Below  is the final update sent to GPSO participants. Any future updates concerning GPSO will appear on this blog.

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March 4, 2009

Dear GPSO participants:

Just a note to mark the completion of the Global Population Speak Out.

First, let me thank you for your willingness and your efforts last month to make a difference concerning a pivotal issue. A wide array of causes compete for our attention and support, but how many will ultimately have a major influence on the course of history? Our numbers will. They already have.

Expectations exceeded

GPSO exceeded initial expectations. We quickly passed the original goal of 50 pledgers, with a final total of 216. Of those, something approaching half have reported in on their efforts. Several pledgers have let me know they’ll report in soon. Others no doubt encountered unavoidable obstacles.

Your efforts ranged from articles to blog posts, comments on news sites and public fora, letters to the editor, websites, a video, talks, media interviews, and more. For anyone looking for inspiration or ways to speak out, the “efforts” page should provide lots of ideas.

Impact?

Whatever impact GPSO has had will surely remain subject to conjecture. Time will tell to what degree we managed to weaken the population taboo and make the subject made easier to broach in public discussion.

Even before GPSO, it was my impression that population issues were appearing a bit more often in the media. In the last year, increased awareness of of environmental problems, the spike in oil prices, reports of food shortages, and of course the current economic downturn all combined, it seems, to nudge population into the news slightly more often. GPSO added to the momentum. The coming months should reveal whether it continues or fades.

Post-GPSO

I hope you’ll do what you can to keep the momentum going. Your efforts have made it a little easier for others to follow your lead. Don’t hesitate to encourage them to do so! Urge friends and associates to speak out on population. And please continue your own efforts, speaking out loudly and often. Only if population matters becomes a regular news item, a familiar part of the public discussion, will humanity have a real chance to negotiate the greatest challenge we face. There is more to it, of course, than population. But we have no chance of success unless we address our numbers.

Another GPSO?

I hope to see GPSO repeated in the future on a larger scale. I will not be involved in the administrative work. Even on the small scale involved this time, it is more than I would want to take on again. But I will soon investigate other possibilities. It may be that GPSO will have a life beyond 2009.

Thanks again to everyone who pledged and followed through with public efforts to speak out. A special thanks as well to those pledgers who went beyond the requested commitment, making multiple efforts and sending suggestions and resources. Your extra energies were appreciated!

Best regards,

John