for a
sustainable
future
Population Matters Magazine
Issue 24 February 2014
China and elsewhere
Some of our politicians
The North American Buf falo
ISSN 2053-0420 (Online)
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Contents
Introduction to contributions
3
Magazine
China and elsewhere
4
Progress on our policy goals
5
Some of our politicians
6
Friends of the Earth
7
When you’re gone
7
This magazine is printed using vegetable based inks
on paper sourced from recycling and responsibly
managed forests (FSC Mixed Credit). If you are
willing to receive the magazine by email, which
reduces our costs and helps the environment, please
contact the administrator using the contact details
below. Additional copies are available on request:
a donation is appreciated. Population Matters does
not necessarily endorse contributions nor guarantee
their accuracy.
PopOffsets8
The ’Depopulation Dividend’
9
From the West Country
10
…And New Zealand
12
The North American Buffalo
13
Are we really misanthropes?
14
An appreciation of Andrew Ferguson
15
An obituary of Albert A. Bartlett
16
Reviews and letters
17
Promotional items
19
About Population Matters
Population Matters is a membership charity working
for a global population size that can provide a good
standard of living, a healthy environment and
environmental sustainability. Our activities comprise
education, research and policy promotion. We are
funded by our members, donations and grants and
receive no funding from official or commercial
bodies.
We welcome new members. Members receive our
publications and can take part in our activities.
Active members can apply to become guarantor
members and vote at our Annual General Meeting.
Membership fee rates are available on our website;
we are grateful to those who contribute higher fees,
donations or legacies.
Population Matters is the working name of the
Optimum Population Trust. We are a registered
charity no. 1114109 and a company registered in
England and Wales no. 3019081. Registered office:
135-137 Station Road, London E4 6AG
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for a sustainable future
Interested parties are invited to submit, ideally by
email, material for inclusion, including articles,
reviews and letters. Subjects may include the causes
and consequences of, and cures for, unsustainable
human population and consumption
levels.
Submissions should be in Word or equivalent and be
accompanied by a brief description of the submitter.
Publication titles should be shown in italics and a
single space used after periods. Copy deadlines are
the end of June and December and a maximum of 700
words per contribution is suggested. Submissions
may be edited and the editor’s decision is final.
This issue was edited by Norman Pasley, a retired
civil engineer with a passion for the natural world,
proofread by several volunteers, designed and
printed by Printhouse Corporation and distributed by
our Administrator, Julie Lewis. If you are interested
in helping to produce the magazine, please let us
know.
Contacting us
Population Matters
135-137 Station Road, London, E4 6AG
Tel: 020 8123 9116 www.populationmatters.org
Chair: Roger Martin
[email protected]
Chief Executive: Simon Ross
[email protected]
Administrator/ Membership: Julie Lewis
[email protected]
Magazine contributions:
[email protected]
Contacting you
If you are a member and do not receive our monthly
emailed newsletter and occasional e-alerts but would
like to, please contact the administrator.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Introduction to Contributions
Norman Pasley, Editor
It has been fascinating to read the articles, attempt to
understand all the points made, and to improve them.
Of course, the best submissions are the least trouble
because they cannot be improved!
Writers have many viewpoints. From the global
perspective, Kostatin Prodanov’s poem reminds
us again that the planet is finite and our numbers
need to be finite too. Peter Matanle shows us the
numerous advantages of reducing population; John
Charnock-Wilson has a world view about smaller
families and less carbon and Margaret Curtis
reminds us to respect all species, using the example
of New Zealand’s Kauri Tree.
Some contributors have focused on regional or local
issues. Susanne Whiting contributes a study on the
relationship between human density and buffaloes
in the United States; and Simon Gibbons gives us an
amusing narrative from Devon (We can do with all
the humour we can get!). I comment on population
issues surfacing in south east Hampshire while
Martin Desvaux and Walter Youngquist celebrate
the contributions of, respectively, Andrew Ferguson
and Albert A. Bartlett.
This issue of Population Matters
magazine has attracted a wide
range of excellent articles. We
have had more items than we
could include – thank you for all
your submissions.
We seek to communicate our point of view to others
and Dr William Gisby defines our motivation as
reducing human suffering. Other contributors have
reviewed books which have inspired them: Roger
Martin; Matthew Naylor; Ivan Cicin-Sain and Max
Kummerow. Finally, Kostatin Prodanov ends by
reminding us of the value of our ‘Population Matters’
bookmark.
It’s all in the following pages. Be inspired, show
this magazine to friends, and please contribute your
viewpoint to future magazines!
for a sustainable future
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Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
China and elsewhere
Simon Ross, Chief Executive
consideration, despite the startling UN projections for
population growth in the poorest countries. Even some
governments which were previously leading the way
on promoting small families have relaxed their policy,
like Vietnam; or reversed it entirely, like Iran. With
worries over both current living standards and future
ageing, sustainability and the environment often comes
a poor third, despite the lip service typically paid to it.
Like the avowed religious faith of the Mafia, political
leaders claim to be committed to our common future
without letting this get in the way of their day to day
activities. In this challenging environment, Population
Matters is one of the few groups raising population
systematically with governments and other nongovernmental organizations in the fields of resource
security, environmental protection, development,
health and human rights.
China’s policy on family size is
popularly known in the west as a
“one child policy”. In fact, there
have always been exemptions
for rural areas, minority groups
and so on, and the one child limit
only applies to one third of the
population.
The current fertility rate is 1.7 children per woman,
higher than that of some neighbouring countries,
though lower than the UK. One can surely understand
the particular concern of the Chinese government
with population and why the policy is widely accepted
within the country. Within the living memory of many,
millions of their fellow citizens died in famines. As
China develops, it is gradually relaxing the policy;
notably in the recent decision to allow couples not
otherwise exempt to have two children where one
partner is an only child.
While Population Matters only endorses voluntary
policies with regard to family size (which have
contributed to significant fertility rate reductions in
many countries), we welcome China’s awareness of
the negative consequences of population growth. This
awareness remains rare in global policy circles. There
is little appetite amongst governments involved in the
Post-2015 Development Agenda to give population due
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for a sustainable future
Lack of progress on population policies is mirrored
to some extent in sexual and reproductive health and
rights. There is a strong impetus for these rights,
allied with women’s rights and health provision, to be
part of future development efforts. However, there
remains opposition to liberalization from religious and
culturally conservative groups at both the European
and global level.
Turning to the UK, though our population growth
is lower than many developing countries, we are an
extreme case within Europe. High population density,
particularly in southern England, is exacerbated by
relatively high fertility and net migration. The public
have been quicker than politicians to acknowledge
this. Rising numbers faced with limited supply mean
that jobs and wage rises are harder to achieve while
access to health and education becomes more difficult
and the costs of housing, transport and utilities rise. At
the same time, green belts are threatened, amenities
lost, and travel becomes slower and more stressful.
There is a prevailing feeling that future prosperity can
no longer be assumed.
Politicians are acting on net migration, with some
results, but remain reluctant to speak out on population
size per se. We are saying to politicians that the best
way to stop Britain’s inexorable population growth, and
its undesirable consequences, is to call for population
stabilization. Without this context, specific policies are
vulnerable to opposition from vested and particular
interests. We are being heard increasingly by the
media and those interest groups and educational
establishments who invite us to speak. This will surely
lead to the change of mood to which politicians will
eventually have to respond.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Progress on our policy goals
Simon Ross, Chief Executive
Population Matters has developed
a number of policy goals which it is
calling on governments and others
to implement. These goals are set
out in full on our website. This
article reviews the progress being
made towards their achievement.
Universal user-led access to the full range
of family planning services.
In the UK, teenage pregnancy rates are continuing to fall,
though they are still high compared with other European
countries. The impact of transferring responsibility for
public health, including sexual health, from the NHS to
local authorities remains uncertain, but concerns have
been raised by those in primary care. We are planning to
engage with local authorities on this. More generally, the
continuing high rate of terminations shows that the UK
has a long way to go to achieve effective contraceptive
use. One important factor is the low prevalence in
the UK of use of more reliable long acting reversible
contraceptives.
Outside the UK, the UN Security Council has called
recently for aid in conflict and post-conflict settings
to include family planning. The Family Planning 2020
process is resulting in more money and support being
promised for family planning in developing countries,
though it is far from being sufficient. Unfortunately,
some developing countries are not delivering on their
commitments. Some developed countries who did not
participate in the process are actually reducing their
family planning aid due to economic problems. Even the
UK, a leader in the field, allocates only a small proportion
of its aid to family planning, even though population
growth in the poorest countries drastically limits the
effectiveness of aid, as shown in a recent paper sponsored
by Population Matters. We are promoting population
awareness and family planning through the Post-2015
Development Agenda and by lobbying international
conferences, governments and other campaign groups.
Sex and relationships education for
young people
There is abundant evidence that good quality sex
education can both reduce the level of unplanned
pregnancies and improve sexual health. The new UK
National Curriculum (from 2014) published in September
2013 presents a mixed picture on sex education. Whilst
the subject of puberty is included in science, teachers are
discouraged from explaining ‘how reproduction occurs’
and about hormones. We have lobbied government
and joined with other groups to campaign for better
sex education. Sex education campaigners in the Sex
Education Forum, with our support, are now developing
improved materials independently of government.
Encouragement for individuals to make
responsible decisions on family size
Promoting smaller families is still mainly limited to
Population Matters, other population concern groups
and governments in some developing countries. We
are using the media to promote the benefits of smaller
families and are developing approaches for use in
schools. We welcome the acknowledgement by Friends
of the Earth of the population factor.
An end to subsidies of larger families,
except in cases of proven need
Family subsidies in the UK are being chipped away at by
various government measures, such as: the withdrawal
of child benefit from higher rate taxpayers; the decision
not to increase child benefit in line with inflation; the
reduction in the maximum income for entitlement to
child tax credit, and; the introduction of the benefit
cap. However, none of these changes are explicitly
related to family size. We are asking the government to
generally limit subsidies to the first two children in each
household, whilst continuing to support families in need.
This is in order to send a clear message that having a
smaller family is better for society. Our recommended
policy is now being echoed by some politicians.
An end to discrimination against women
and equal access for women to education,
decision-making and resources
In the UK, women are under-represented in positions
of authority and earn less than average. They also
suffer from violence from men and cultural stereotyping
(We have supported the End Page 3 campaign).
Internationally, the campaign against child marriage,
notably by the campaign alliance Girls not Brides, of
which we are a member, is gathering strength. Support
for women’s rights is also a key point for discussion
within the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Balanced migration flows — no more in
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Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
than out — for countries that consume
unsustainably
A reduction over the last couple of years in net migration
to the UK has stalled recently with a slight rise in the
latest figures. While the government is continuing to
increase migration restrictions, the effectiveness of the
implementation of existing laws has been criticised. We
are continuing to highlight the social and environmental
consequences of the current and projected increases in
the population of the UK.
Due consideration of the interaction
of population size and government
policies
Population size is increasingly a matter for discussion
in the UK and other countries. Increased infrastructure
spending and a rising cost of living are to a large extent
consequences of continued population growth. While an
appreciation of these points have resulted in some action
to limit migration, the UK and many other governments
have not publicly addressed the bigger picture of future
population outcomes and their implications.
Some of our politicians are talking
about population
Norman Pasley, Editor
The choice is either building Welbourne or filling in
the green gaps in Fareham between the motorway
and the Solent. There is no ‘do-nothing’ option – the
population keeps rising. In November, the Leader of
Fareham Borough Council was quoted as confirming
that Welbourne is needed. Cllr Woodward mentioned
various issues: the need for new affordable homes;
Fareham’s rising population; growth in the local
economy attracting new workers who need homes;
existing residents trading up to larger homes; and
our ageing population. Between 1951 and 2011,
Fareham’s numbers have more than doubled from
43,000 to 112,000. If the same growth rate continues
into the future, Fareham’s population will double
again by about 2061 - to 224,000. Has anyone thought
about the consequences of such growth?
There is great concern in Fareham
about plans for a new town called
Welbourne to be built on farmland
north of the M27 motorway.
The debate is giving rise to many
letters in the local paper, The
News, from irate residents who
don’t want it.
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for a sustainable future
In December, The News interviewed the Leader of
Portsmouth City Council. Under the headline ‘Leader
warns about uncertainty brought by population
boom’, Cllr Vernon-Jackson provided population
data supplied by the Office for National Statistics.
“It’s a national issue and the government will have
to work out how we are going to cope if it happens,”
Cllr Vernon-Jackson said. In my view, he’s right
about government getting involved. “If it happens”?
It is happening - quietly, out of sight, every day,
everywhere. Portsmouth’s population is expected
to rise by 9,000 people by 2021. Almost entirely
surrounded by water, the additional people can only
be accommodated by constructing higher buildings
in the city, thus increasing population density, or by
building elsewhere.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
A sum of £5m has been allocated for additional
school places in Portsmouth to 2021. The article
didn’t mention the additional costs for: college
places; social services; affordable housing; GP and
hospital services; more and larger supermarkets;
and relieving road and rail congestion. Have these
costs been estimated? Who will pay? Won’t we
need higher local taxes and higher utility, food and
transport prices? The News article also states that the
other six districts in south east Hampshire: Fareham,
Chichester, East Hampshire, Winchester, Havant, and
Gosport could have an extra 46,000 people by 2021.
That’s an increase of nearly seven percent. But I think
we need to look farther into the future to see the true
population growth picture - say to 2061 when today’s
17-year-olds will reach 65. The present population of
Portsmouth, and the six districts above, is 882,000. If
this grew by seven percent per decade, by 2061 the
population would reach 1,228,000. The extra 346,000
new people would need about 150,000 homes built on
perhaps 6,000 hectares of land. At what cost in taxes,
natural resources, and loss of countryside, and so on?
I welcome these Councillors talking about population.
If Population Matters Local Groups around Britain
can continue to write to their local newspapers, and
reveal similar population stories to those in Fareham
and Portsmouth, we may winkle more politicians
out of the shadows. In my view, it’s high time
national and local government found their voice and
became outspoken about this most serious problem.
Starting today, they need to work in partnership with
the people to do the right thing - plan for growth
reduction. Today’s young people have the most to
gain by enjoying a less crowded and less damaged
planet. A friend of mine sent me this: ‘With increasing
concerns about overpopulation, climate change and
environmental degradation, a few of the passengers
and crew are becoming increasingly concerned, but
the winners are on the bridge and this ship will take
some turning’. It’s high time all the passengers and
crew signalled the bridge to turn the ship!
Friends of the
Earth have
change of heart
When you’re
gone
Norman Pasley, Editor
In August 2013, Friends
of the Earth published a
briefing, Global population,
consumption and rights.
The briefing states ‘it is necessary to address both
consumption and growing population’ though it
notes that the fertility rate is now below replacement
rate in some countries. What are FoE doing about it?
‘In addition to seeking a peak and decline in global
population at or around 2050, we actively campaign
on consumption issues such as fossil fuels, resource
use and meat. Population growth will be considered
alongside other trends as we seek to identify the key
interventions needed for wellbeing in our Big Ideas
Change the World project.’ That fact that population
has been acknowledged as important is welcome.
Perhaps we can work together more closely to get
our shared message across to everyone else?
Simon Ross,
Chief Executive
It comes to all of us. Many of us like
to leave a legacy of some kind, a
feeling that we have done what we
can to leave the world a better place.
I suppose that’s what we are all trying to do in
Population Matters. One thing is for sure, we won’t
solve the imbalance between human consumption
and sustainable resources any time soon. This
organization is in it for the long term. That’s where
you can help. Despite inheritance tax, at 40%, many
people can be reluctant to give away too much while
they are alive. You might need it. After you pass,
you have no such worries. You can safely leave your
estate to your friends and relatives, good causes, or
anything else. Leaving money to charity can reduce
inheritance tax on your estate. So, do please think
about including Population Matters in your will, as a
number of members, including the chair and I, have,
and give us a sustainable future. If you have left us
a gift in your will, do please write to me and tell me
what motivated you. Thank you for your support.
Free wills month (UK only) starts 3rd March.
http://freewillsmonth.org.uk/
for a sustainable future
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Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
PopOffsets –
we’re all in this together
John Charnock-Wilson, Managing Director of PopOffsets
contraception? When Sir Michael Parkinson had his
vasectomy 40 years ago, he described it as “the most
beautiful thing a man can do for a woman”. World
Vasectomy Day took place on 18th October 2013. It
was launched at the Royal Institution in Adelaide,
Australia and some 200 doctors in over two dozen
countries performed over 1,000 vasectomies on the
day, with 15 procedures broadcast live from the RIA
itself. We provided financial support to Jonathan and
his team. We very much hope that WVD becomes an
annual event, growing from strength to strength, and
we look forward to supporting it in the future.
PopOffsets is based on a simple
concept: that absent human
beings, and their descendants, do
not contribute to climate change
or consume the Earth’s dwindling
resources.
Our aim is to help women to control their fertility so
that they can decide when and how many children to
have. Those children they want to have then grow up
to have the best life chances their family and society
can provide. We support programmes providing
contraception and family planning, and sexual and
reproductive health and education, in a variety of
developed and developing countries. Having given
funds to African and UK-based programmes in 2013,
we are presently evaluating bids from US family
planning organisations.
Our latest grantee, US-based documentary film
maker Jonathan Stack, contacted us about his plans
for a World Vasectomy Day. As he said, we help to
empower women to control their fertility: let the
other 50% of humanity share the responsibility! Why
should it be only women who have to worry about
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for a sustainable future
Meanwhile, we are always on the lookout for
innovative family planning projects. One proposal we
are evaluating is to fund a “backpack” nurse in rural
northern Kenya. Unmet demand for family planning
services is high in Kenya: 36% of women either do
not have access to family planning, or cannot afford
it. This lack of access is much higher in rural areas
and small towns than in the cities. There are many
unwanted pregnancies, and abortions conducted by
untrained attendants are common, with over 400,000
being performed each year. The nurse we are
considering supporting would bring contraception
and education to an estimated 7,500 women a year.
Our promotional and research work continue in
parallel with our fund-raising and funding activities.
We initiated a relationship with Lancaster University
Management School, where a post-graduate student
completed PopOffsets-commissioned research.
We are keen to receive voluntary support from PM
members with expertise in marketing and promotion,
website design and management, as well as related
activities, who could spare a few hours a month. We
are delighted to report a surge of both interest and
income in the last couple of months of 2013, with
both offsetting donations and generous Standing
Order and one-off gifts, and are most grateful for
this support. While we are limited in the number
of projects we can afford to fund, we welcome
suggestions for worthwhile projects from members
and supporters of Population Matters, to help us
towards our goal of “smaller families, less carbon”.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Towards a Definition of the
‘Depopulation Dividend’
services provided by other countries, or natural
capital. To become sustainable, they must
either reduce their numbers or their resource
consumption by respectively 86%, 84% and 57%.
The more they do the former, the less they
need do the latter. Most developed countries are
already ecologically overshot, and thus face the
same choice.
Peter Matanle and Roger Martin
Dr. Peter Matanle is Senior Lecturer
at the University of Sheffield’s
School of East Asian Studies.
Roger Martin is the Chair of
Population Matters.
Countries with falling populations
are exclusively wealthy. Several
are so concerned about their
ageing populations that they are
introducing pro-natalist policies,
offering incentives to increase their
birth rates.
Yet they ignore the possibility that age-imbalance
is a temporary stage of the demographic transition
towards a new, lower equilibrium, as well as the
numerous potential advantages of a reducing
population. This is what we mean by a ‘depopulation
dividend’ (See: Peter Matanle’s article in Prospect
magazine, 7 October 20131), a concept which might
include some or all of the following:
Environment
•Improving bio-physical sustainability. Japan,
Korea and Germany are 8th, 9th and 37th on
the Overshoot Index (based on 2012 Blue Planet
Award-winning Global Footprint Network data).
They are thus dependent on renewable ecological
•CO2 emissions may reduce, and slow climate
change; similarly with atmospheric and other
pollutants which cause thousands of premature
deaths. There may be less pressure on
infrastructure and competition for land use.
•Bio-diversity conservation may become easier
with more land being returned to habitat for
wildlife, increasing national resilience. There may
be opportunities for protecting gardens, urban
green spaces, playing fields and local amenities
from development pressures.
•The potential for converting space and
infrastructure may translate into expanded
environmental opportunities and deliver more
liveable cities. Urban overcrowding may be
reduced and green spaces expanded, while new
urban functions – such as robotics, off-grid microgeneration, and urban agriculture – are developed.
Economy and Quality of Life
•Maintaining economic well-being in an ageing
and depopulating society means increasing
productivity and expanding employment take-up
among the under-employed and older people.
Increased demand for labour will push up
wages and encourage skill development and
technological innovation.
•Under depopulation and a flat-lining GDP
(assuming stable resource consumption)
translates into rising per capita GDP and a more
wealthy society, and increases the potential for
transition into a sustainable steady-state economy
•Average levels of debt might be reduced, with
a greater proportion of people at the asset
accumulation phase of their life (later adulthood)
and fewer in the heavily indebted phase (earlier
adulthood), so that society at large has a high
savings rate, and domestic capital is readily
available for reinvestment.
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9
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
•Ageing and depopulation present a need for, and
opportunities to, prioritise feelings of subjective
well-being alongside maintaining the economy
(See the new ‘Happiness League’ launched in
June 2013 in Japan2).
•Care for older people can be provided by the ‘fit
old’ and technological, infrastructural and social
innovation. The increased costs can be offset
by reducing overall spending in education and
training, while maintaining or even increasing,
per capita investment in the young.
•The return of real inheritance may present
opportunities, as sufficient homes and public
infrastructure are gifted inter-generationally,
to reduce private and public debt through the
savings accrued.
•Reduced population density will provide
opportunities for a radical reconfiguration of
public and private living space, allowing for larger
homes and greater community connectedness,
and expanded locations for formal and informal
socio-cultural interactions.
Conclusion
• Achieving the benefits that depopulation has
the potential to deliver is by no means certain.
Humanity has an unerring capacity for wasting
its opportunities and resources. Technologies
require ever-increasing energy inputs, and much
needs to be done to expand the educational
contribution to converting our economies and
societies into sustainable places for enjoying
happy, productive and fulfilled lives. There is
much work to be done to reap the benefits from
a ‘depopulation dividend’. The above is merely
the beginning of what might be achieved over
the long term. Nevertheless, we need to take the
opportunity of a ‘depopulation dividend’ while we
can.
References:
1.
Matanle, P. (2013) Why the 2020 Olympics Won’t Solve
Japan’s Problems, Prospect, 7 October. Available at: http://
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/2020-olympics-japansproblems/#.UnIZ4ZROrIY.
2.
ISHES (2013) Municipalities Across Japan Establish ‘Happiness
League’, Institute for Studies in Happiness, Economy and Society
(ISHES) website, 28 October, Available at: http://ishes.org/en/
happy_news/2013/hpy_id001115.html.
Population Observations
from the West Country
Simon Gibbons, whose storytelling is
complemented by his degree in zoology
Back in 1969 I had the good
fortune to be sent with the rest of
the school sixth form to a forum
on ‘World population’.
My ‘good fortune’ lay, not in the
fact that I was interested in the
subject, but because it was being
held at the High School for Girls.
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for a sustainable future
Rather ironically back then, I made no connection
between the subject matter of the forum and my
keen interest in the fairer sex sitting all around
me. Nonetheless, I can still vividly recall the
pyramid shaped graphs showing the distribution of
population age in the world and their inescapable
implication.
I left the forum profoundly thoughtful. Since then, the
subject matter has become the taboo subject of the
century. Not so much the elephant in the room, but
more a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Now, no news bulletin
goes past without mention of energy running out,
millions lacking good nutrition, climate change, war
and disease, etc. but never once will you hear anyone
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
mention the fact that the underlying cause of it all is
that there’s simply too many people on this floating
blue planet. The figures are simply overwhelming.
Let’s face it, who can picture billions of people? To
put it in some sort of manageable perspective, the
population of Exeter is about 117,000 people. As I
write, the world population is increasing by TWO
Exeters a day. Yes that’s right, two a day. Or, if you
want the figure, 85,000,000 people a year.
Back in my university days, I read about an
experiment where some eccentric ‘student’ had
put a couple of mice in a deep enamel bath with
six inches of sawdust in the bottom. He gave them
unlimited amounts of food and water and waited to
see what would happen. The mice bred and within
a few months there were hundreds of mice in the
bath. Despite still being given all the food and water
they could consume, it was found that the population
number eventually levelled off. The mice still bred
avidly but now, due to the stress caused by them all
living on top of one another (in some cases literally!),
the mortality rate rose to match the birth rate. Mice
killed each other, mothers ate their offspring, while
many of them developed cancerous growths or got
sick in some other way. Many appeared to go mad
and show extreme forms of behaviour and some
just lay down and died. One way or another, nature
had balanced out. It was, by anyone’s reckoning,
an inhumane experiment, but to this day I can’t see
a busy city street or commuters on a tube without
recalling it.
On a more positive note, if you drive from Topsham
to Exmouth, you pass the George and Dragon Pub.
If you were to turn left just after the pub towards
Clyst St George you pass a line of magnificent
chestnut trees on your right. If you pass them in
the spring you will see that they flower alternately
red and white. You may be wondering what this
has got to do with any of the above. But I think it
has, and in a very profound way. Every time I pass
them, particularly when they are in flower, I think
of the people that took the trouble to plant them in
that alternating row. The point about it is that they
were never going to live to see those magnificent
trees in all their glory, simply because people’s
lives are short compared to the life of broadleaved
trees. They must have known this and yet they still
acquired the saplings, measured the distances, dug
the holes and planted them out, not for themselves,
but for the people who were going to come after
them. It was a farsighted thing to do.
The comparative brevity of a person’s life is, I think,
perhaps the main reason why there is so little
concern about what’s coming down the track. (And
make no mistake, it is coming.) Even I can see the
logic for just shrugging your shoulders and taking
the view, ‘Well there’s nothing I can do about it, and,
anyway, I’m not going to be around for it’. But if you
think about it, it’s an appalling legacy to bequeath
to future generations. At the very least, we should
all face the truth and tell our children about it (Why
didn’t my mum and dad tell me that there was a
Tyrannosaurus in the living room?). We could talk
about it amongst ourselves and stop being distracted
by the bombardment of symptoms that blind our
eyes to the underlying cause. Who knows, a major
miracle might occur and our politicians might
actually think further ahead than the next election,
rather like the people who planted the chestnut
trees. We have certainly come a long way since we
started chipping flint tools, but looking at modern
man now, I feel surrounded by an ever expanding
ocean of new people. Is our future to be more like
an enamel bath seething with sick mice, or a line of
flowering Chestnut trees?
I know which one I’d go for.
for a sustainable future
11
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
All species must have respect
from us - thoughts on a visit to
New Zealand
Margaret Curtis
The Kauri tree is New Zealand’s
largest and most famous native
tree. It grows in the subtropical
northern region of the country.
The largest Kauri today is 4.4 m in
diameter; the oldest is estimated
to be 2000 years old.
Kauri forest has a characteristic dense luxuriant
undergrowth of small trees, shrubs, ferns, mosses and
lichens. Because this tree loses its side branches as it
grows, the trunks grow straight and tall. Imagine the
awe and delight of the impoverished settlers as they
12
for a sustainable future
arrived in New Zealand in the 19th century. With great
ingenuity, these enormous trees were cut down and
shipped abroad in their thousands. Profits were made,
and the forests were stripped of their Kauri trees.
Nowadays, the Kauri tree is protected. A few trees
over 500 years old, are still growing, gazed upon and
admired by thousands of tourists. Saplings are being
planted, but they will take many years to mature, and
the beauty of the mature Kauri forests has gone. Is this
collapse in numbers an indication of what will happen
to all species? I hope not. I hope that the rescue of the
Kauri will continue. But there will have to be sacrifices
and respect from us. We will have to limit our greed
and domination of this earth, so all species may be
allowed a chance to survive.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Population size and density
alone do not tell us enough about
environmental impact - The story
of the North American Buffalo
Suzanne Whiting
To illustrate this, let us look at an example for the
impact of changes in regional human density on
biodiversity.
In the 16th century, tens of millions of buffaloes
roamed the North American plains. By 1890, all
but a few hundred had been both hunted down and
deprived of their native habitat through the ploughing,
farming and fencing activities of the rapidly expanding
population of European settlers. These activities
rapidly changed the character of the country from
native grassland and abundant wild life to one of
vast grain fields unsuited to wildlife, with adverse
consequences for grassland biodiversity. But years of
drought in the 1920s and 30s, as well as soil depletion
and erosion, led people to abandon their farms. Threequarters of Plains counties have seen population falls
since 1930, even though the US population has tripled
over the same period.
Susanne Whiting is a professional
translator with a Masters degree
in Conservation Science and has
a keen interest in demographics
and their impact on biodiversity.
The world is experiencing an
enormous loss of biodiversity,
which undermines not only the
environment itself, but also the
ultimate well-being of humans.
Direct drivers of this loss are fragmentation,
degradation and loss of habitat, climate change,
overconsumption, exploitation, invasive species and
pollution. All of these are inextricably linked to and
exacerbated by human population growth. However,
the relationship between population growth and
biodiversity loss is not simple and causal but varies
with different demographic attributes.
The decline of traditional agricultural land and the
retreat of humans are seen by some as an opportunity
to restore the Plains to their former natural state by
reintroducing buffaloes and replanting prairie grass.
Scientists Frank and Deborah Popper have been
promoting the idea of an ecologically and economically
sustainable use of the Plains in the form of a ‘Buffalo
Commons’. Successfully so, it seems: “The total
number of buffalo on US and Canadian private and
public lands approaches 400,000” they wrote in
2004, “a remarkable figure for a large species that
nearly went extinct less than a century ago“. As for
economic viability, the Poppers see new uses for the
land, centred on conservation, ecotourism, bison meat
marketing and luxury hunting enterprises. Buffalo are
not the only species on the up – the Plains now also
host substantial populations of white-tailed deer, waterfowl, teals and coyotes, to name but a few.
However, the drivers behind this re-wilding process
are not population size or density per se, but changes
in rural population density. North Dakota, for example,
has had a fairly stable, low population size and density
since 1920 (3.4 - 3.8 people/km²).
for a sustainable future
13
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Crucially, however, the proportion of the rural
population within the human population as a whole has
decreased continually from 86 percent in 1920 to 44
percent in 2000, while buffalo numbers have increased
from near extinction at the turn of the century to roughly
31,000 (Fig. 1 and 2). In neighbouring Minnesota, the
overall human population almost doubled over the
same period (density 23.8/km²), while the proportion
of rural inhabitants shrunk from 56 to 32 percent.
Buffalo herds in Minnesota have increased to 12,300
farmed animals plus several thousand state- and
privately-owned animals.
Percentage of rural population in
North Dakota from 1850 to 2000
100
Freese C.H., Aune K.E., Boyd D.P., Derr J.N., Forrest S,C, Gates C.C.,
Gogan P.J., Grassel S.M., Halbert N.D., Kunkel K., Redford K.H., (2007)
Second chance for the plains bison, Biological Conservation, 136(1),
175-184,
FWS - US Fish & Wildlife Service (2008) Time line of the American
bison [online]
Nesheim D.A. (2004) Who wants a buffalo? South dakota fenced herds
and experiments in management, 1901-1952, Thesis University of
Nebraska, [online] Available from: <http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/
historydiss/10>
Martin, G., (2001) Where the buffalo roam again. San Francisco
Chronicle
North Dakota Buffalo Association
80
Data for figures:
70
• Data for 1920: New York Times (1924) A Census of Buffaloes,
3/2/1924; Find Buffalo increasing 3/3/1924, quoted in Nesheim
(2004)
60
50
40
• Data for 1935: Derr J. (2006) The Ultimate genetic Survivor, The
Ecological Future of the North Americal Bison, [online] Available
from: <http://www.wcs.org/media/file/GENETICS.Derr.pdf>
30
20
10
00
90
20
19
80
19
70
60
19
50
19
40
19
30
19
19
20
19
10
00
19
19
18
90
0
Figure 1
• Data for 1999: Sell R.S., Bangsund D.A. & Leistritz F.L. (1999)
Economic Contribution of the Bison Industry to the North Dakota
Economy, Agricultural Economics Department, North Dakota State
University, Fargo [online], Available from: <http://www.ag.ndsu.
nodak.edu/carringt/bison/ impact.htm>
• Data for 2002: Hartwig and North Dakota Buffalo Association
Number of buffoloes in
North Dakota from 1850 to 2002
35000
30000
number of buffaloes
References:
US Census Bureau
90
25000
20000
10000
20
00
19
90
19
80
19
70
19
60
19
50
19
40
19
30
19
20
19
10
19
00
0
18
90
• U.S. Census Bureau
Are We Really
Misanthropes?
Dr William Gisby
15000
5000
Figure 2
Regarding rural exodus, a similar trend is evident
worldwide: people move from rural areas to urban
centres in search of better economic and social
conditions. Today, over half of the world’s population
are thought to live in urban areas. These “rural exodus
effects” are just one of many complex factors which
have to be taken into account in assessing the way in
which humans interact with their environment and
how the environment responds to changes in human
populations.
14
This interaction is dynamically determined not only by
growth and subsequent density, but also by regional
distribution, consumption, human activities, migration
patterns, affluence, age structure, and environmental
awareness, all of which vary from nation to nation.
for a sustainable future
Dr Gisby is a semi-retired
university tutor, who specialises
in ethics (Personal viewpoint).
Those of us who support the aims of Population
Matters are highly likely to find that those with a
different agenda accuse us of misanthropy. What
they tend to mean is that we have a general hatred
of, mistrust towards, or disdain for, our own species.
They accuse us of not liking the human race, which
is why they think that we want to see less of it. This
is an unfortunate misreading of our position because
it wrongly identifies our core motive for seeking a
sustainable level of population. It undeservedly
paints us as ill-intentioned villains, when we should
be applauded for our philanthropy.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
To support this claim, if we adopt the view that
philanthropy means a general love for, and concern
about, human kind in general, then as philanthropists
we are highly likely to want what’s best for people.
A reasonable extension of this point is that the core
aim of a philanthropist will be to reduce human
suffering. Now, if reducing suffering is our aim, we
should seek to align ourselves with a philosophical
school of thought known as Negative Utilitarianism.
Negative Utilitarians believe that the single most
effective way for a person to avoid suffering is for
that person not to come into existence. This is a
form of anti-natalism, the idea that being born is a
bad thing, since birth is our entry point into a life in
which we will always be at risk of suffering.
An appreciation
of Andrew
Ferguson
Martin Desvaux
Martin Desvaux is a retired
physicist, longstanding member
and past board member
of Population Matters.
Shortly after I joined the Optimum Population
Trust (OPT - our original and registered name) in
2004, Rosamund McDougall, one of the vice chairs,
encouraged me to contact Andrew Ferguson, the
editor of the OPT Journal. She suggested that we
would have common interests relating to energy,
power generation and usage, as well as to resource
conservation, and to how all these affected the
sustainability of human populations.
Andrew had been an airline pilot until his retirement.
He explained to me that watching the globe from 30,000
feet brought home to him just how crowded the planet
had become. Many Population Matters members will
be familiar with Andrew through his editorship of the
OPT Journal. I quickly discovered that he was more
than a compiler and editor. In April 2002 the 33-page
issue featured 16 articles, six of which were by him.
The following issue contained 40 pages and thereafter
the issue size settled down to 28-32 pages.
Andrew had an impressive list of academics on his
world-wide mailing list. Albert Bartlett [recently
deceased] of Colorado University, James Duguid,
Walter Youngquist (Geologist and author of
What clearly follows from this is that the practice of
birth control is to be embraced since this directly
prevents the coming into being of new people, and if
these (potential) new people aren’t created they can’t
suffer (or inflict suffering on others). So, in calling
for a responsible approach to human procreation,
supporters of Population Matters are very clearly
advocating a measure that is philanthropic since it
proactively reduces human suffering in the most
effective way possible. Our critics are consequently
wrong to label us as misanthropic. They merely
reveal their own misunderstanding.
Readers
interested in exploring these ideas further may like
to read David Benatar’s Better Never To Have Been
and Peter Singer’s Applied Ethics, where these
concepts are tackled much more rigorously.
Geodestinies), William Stanton, John Nunn,
Ted Trainer, David Pimentel, and many more,
contributed to OPT’s pages. A large part of his
in-depth reviews covered books and essays on
aspects of the growth of human population, and
the consequences for our finite planet to meet
its ever-increasing energy demands. His great
strengths were: a) reviewing the works of many
of the significant authors in the fields of ecology,
energy and demographic balance, and; b) slaying
by calculation the non-sequiturs and downright
fallacies propounded by those who maintained
that the earth can supply all our needs indefinitely,
and that there is no need to worr y about limiting
population growth.
His contributions to the Journal included over views
and critical reviews of books on demography,
renewable energy and ecological footprints, as
well as his own analyses of the effectiveness of
wind energy and other renewables. He backed up
his critiques with in-depth calculations. Several
of his essays dissected the ineffectiveness of
renewables (hydro-electric power, wind power,
wave power and solar) as a replacement for
fossil fuels and, in particular, because of the low
capacity factor due to the contrariness of wind,
the inadequacy of that particular source.
With Andrew’s well-earned retirement from editing
and contributing to the OPT Journal, Population
Matters will lose a unique and highly regarded
volunteer who has acted as a technical and
intellectual glue to keep all of us who are deeply
concerned with the population problem briefed and
up to date on the integral energy issues. Through
him, the OPT Journal has exposed many a red
herring as well as disseminated useful facts and
analyses to strengthen arguments supporting the
need for sensible and sustainable population levels.
for a sustainable future
15
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
The OPT Journal was always a good read. One of
its important side effects was that it could make
you angry, heightening the realisation that the
only way out of humankind’s current dilemma is,
somehow, to get politicians to wake up to the fact
An obituary of
Albert A. Bartlett
1923-2013
Walter Youngquist
Dr. Walter Youngquist is
a professor emeritus of
geology at the University
of Oregon and an eminent
authority on energy issues.
Dr. Albert A. Bartlett, Emeritus
Professor of Physics at the
University of Colorado, passed
away at his home in Boulder,
Colorado on September 7, 2013,
shortly after his 90th birthday.
16
for a sustainable future
that overpopulation is the key problem. Solve that,
and the rest will follow. Thank you, Andrew, for all
your vigilant, critical and well-informed efforts. You
will be sorely missed.
Through his lectures and writings, and most notably
in his celebrated presentation of ‘Arithmetic,
Population and Energy’, Dr. Bartlett pointed out that
the growth of human population and demands on
the Earth’s limited resources by even small growth
percentages rapidly escalate into very large and
unsustainable numbers. This lecture was presented
more than 1,700 times to such diverse audiences in
the United States as U.S. Congressmen, corporate
executives, school classes, university students,
professors and military groups, including the U.S. Air
Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado. He
also presented it in several other countries. Bartlett
recognized that most people do not understand the
ramifications of exponential growth and began his
lecture with the statement:
“The greatest shortcoming of the human race
is our inability to understand the exponential
function.” Although urged by many to incorporate
his ideas into a book, he never did so. However,
the University of Nebraska did gather many of his
writings in a book entitled ‘The Essential Exponential!
For the Future of our Planet’. His lecture was also
eventually published as a video for wide distribution
by the University of Colorado library.
Dr. Bartlett was especially concerned about the
popularly employed expression “sustainable growth”,
widely endorsed by Chambers of Commerce to
justify current economic practices. He stated that
the term “sustainable growth” is an oxymoron, and
emphasized the need to stop population growth in a
famous summary statement: “Can you think of any
problem in any area of human endeavour on any
scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term
solution is in any demonstrable way aided, assisted
or advanced by further increases in population,
locally, nationally or globally?” He also took on the
commonly expressed soothing expression made
by land and building developers of “smart growth”,
stating that “smart growth” and “dumb growth” both
had the same result, for continued growth of anything
in material terms is unsustainable. “Growth” is still
at the heart of nearly all political agendas and is
seized upon as the cure-all for stagnating economies,
growing welfare problems, and unemployment. In a
recent meeting of the G-20, the assemblage of the
world’s most industrialized nations, the summary
statement of recommendations mentioned growth
nine times and made no mention of population and
its demands on Earth’s finite resources.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Dr. Bartlett’s work and influence will extend
far beyond his lifetime. The logic of his simple
mathematical and common sense approach to
the most important problems facing mankind will
survive, and inevitably, will become apparent even
to the world’s political and economic leaders. Albert
A. Bartlett – a gentle man with a giant intellect. His
passing is a great loss to all concerned about the
future of the Earth, and its inhabitants.
Editor – Dr Bartlett’s video Arithmetic, Population
and Energy, is available on YouTube.
Review of The
World We Made
by Jonathon Porritt
Roger Martin
Roger Martin is the Chair of
Population Matters
I strongly recommend this new book by our
patron Jonathon Porritt, ‘The World We Made’.
It’s a retrospective review from 2050 of the first half of
our century; it is optimistic, presenting a challenge to
the habitual gloom of many of us. The basic scenario is
that things go downhill so far and fast from now on that,
following the Great Famine of 2025, Governments,
business and individuals are forced by riots and
the ‘Enough!’ movement into the radical reforms
needed to achieve a sustainable society. It’s strong
on population, of course, but it is also a wide ranging
anthology of policy changes that environmentalists
have long proposed, several of them new to me.
They include: ending tax havens and perverse
subsidies; an international financial transactions tax
and carbon tax; the rise of co-operatives and ‘Benefit
Corporations’ replacing today’s transnationals;
a ‘cap and prosper’ scheme for non-renewables;
giving full value to natural ecosystem services, so
reforesting many upland areas and ‘de-engineering
the Mississippi’; replacing GDP with Bhutan-style
Gross National Happiness i.e. quality of life rather than
quantity of stuff; reuse rather than recycling; eating
less meat and so on. The great religions help, adopting
a common set of values based on “Enough, live simply,
respect the Earth”; though sardonically, Pope Francis’
attempt to reverse ‘Humanae Vitae’ is defeated by
Vatican obstruction.
The book is also a compendium of emerging
technologies that might prove transformative, though
the problems of scale, and their energy implications,
are glossed over. Jonathon comes down against
nuclear power, and in favour of solar, bio-fuels, and
selective GM, among many others. Above all, it is
immensely readable, with a short and copiously
illustrated chapter on each issue. Narrated from the
point of view of its hypothetical and fictional ‘author’,
imagined as an idealistic teacher and a former ‘Earth
Corps’ volunteer born in 2000, it is written in a chatty
style. It’s an excellent antidote to the temptation just to
shout “We’re all doomed!”
Review of Mill
and Paternalism
by Gregory Claeys
Matthew Nayler
Matthew Nayler is a retired
City analyst, with an interest in
economic histor y and industrial
archaeology.
John Stuart Mill was the intellectual colossus of his
day, his prolific output including leading works on
logic, economics and political theory. Nowadays, Mill
is mostly remembered for On Liberty. Two genres
of Millite works can be identified. The first considers
what Mill might have made of various government
interventions in our daily lives. The second uses
Mill’s 33-volume Collected Works to trace his evolving
opinions and intellectual debts to contemporary
‘greats’, and the influence on Mill of his mistress for
twenty years (and wife for seven more), the esteemed
Harriet, and his precocious ‘mid-life’ crisis when he
realised there might be more to life than institutional
perfection.
Mill and Paternalism is firmly in this second genre,
broadening the discussion beyond On Liberty to
detail Mill’s Malthusianism. The book jacket’s puff
claims that overpopulation was “the problem which
most agitated Mill”. As Claeys demonstrates, a wider
reading of Mill shows his belief that we have a duty to
society not to harm it through overpopulation, hence
“no unlimited right of procreation existed”.
However, “Mill left no road open but persuasion
to attain these goals”, hoping that, by education,
example and persuasion, the past’s aristocratic
paternalism towards the poor would be replaced by a
democratic paternalism towards equality in the future
whereby “Population restraint involved the conscious
assumption by the working classes as well as women
generally of collective control over their own destiny”.
for a sustainable future
17
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Claeys has put the Malthus back into Mill and written
a book which can crossover from the ‘student’ market
to a wider ‘environmental’ readership. For, alongside
his Malthusianism, Mill was a knowledgeable amateur
botanist, defender of the commons, keen walker, and
advocate of wilderness as a place where humans can
better discover their true, deeper, selves. Mill’s ideas
can be found faintly in many of the better ‘green’ books
- Claeys shines a light on them.
Review of Handbook
for a Sustainable
Lifestyle
by Christine Rogenes
Max Kummerow
An interesting exploration for the rest of this century
will be how we can live more simply and have less
impact, while actually being healthier and happier.
This 27-page manual by a young Norwegian,
downloadable from the web address http://www.
iaccom.org/ outlines personal lifestyle choices for
people who want to be kinder to the planet. It’s a brief
and practical document, with a happy, fun-loving spirit,
which stimulates thinking and action on this crucial
topic. The manual covers recycling, re-using, driving
less, reducing population growth, electricity usage,
food, shopping choices, living a minimal consumption
lifestyle and becoming involved as an activist. The
mantra she suggests is, “No one can do everything,
but everyone can do something”.
It is becoming clearer to those who worry about the
future that no magic bullet exists, but that two of the
most important things are to reduce both population
and consumption. This handbook, to its credit,
mentions both, although it is mainly concerned with
individual consumption. The author also covers the
importance of influencing governments and working
together internationally. She recommends working
through activist organizations (like populationmatters.
org) and supporting green policies.
She asks readers to submit suggestions. The personal
lifestyle changes suggested in this Handbook will help
us with our saving the planet project. I hope and expect
that this handbook will get wide readership; it’s a good
example of what one motivated person can accomplish.
18
for a sustainable future
Review of Going
with Gabriel
by Bryan Islip
Ivan Cicin-Sain
Are there really too many of us? Are we all trying
to grab much more than the planet has to give?
Bryan Islip’s second novel is a thought-provoking tale
about ex-scientist cum musician Gabriel Nicholson,
about his friendships and lovers, but, most of all,
about the consequences of a significant and seemingly
irreversible process he helped unleash - a cruel but
kind intervention affecting everyone on the planet.
The subject-matter gets the reader thinking about
the consequences of over-population, non-sustainable
lifestyles and whether harsh realities necessitate nononsense/harsh solutions. Gabriel, whose character
may come across as slightly under-developed, seems
to have no long-term objectives apart from hiding
and anonymous living, and this may have detracted
from the drive and ‘build-up’ in the novel. However,
it is certainly a worthwhile read with later chapters
offering some real surprises.
Population matters
Kostadin Prodanov
Kostadin Prodanov is a
construction manager, and
self-defined environmentalist.
Population matters It is a simple truth,
And every apple tree
Bears finite fruit.
Mother Nature suffers
Without a vote or voice,
While more consuming people
Offer her no choice.
Some say “strength in numbers”,
And many do agree,
But having fewer people
Would surely save the trees.
Having many children
Will - I must advise,
Bring no life fulfilment
But sadly, Earth’s demise.
Population Matters Magazine - Issue 24
Letter from Gordon Birch
and Anne Scholes
Fellow member Gordon Birch and his companion
Anne Scholes are planning a transcontinental Land
Rover trip to study and film population planning
and contraceptive provision. They hope to visit
France, Turkey, India, Bhutan and China, finishing
in Shanghai. Gordon will be describing his project
in the next edition of the magazine, but if you would
like to discuss it with him, especially if you think
you might be able to offer some sponsorship, he or
Anne would be happy to hear from you. Gordon can
be reached on 0789 089 7639, whilst Anne’s email
address is [email protected]
Letter from Kostadin
Prodanov
I want to share an idea with you that may prove
worthwhile. It came to me when I returned a book
to the local library. It was late afternoon, the library
was about to close, and I forgot my Population
Matters bookmark, inside the book. On the way
home, I reflected on my mistake and decided that
this may be successful and unobtrusive way to
spread the word. I have more of those bookmarks
that I am going to ‘’forget’’ in books that I borrow. A
bookmark, circulated within the community in this
inconspicuous way, may prove as successful as town
centre stands.
Editor: Good idea, Kostadin. I have been leaving
them on library tables in the hope that many readers
and library staff will see them. Like you, I think our
bookmarks are our quiet co-workers!
Population Matters
Festive Season’s
Greeting Card
Competition 2014
Help us design our official
card for the 2014 festive
season!
How it works
1. Anyone is eligible to take part.
2. Register for the competition by sending an email
to [email protected] or by writing
to Festive Season Greeting Card Competition,
Population Matters, 135-137 Station Road, London
E4 6AG, agreeing to our conditions of entry and
using your full name.
3. Produce a design. You can use photographs,
drawings or just contribute an idea.
4. You can submit as many designs as you like.
5. If you are using images from somewhere else,
please provide full details of the source.
6. The winner or winners will be acknowledged on
the card and in the newsletter and will receive a
year’s membership of Population Matters or the
cash equivalent (£25) a pack of Population Matters
promotional items and a certificate. Please say
whether you are small, medium, large or extra
large for the t-shirt.
Once you have completed your design, send it in a
second email to [email protected] or
by post to Festive Season Greeting Card Competition,
Population Matters, 135-137 Station Road, London E4
6AG with your full name by 31st May 2014.
That’s it!
For full conditions of entry, see our website.
Promotional items
See our website for images and to check availability.
Promotional pack (one of
almost everything)
Comprises: one PM pen; one OPT badge; one
PM badge; one Attenborough bookmark; one
Attenborough card; one of each of our leaflets,
one pack of Christmas cards; one self-cling/
window sticker; one set of small stickers; one set
of large stickers; and one t-shirt (specify size - S,
M, L, XL) - £10
BADGES AND PENS
Population Matters plastic pen – 50p; OPT Stop at
Two enamel badge – 40p; Population Matters tin
badge - 30p; one of each - £1
CARDS AND LEAFLETS
Attenborough bookmarks - ten for 50p or fifty for
£2; Attenborough pocket cards - free; Attenborough
A5 flyer - free; Attenborough A4 folded leaflet free; Santa Claus Christmas Cards pack of ten with
envelopes – to clear £1.50 incl. p&p if ordered alone
or £1 if part of another order.
for a sustainable future
19
STICKERS
A4 sheet of 10 large coloured envelope stickers
- 70p per sheet; A4 sheet of 24 small envelope
stickers for normal mail – 60p per sheet; self-cling/
window stickers – free
Posters
A4 size - £1; A3 size - £2; A1 size Attenborough £3; Data disc with approx. fifty posters, a selection
of Powerpoint slides and academic studies - £3.
Customise a poster for your local needs at no extra
cost – ask Edmund Davey.
Briefing sheets
01 Climate change and population; 02 Desertification
and migration; 03 A population-based climate
strategy; 04 The sustainability of human populations;
05 What population policy should we have?; 06 Why
the UK needs a population policy; 07 Is there a “right”
to have children?; 08 The green gains from smaller
families; 09 Population, environment, migration;
10 Ethical implications of population growth; 11
Climate change and population – all 10p each or
downloadable free from the website. Included in the
data disk above.
Clothing
T-shirts of quality cotton, white with blue print,
front: logo and ‘For a sustainable future’; back: ‘A
smaller family is a sustainable family’ and website
address. Sizes S, M, L or XL – to clear £6 each.
Order the T-shirts from Edmund Davey.
NEW - Russell cotton/ polyester sweatshirts
and Result polyester fleeces with the Population
Matters logo embroidered on the left chest.
Sweatshirts are available in black or light grey,
sizes S (36/38), M (38/40), L (40/42), XL (42/44)
and XXL (44/46). The heavyweight full-zip fleeces
are available in black, burgundy, forest green or
charcoal, sizes S (38), M (41), L (44) and XL (47).
Black garments have the logo as blue text on a
white disc, others as white text on a blue disc.
Sweatshirts are priced at £20 + £3P&P; fleeces
at £25 + £3P&P. Please make cheques payable to
Population Matters. For further details, and to
check current stock availability, please contact
Charlie at: [email protected] or tel:
01594 810501. Orders should be sent to Charlie
Davies, 5 Trafalgar Mews, Broadwell, Coleford,
Gloucestershire GL16 7RZ.
ORDERING
For deliver y within the UK, add £2 for postage
and packing unless other wise stated.
For
deliver y outside the UK, please ask for a quote for
postage and packing. Your order should include:
a deliver y address, a day time telephone number,
quantity per item, itemised costs and a cheque for
the total amount made out to Population Matters.
Items may be despatched in several packages.
Allow ten working days for deliver y. Orders
should be sent to: Edmund Davey, 68 Croxall
Road,Tamworth B79 9JE Enquiries: Edmund.
[email protected] 01827 383437.
for a
sustainable
future
Produced by Population Matters, 135-137 Station Road, London E4 6AG UK Registered charity 1114109