By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, March 8, 2012 The Public Interest Environmental Law Conference took place this past weekend (March 2-4) in Eugene, Oregon. If you’re not familiar with it, it is an [inspiring] gathering of environmentalists of all stripes and professions that has been taking place for thirty years. This year I attended for the
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, March 7, 2012 In the midst of all the political attacks on contraceptive coverage and women’s rights here in the U.S., it is more important than ever that we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th. It’s hard to believe that in the U.S., a country which has the highest rates
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, Feb. 29, 2012 Economic growth is virtually always in the news. Stories about the economy and individual companies often focus on successful growth or bemoan it’s absence. Our politicians repeatedly promise more economic growth. The reality is that we live in a world of finite resources, many of which are becoming
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One of the biggest water issues in the state of California concerns the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary (Bay Delta), the largest estuary on the west coast. The pressure is on California to effectively balance demands on its water supplies from the competing interests of environmentalists, cities, agriculture and our growing population. The San Francisco
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, Feb. 21, 2012 Recently I had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Prakash Tyagi, a medical doctor and director of Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (GRAVIS), a rural empowerment organization based in the state of Rajasthan, India. Dr. Tyagi was visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, courtesy of the International Development Exchange
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, February 14, 2012 Is it possible to talk about sustainable development without talking about population, in a world of 7 billion people and growing? Apparently the policymakers involved with the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) conference (Rio+20) think so, from the dearth of the words “population growth” appearing in
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, Feb. 10, 2012 The University of California, Berkeley hosted a gathering February 4th of globally-respected experts in the fields of population, sustainability, and global health. Some 450 participants heard why it is critical that the world addresses these issues today. Malcom Potts, director and founder of the Bixby Center for Population,
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, February 2, 2012 This past January 24th the Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved a progressive sustainability bill of rights, building on the Santa Monica City Sustainability Plan first established back in 1994. The resolution calls on the city to “recognize the rights of people, natural communities, and ecosystems to exist,
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, January 26, 2012   Most of the news we get about Afghanistan is negative and depressing. This is especially true where womens’ rights and reproductive health are concerned. But if we look hard, there are signs of hope. First, some cold hard facts. The population of Afghanistan today is 31 million
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There has been a lot of news in the past week on teen pregnancy. Shockingly, a report by the Center for Disease Control found that one-third of teen mothers didn’t use birth control because they didn’t believe they could get pregnant. And for some good news on family planning, the Obama Administration announced it would
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