying areas. Forests continue to be cut down in an unsustainable way. "The report is groundbreaking in that it is the first of its kind to cover all of North America, and it comes from an organization with a mandate to increase the economic output of Canada, the United States, and Mexico," Suzuki comments and continues "But much of its information is already well known. Study after study has already told us that we face severe consequences to our unrelenting growth and consumption". Some successes have been achieved though but the gains are "eaten up" by increased consumption elsewhere. Although reduced auto emission standards were a step in the right direction it is been more than offset by a larger number of cars. "At the turn of the millennium, North Americans are faced with the paradox that many activities on which the North American economy is based impoverish the environment on which our well-being ultimately depends," it is written in the report. However, as Suzuki says: "The problem is not so much that practical solutions are unavailable, it's just that political and industry leaders seem to lack the will to implement them. That must change." - and when even trade-promoting organizations and business-publications now recognize that the current path ecologically as well as economically unsound, it is time for implementing these solutions and reducing our environmental impact. jlf

January 15, 2002   Science magazine   Easing off the (Greenhouse) Gas.   The rate of growth of greenhouse gas emissions has slowed since it peaked in 1980, a new NASA-funded study shows. The global warming in the past two decades have been caused by carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane, tropospheric ozone, soot particles (CO), and other gases. According to James Hansen, author of the report, "The decrease is due in large part to cooperative international actions of the Montreal Protocol for the phase-out of ozone-depleting gases," where the phase-out of CFCs has been the most important factor, another factor has been the slowing growth of carbon dioxide and methane (methane increases are linked with rises in tropospheric ozone levels which is one of the principal ingredients in smog). However the rate of methane emissions has been decreasing and the authors suggest than it may be possible to stop it entirely. Soot is a product of incomplete combustion where the primary sources in the US are diesel powered trucks and buses. Currently technologies exist to reduce pollutants other than CO2 and it might be cheaper to reduce overall global warming with that approach, yet a reduction of CO2 is vital to stop global warming. The warming projected by the study is about half the magnitude of the IPCC projection, because the latter takes more factors into account. However what the study does show is that curbing of emissions do have a positive effect. Read the December 18 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for further information. James Hansen of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies co-authored the paper with Makiko Sato of Columbia University, New York jlf

January 15, 2002   New York Times*   Underground Fires Menace Land and Climate.   Thousands of underground coal seams which have been exposed by mining are burning and daily spewing out millions of tons of CO2. In the US coal fires which also occur spontaneous in nature have cost the country about $1 billion to date. In China 200 million tons of coal are burning this way annually which corresponds to the CO2 produced by all the cars and small trucks the entire US. jlf

January 14, 2002   Grist Magazine   Bah! Lomborg: Resistance Isn't Futile.   Follow the link to see how Grist magazine readers respond to "Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark," Grist's special edition on Bjorn Lomborg's "The Skeptical Environmentalist." The letters contain somewhat differing views on the various issues presented by Lomborg. jlf

January 12, 2002   BBC/New Scientist magazine   New Male Sterilization Technique Could Replace Surgical Vasectomy with Non-Invasive Ultrasound.   High-frequency ultrasound that kills cells in the walls of the vasdeferens, effectively blocking the passageway for semen, would replace surgery in a vasectomy technique developed by scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical School. The technique "could be especially useful in developing countries where people don't have ready access to trained surgeons andsterile hospitals," says the developer of the technique, Nathaniel Fried. The technique may also encourage a "shift the burden of sterilization" from women to men.

January 11, 2002   Population Action International   Take Action! President Bush Puts Funding For UNFPA In Jeopardy!.   Less than a full week from the first anniversary of his reinstatement of the global gag rule, the White House may decide to reduce -- even eliminate -- U.S. funding for UNFPA. President Bush has threatened to invoke the Kemp-Kasten amendment -- last invoked by the Reagan and Bush (Sr.) administrations -- to deny funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Incorporated in foreign aid appropriations bills since 1985, Kemp-Kasten prohibits foreign aid funding for any organization that, as determined by the President, supports or participates in the management of a program of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization. We urge you to contact the White House and insist that the President maintain funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Please, call the White House comment line TODAY (202-456-1414) and let the President know that you support full funding for UNFPA, or email the President at president@whitehouse.gov. Or go to this web site: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/UNFPA_funding/inn6ns2278xwxw

January 11, 2002   The Washington Post   Family Planning Funds Put on Hold.   President Bush has been pressured by antiabortion groups and lawmakers to withhold $34 million from the U.N. Population Fund, saying the agency tacitly condones forced abortions and sterilization by providing aid to family planning programs in China. This money has already been promised in a foreign operations bill that was just signed into law Thursday. "This act is against the will of Congress, against the written support of [Secretary of State Colin L.] Powell, and against the crucial needs of millions of women and children around the world," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). USAID spokesman Stirling D. Scruggs said the loss could undermine their capacity to prevent 800,000 abortions and the deaths of 4,700 mothers and 77,000 children under the age of 5. [For more details on this important article, please click on the link in the headline above. Please help by following the call to action in the article above.] .

January 11, 2002   People & the Planet   People & the Planet On-line.   Peopleandplanet.net is an exciting gateway and educational resource exploring the connecting issues of population, environment and sustainable development in an open, independent, and balanced way. The site has been organised into 14 key topics, each introduced with an authoritative Overview, together with Feature Articles, Facts and Figures, News, Links, Glossary and Book and Film reviews. It is published by Planet 21, an independent, non-profit company and British registered charity with sponsorship from UNFPA, IPPF, IUCN and WWF.

January 11, 2002   IRIN Africa English reports   Life Expectancy Reaching Lowest Levels Ever in Africa.   By the year 2005, most Africans will die before they reach age 48. Disease, HIV/AIDS, wars and poverty, have driven down life expectancy by 15 years in the last two decades. Lawrence Agubuzu, the assistant secretary-general of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) said women and children were the most vulnerable group, and their needs must be addressed. "Today Africa is distinctly characterised by abject socioeconomic conditions and unprecedented extreme demographic trends with far-reaching consequences," ... "The high population growth, coupled with an unstable political, social and economic climate, and widespread poverty, are factors that jeopardise the socioeconomic situation of African countries and contribute to the degradation of the environment."

January 07, 2002   Fort Worth Star Telegram   U.S.: It's Evening in America, Buchanan Says, and Immigrants Are to Blame.   Pat Buchanan is trying to back up his projections with facts and figures provided by such sources as Mr. Putin, a British archbishop, and the United Nations. By 2050, only one-tenth of the world's population will be of European descent. The unchecked influx of immigrants is handing the nation over to insurgents who force their values on us rather than accepting ours. The West is dying, if we don't change how we do things, we'll be gone by the middle of this century. It's a healthy thing to remember there are people out there who want to destroy us. It took terrorist attacks to drive that message home. We're at a time when people can change their destiny. Buchanan acknowledges he's saying things that most Americans would prefer not to hear and that many condemn as racist and inflammatory. Potential immigrants should be judged by one measure, Buchanan adds: "Are they likely to carry on our culture, which makes America a unique country and civilization? Or are they not?"   rw .. An old article, but significant and alarming because of Buchanan's peculiar brand of patriotism. It is insensitive ideas such as this that makes immigration reduction difficult to attain ... karen gaia

January 03, 2002   John Hopkins CCP   New Contraceptive to Block "Sperm and Germs".   BufferGelTM, a new type of contraceptive gel that is also designed to protect against sexually transmitted infections will begin clinical efficacy trials. It was jointly developed by researchers at The Johns Hopkins University and the private firm ReProtect LLC. The new trial will test whether women using BufferGel and a diaphragm can reduce the risk of pregnancy as effectively as women using a conventional spermicidal detergent and a diaphragm. Unlike conventional spermicides, BufferGel contains no soaps. These tend to irritate the vaginal lining after frequent use. Normally semen eliminates vaginal acidity(which kills sperm and germs) for several hours to allow sperm to leave the vagina and enter the uterus. BufferGel blocks this effect, by reinforcing the vagina's natural acidity. The gel does not kill the friendly bacteria in a healthy vagina. Another, larger trial will test BufferGel's ability to block transmission of HIV and genital herpes.

January 01, 2002   Economic Journal   The Reality of Global Inequality.   by Branko Milanovic    The richest 1% of people in the world receive as much as the bottom 57%; that is, 50 million rich as compared to 2.7 billion poor. In addition, the rich are getting richer and the poor pooer and the middle of the income distribution is disappearing. Between 1988 and 1993, inequality increased by 5%. Milanovic, in calculating the world's wealth disparity, uses the Gini scale, which runs from 0 (total equality) to 100 (one person gets all world income) and treats people and their income as if they all belonged to the same 'nation'. The world gets a Gini score of 66 points, (equivalent to 66% of people having zero income, and 34% dividing the entire income of the world among themselves equally). The score for the world is higher than inequality in any single country. Previous studies have calculated world inequality as the difference between average incomes (GDP per capita) of the countries, and assuming that every person had the average income of that country. Disparities persist even though the world is becoming smaller through exposure to television and movies; life-styles of the rich influence expectations and often breed resentment among the poor. Milanovic theorizes that wide income gaps lead to migration, and resentment breeds terrorism.

January 2002   Los Angeles Times   U.K.: Old Age Certainly Isn't What It Used to Be.   Most Americans are healthy and active into their 70s and beyond and staying "young" longer than they used to. We have grouped the population as, "under age 18" or "65 and over" but those terms reflect a departed era. When Social Security began, average life expectancy was less than 62. 70 was proposed as the age for collecting benefits but 65 was eventually chosen. Most 18-year-olds were independent of their parents but yoday, young Americans don't take on adult roles until they are 25 or older. In 1999, 60% of those 18 to 24 were living with parents or relatives. In the developed world healthy life expectancy is growing fast. Americans who reach 65 can expect to live 18 years and even more in the 21st century. As recently as 1970, the census lumped all people 65 and older into a single population, but demographers divide them into multiple age groups. In terms of what people can do, physically and mentally, each generation reaching 80 has been less infirm than its predecessor. This new standard seems to have pushed "old age" well into the 70s and beyond. Americans--both individuals and institutions--need to revise their assumptions about what "old" means.     rw

January 2002   London Free Press   Afghanistan: Giving Birth to Change.   While lifespan in the developing world improves, death rates in childbirth are rising. 600,000 pregnant women in the developing world, enough to fill three jumbo jets every day of the year, will die during childbirth this year. We need to send midwives and obstetricians to work in the developing world. Yet medical students from UWO are left to their own financial devices in the developing world. Why doesn't Canada, have a centre devoted to international women's issues? Is there a link that led to Sept. 11? Almost 90% of Earth's humans live in the developing world, yet the rich minority offer less attention than we give our pets and toys. Now a bloody tide has lapped onto our shore. We can help clean things up and our response will bring light or darkness to our own future.     rw

2002   LTE: Russ England   Economy, Ecology on Collision Course.   Few people could name an environmental problem not caused by increasing population, yet governments insist on growth. An expanding economy is considered healthy. Population growth is encouraged and facilitated by advances in technology. But that growth is reaching its practical limits. The United States is now the world's largest debtor. Fossil fuels have contributed to the growth of our economy and global warming but their supply is finite. Switching land use, such as agriculture, to housing or commercial keeps the economy expanding, but this is not enough: it has become necessary to those who insist on growth to expand debt to the point of becoming the very foundation of our economy. Corporate profits are bleak and dividends near zero. Our economic system is on a collision course with ecological integrity and nature's system will prevail. Man's debt-based, growth-dependent and energy-wasting economic system is likely headed for its most severe crash. The folks in charge seem to have no interest in developing a sustainable economy or ecosystem.     rw

2002   Population Connection   Sex Education Bill in Washington State.   Click headline for details. 1. A majority of Parents Support Sex Ed. 2. Inaccurate information can be dangerous and life threatening. 3. This bill will help reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates.

April 3, 2002     California's 2000 Teen Birth Rate Dropped to Lowest Level in Decades, New Statistics Show .   From 1999 to 2000 California's teen birth rate dropped 4.2% to one of the lowest levels in decades and dropped by a total of 31.3% during the 1990s. The state's rate just below the national average of 48.7 births per 1,000 teen girls, "mirroring a national trend" of decreased sexual activity and increased contraception use among teens. California Gov. Gray Davis (D) said that the state's declining teen birth rate provides proof that "California's prevention programs and initiatives work." While the birth rate among Latinas dropped slightly, the number "remains stubbornly high" at more than 90 births per 1,000 girls, is "comparable to such rates in economically disadvantaged countries where economically disadvantaged girls are more likely to have lower self-esteem and to give birth at a younger age Diana Bonta, director of the California Department of Health Services, said that state officials "cannot become complacent" about the teen birth rate and must address the "ongoing challenge" of further reducing teen births and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities.

April 1, 2002   New Vision   Uganda's Fertility Very High .   The US-based Population Reference Bureau reports that Uganda and Angola, two countries deadlocked in the Congo war, are at par with a fertility rate of 6.9 - the fifth highest fertility rate globally. The African average fertility rate is 5.2. Niger has the highest fertility rate at 7.5, followed by Somalia with 7.3, Mali 7.0 and the Democratic Republic of Congo 7.0. Mauritius has the lowest African rate, with an average of two children per woman and with 75% of sexually active women making efforts to prevent conception. Outside of Africa, China has the lowest fertility rate, with an average of one woman per child, and Italy has the highest use, at 91%. Although family planning improves women's health, there are at least 33 African countries where less than half of the women to not make any efforts to prevent pregnancy, and the figure is only 23% of sexually active women in Uganda. Objections from husbands, family pressure to have large families, religion, and fear of contraceptive side effects are reasons given. The high fertility rate could over-stretch Uganda's resources, said the Director of the Commonwealth Medical Association Trust, Marianne Haslegrave. In Uganda, "People are very much opposed to family planning. Many people are de-campaigning family planning," said Dr. Florence Ebanyat, assistant commissioner for reproductive health. Political leaders should come out openly and campaign for family planning if any progress is to be made.

April 1, 2002   Xinhua General News Service   U.N. Commission Meets on Population, Development .   An April 1-5 session of the U.N. Commission on Population and Development will discuss reproductive rights and reproductive health, with special reference to HIV/AIDS. The session will also plan follow-up actions to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development (IPCD), held in September 1994 in Egypt, which built a consensus on integrating family planning programs into a new comprehensive approach to reproductive health services. Reducing population growth rates and promoting sustainable development were found to most effectively addressed by educating and empowering women. The challenge now is to concentrate on translating the rights defined in the ICPD into policies and programs.

March 8, 2002   IPPF   Youth Services Springing Up in Nepal.   While adolescents constitute a third of the Nepalese population, no government programmes address their sexual and reproductive health needs. In 1994, the Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) decided to promote sexual and reproductive health classes in schools, while the following year they successfully lobbied the government for permission to provide young single people with contraceptives. FPAN has begun specific youth-focused programmes in several districts throughout the country.

March 8, 2002   Agence France Presse   One Woman Dies Every Minute in Childbirth .   In an International Women's Day statement, UNICEF director Carol Bellamy said that, every minute of every day, a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth. This amounts to 515,000 women each year. "We must commit ourselves to addressing this fundamental aspect of the gender gap, keeping prospective mothers healthy and alive." In a developed country only one in 4,100 die in childbirth, but in a developing nation it is one in 13, a number which has not declined since the early 1990s. Women with low social status have limited access to basic education and healthcare and therefore lack information which would enable them to make good child-bearing, health and nutrition decisions. While one of the most important factors in preventing deaths is access to emergency obstetric care, only 55% of births worldwide are assisted by a skilled attendant

March 8, 2002   IRIN-West Africa Weekly Roundup   Nigerian Islamic Group Mounts Campaign Against UN Convention .   An Islamic group, Supreme Council for Sharia, in Nigeria wants to stop ratification of the United Nations the Convention Against Cruel, Inhuman and other Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention Against Child Abuse. The group says they are contrary to Muslim values and that the United Nations' has a "covert campaign against Islam." Sharia objected to eliminating religious beliefs such as polygamy in order give women "full and unfettered equality with men", while the one protecting children from abuse aimed to "criminalise" parental efforts to discipline children through beating.

March 8, 2002   UN/ESA   How Long Will It Take for Bangladesh to Reach the Replacement-Level Fertility?.   Bangladesh experienced a rapid decline in population growth until about 10 years ago when it stagnated. What are the reasons and how long will it take for replacement level to be reached? This important paper needs summarizing. Please click on the red arrow to apply for an account number(if you don't already have one) and summarize this article if you want to help in the area of overpopulation.

March 7, 2002   Kaiser Weekly Reproductive Health Report   Emergency Contraception Education Campaign Kicks Off.   Over 100 national and local women's health advocacy groups and medical organizations, coordinated by the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, are promoting public awareness about emergency contraception in a campaign called "Back Up Your Birth Control." The goal is to "put emergency contraception in women's hands before they need it" to help reduce the three million unintended pregnancies that occur in the United States each year. If taken within 72 hours after sexual intercourse, EC is 89% effective in reducing pregnancy. The campaign encourages physicians to discuss EC with their patients, pharmacists to discuss it with their customers and citizens to discuss it with their elected officials. Among the co-sponsors are the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, Feminist Majority Foundation, National Abortion Federation, National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. U.S. legislation introduced in March would provide $10 million over five years to the CDC for a government-sponsored awareness campaign to make women and doctors more aware of the availability of EC. In other news, Planned Parenthood of Omaha-Council Bluffs in Omaha, Neb. encourages women to obtain a prescription from the clinic before the need arises. They do not need an exam but must undergo a screening to receive the pills.

March 5, 2002   United Nations Population Fund   U.S. Scout Troop Sends Hygiene Supplies to Afghan Women and Girls .   A troop of Girl Scouts in West Bend, Wisconsin in the United States have sent three dozen care packages containing hygiene supplies to Afghanistan. They are due to arrive in Kabul this week as part of a UNFPA airlift of medical equipment and supplies. "The UNFPA mission to help the Afghan women who are pregnant and their newborns touched a nerve with us," wrote Troop 1009's leader. The kits contain soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, petroleum jelly and baby wipes, all donations from area retail stores.

March 5, 2002   Durex   Durex Launches New-shape Condom with 'No Odour'.   The first anatomically shaped condom, complete with a latex odour masker, has been launched by Durex, who claims they have a better feel and fit, Durex says 1 in 7 people are still having unprotected sex, with young people being the greatest risk-takers - 28% of 16-20 year olds and 30% of those aged 21-24 admit they've had sex with a new partner without a condom. "These statistics show people are still complacent with their health and are putting both themselves and their partners at risk of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections," said Sarah Rose, Durex marketing director.

March 5, 2002   Grist Magazine   The Birds of Heaven - Book Review.   by Peter Matthiessen   Cranes are the stuff of legends, adorning Asian scrolls and 6,000-year-old Spanish cave paintings, but they may soon exist only in art and the imagination. 11 of the 15 remaining species are threatened or endangered. The author says that the majestic birds are the canary in the mine of our global ecosystem.

March 4, 2002   Wall Street Journal   Wattenberg Column - 'Overpopulation' Turns Out to Be Overhyped .     This opinion piece needs to be summarized, and a rebuttal written. If you would like to help, please click on the red arrow and register for a 'volunteer' account. WOA!! readers would appreciate it. The world and its people would benefit. The world needs quality, not quanity.

March 4, 2002   Associated Press   Ukraine Alarmed by High Level of Maternal Mortality During Childbirth, Birth Defects .   A government report said that 30% of Ukrainian children are born with physical or mental defects. Twenty-four women in 100,000 die during delivery, and 70% of women experience difficulties during childbirth. The birth rate decreased in 2000 and about 12 in every 1,000 newborns dies. Across most of the former Soviet Union, social and economic upheaval resulted in an increase in many diseases and sharp funding cuts for public health. The Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986, which spewed radiation across much of the nation and neighboring areas also may have contributed to the poor state of health.

March 3, 2002   New York Times   Fear Stalls Health Push in India .   In a one-day public health campaign supported by UNICEF, 35 million children across India were given doses of vitamin A. Because of rumors saying that 30 children had died after taking part in the campaign, the national government advised states to halt the distribution of the vitamin. Since then officials in Assam say they have now concluded that the vitamin dose did not cause the children's deaths. Studies show that vitamin A sharply reduces the chances that many malnourished youngsters in developing countries will die of diarrhea, measles and other disease. It also helps prevent blindness. The supplement has been provided safely to 200 million children worldwide with UNICEF's support, often as a capsule or spoonful of the vitamin given periodically.

March 1, 2002   White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood   White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Launches New Website .   The new WRA website contains a vast array of information including an extensive links section and a new photo library. The photo library is a collection of photographs received from the members depicting maternal and child health from around the world. The photo library may be searched and photos requested for use in presentations, publications, websites and other materials for free.

February 4, 2002   Gulf News   UAE Tops Population Growth.   UAE population recorded the highest growth rate in the Arab region – in 2000 it was at 5.79% - as the country pushes ahead with its policy of encouraging nationals to have more children. High oil exports and resulting expansion in the economy and revenue has allowed the UAE to maintained its high per capita income of over $20,000 despite the high population increase. The population growth in the 22-nation Arab League is the second highest in the world - at 2.31%, according to figures published in the annual Arab economic report for 2001. In Arab countries other than UAE, spending on services has remained low, leading to a deterioration in services and an increase in unemployment with more people falling below the poverty line. Growth rates vary from around 6% in such countries as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, below two per cent in Tunisia, Somalia and Oman, and negative in Kuwait, which is seeking to cut its foreign population. Egypt has the highest population, with around 63.3 million in 2000. Sudan has 31 million, Algeria has 30.7 million, Morocco 28.7 million, Iraq 22.8 million, and Saudi Arabia 22 million. Population growth in the Arab world has slowed from a 2.5% rate 10 years ago, but it is still much higher than economic growth, which was below 2% in some years and negative in some periods. Overcrowding in schools and medical facilities and consequently a decline in the quality of education, training, social care and health services, is evident. 22% of the people in the Arab world earn less than $1 a day while 52% earn just $2 to $5 a day. Nearly 20% of the total Arab workforce are jobless.

February 2, 2002   Studies in Family Planning   Transforming Family Planning Services in the Latin American and Caribbean Region .   "The new frontier for the twenty-first century in the population field is the necessity of helping women and men not only to achieve the number of children that they desire but also to enjoy a general state of well-being that includes freedom from unwanted pregnancy and illness and healthy, fulfilling, and pleasurable relationships." ... Judith Helzner, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health of International Planned Parenthood Federation/ Western Hemisphere Region

February 2, 2002   British Medical Association   Sex Education Classes Not Effective .   The British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a study from the Canadian McMaster University that found that, in 5 of the trials studied, (four abstinence programmes and one school-based sex education programme) an increase in pregnancies among the partners of young men involved was observed. [The results of the other 8 trials were apparently not conclusive.] The authors suggested that sex education may need to begin when children are as young as five, that the social reasons for teenage pregnancy need to be further investigated, and that adolescents need to be involved in designing sex education programmes and also, countries such as the Netherlands, which have low rates, should be studied. In a Scottish study, involving 5,854 pupils, a sex education programme called SHARE was compared with conventional programs. Teenagers in the SHARE scheme had fewer regrets about first intercourse with their most recent partner and said their sexual health knowledge had improved. But the SHARE group showed no difference from those receiving conventional sex education in terms of sexual activity or contraception use by age 16. Surprisingly, the study showed that the majority of those who were having sex were using contraception and condoms wisely. The author pointed out that reduction of teenage pregnancy cannot depend solely on sex education. Other factors are social exclusion, poverty, low educational attainment and access to services which the government program focuses on in its 'multi-faceted approach.'

January 9, 2002   Deseret News   129 Million Children Born in World Each Year .   The article presents a short but telling summary of statistics based on ILO Child Labor Statistics and UNICEF's "The State of the World's Children Report" (2001 and 2002), and "Facts and Figures 2000". According to the report 129 million people are currently added to the world population each year. Out of these 33% are not officially registered and 8% die and 32% suffer from malnutrition before they reach the age of 5 mostly from preventable causes. The geographic distribution: India(19%), China(18%), The rest of Asia(18%), sub-Saharan Africa(16%), Latin America and the Caribbean(8%), Middle East and North Africa(7%), and the developed countries(14%). 27% are never vaccinated, 18% have no access to clean drinking water, and 39% live without adequate sanitation. 11% of the newborn girls and 7% of the boys will never receive any schooling - 25% of those who do will not reach 5th grade. Illiteracy is at 17%. In the developing world 25% of the children between 5 and 14 hold a job, half of those work full time. In the industrialized world life expectancy is 78 years, globally it's only 68 years, however in the countries most severely affected by HIV it's less than 43 years.   jlf

January 8, 2002   St. Louis Post-Dispatch   Number of Couples Using Natural Family Planning 'Minuscule' but Growing.   The Archdiocese of St. Louis' reports that the number of program participants in their Natural Family Planning (NFP) classes grew by 23% from 1998 to 2000. The numbers include both Catholics observing the church ban on "artificial birth control" and non-Catholics. NFP claims to use scientific precision" to determine the times when a woman is and is not fertile, and that is has the benefits of being "cheap, natural and free ofside effects." Planned Parenthood Director of Health Services for the St. Louis region Mary Kogut said: the method is "perfect for couples who have a strong, monogamous relationship, good communication skills and the dedication it takes to chart fertility and to abstain [from sexual intercourse] when necessary." But she added that those who would find an accidental pregnancy "frightening" usually want to use a method with a higher success rate. While some clinical studies report that the method's success rate is 99%, human error and "risk-taking by amorous couples," who have difficulty abstaining from sex, "significantly lower the odds of avoiding pregnancy." According to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, 1.6% of American women of childbearing age practice "some form of periodic abstinence," while only 0.2% use NFP.

January 7, 2002   Agence France Presse   Kabul's Maternity Clinic in Crisis.   Afghanistan has the worst childbirth record in the world after Sierra Leone, with 17 deaths per 1,000 women in the course of pregnancy or childbirth, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Kabul's Malalai maternity clinic was a model of excellence under the regime of former president Daoud. "The women are returning. The Taliban had convinced their husbands they were going to the hospital to meet men," said Afiza Omarkhil, a doctor there. However, with only 250 maternity beds in the entire country, services are not available to the majority of women in Afghanistan who give birth at home without assistance as a result of "tradition, superstition, ignorance, and lack of means," said Dr Bashir Noormal, head of the WHO office in Kabul.

January 3, 2002   BBC News   Cuba Records Lowest Infant Mortality Rate in the Americas.   With the lowest infant mortality rate for four decades, and only 6.2 children in every 1,000 dying before the age of one, Cuba - along with Canada - now has the lowest infant mortality rate in the Americas, according to figures from the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF. The United States is second with seven in every 1,000 children. Guatemala has the highest infant mortality rate in the region with 45 in every 1,000 children.