By Candela Vázquez Asenjo, youth blogger, Transition Earth (Read Part I here) Global population growth today stands at approximately 7.4 billion people, due to hit nearly 10 billion in the next few decades. Though an increasing human population poses a threat to healthy and flourishing communities and ecosystems, especially in developing countries, it is a
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By Suzanne York. It’s official, more or less – we have entered the Anthropocene epoch, a time when humanity’s impact on the planet is so transformational that it’s pushed the world into a new geological period. “New Age of Man” An international working group, after seven years of deliberation, voted unanimously (with one abstention) at
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By Suzanne York, www.transition-earth.org “We are the first generation with the knowledge of how our activities influence the Earth System, and thus the first generation with the power and the responsibility to change our relationship with the planet.” That statement was written in 2011 in a journal article by a group of some of the
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Across the world many people are waiting with bated breath as one of society’s most influential religious leaders weighs in on the topic of climate change and its impact on people and the environment. Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, is releasing an encyclical (a papal letter sent to bishops)
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By Suzanne York. “In fact, person for person, reducing birth rates in industrialized nations has a bigger impact on greenhouse gas emissions because affluent people use more of the Earth’s resources and depend more heavily on fossil fuels.” Thus wrote the editorial board of the Los Angeles Timesover the weekend. Word is getting out that
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By Kimberly Absher, guest youth blogger, www.howmany.org Population is the proverbial elephant in the room of the world’s problems. Despite its massive importance in determining the fate of, well, everything, it is frequently ignored or glossed over. Meanwhile, 250,000 people are born every single day, many in resource-deprived areas. How do we change this? An
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Dear Friends, 2014 was the hottest year on record. Also in 2014, however, people marched in the streets to take action on climate change, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act created greater access to contraceptives for women. As we head into 2015, population is a critical part of almost every pivotal issue facing
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org How does the old adage go?  Youth is wasted on the young, right? It is only wasted if the world chooses to not support and invest in young people.  Today, there are more youth than ever before in the history of humankind.  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in its just
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Worldwide, 2.5 billion people lack access to proper sanitation.  That is nearly 40% of the world’s population. In fact, more people have a cell phone than a toilet. That is why World Toilet Day is recognized on November 19th.   A project of UN Water, the day is meant “to raise awareness
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The theme of this past weekend’s Bioneers Summit Conference was “revolution from the heart of nature,” but more than that, it was also that land and life are sacred. If you aren’t familiar with Bioneers, it is an annual conference that just celebrated its 25th year. Attendees are referred to as
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