Here is the letter sent to potential GPSO participants. It began going out in October, 2008.
Invitation to join a historic gathering of voices
Dear Friend and Colleague,
We invite you to be a part of the Global Population Speak Out (GPSO). It’s a simple idea in response to humanity’s greatest challenge. You are one of a group of important voices we believe can make a difference.
What this is about
Our global ecological plight continues to worsen. A recent WWF Living Planet Report suggests that in “a moderate business-as-usual scenario… exhaustion of ecological assets and large-scale ecosystem collapse become increasingly likely.”
Many of us agree that we are, in fact, well into overshoot of the planet’s capacity to sustain us. Arguably, global ecological collapse is already underway. The progression of the Sixth Mass Extinction, climate change, and an array of other severe, interrelated problems threaten enormous numbers of lives, human and otherwise.
Coverage is lacking
Media coverage of the problem is sorely lacking. Particularly underreported is the fundamental link between the size and growth of the human population and environmental degradation. It is no comfort that the rate of global population growth has slowed in recent years; both our sheer numbers and the scale of our activity are already far beyond Earth’s limits. [1]
We must act. Change does not spring from silence; without getting overpopulation to the center of the public discussion, we have no chance to end the global environmental crisis.
It’s hardly surprising, though, that overpopulation is barely discussed. The media are generally pro-growth, and public calls to address overpopulation often meet criticism and resistance from groups with interests in continued growth. [2] Writers and commentators fear such groups trying to discredit them. Is it any wonder so few want to discuss population issues under those conditions?
Power in numbers
But what if a large number of authoritative voices, many of whom may not have emphasized the topic previously, were to speak up all at once? Opponents can’t discredit everyone simultaneously! A unified chorus of calls from new voices to make a top priority of humane action to address overpopulation could help break down the decades-long barrier to public discussion of the subject. It could transform the public conversation and inspire needed policy and programs.
How GPSO works
With that in mind, we urge you to join the gathering of voices in GPSO. We invite you merely to pledge, during the month of February, 2009, to speak out publicly in some way on the problem of the size and growth of the human population. Only if we receive at least 50 pledges — and we anticipate more — will we ask that you honor your commitment. With 50 or more pledges GPSO will officially happen! We can therefore assure you that you will be speaking out in plenty of good company worldwide. We will let you know when we’ve passed the 50 mark. [Update: We now have well over 100 pledges. Let's keep going!]
We’ve created a website to document the event:
Who will accompany you in speaking out during the GPSO? We are asking for pledges worldwide from noted scientists and scholars, environmental, science, and social policy writers, editors, and activists, staff and advisers to environmental NGOs, politicians, and public figures of particular prominence. (Please see the partial list below.) Many will be addressing the topic for the first time. Others have previously made strong statements, and we hope to hear more from them during GPSO. Only a few are widely associated with the subject of overpopulation; our hope is to bring a chorus of new (or returning) voices to the issue. As a part of this group you can make a positive impact which will echo for generations to come.
How can you speak up? It depends on your resources and preferences. You might write a letter to the editor of a newspaper or large scientific journal, submit a brief article to a well known publication, contact a radio or TV station for an interview, delegate to a staff member a project to publicize the population issue, or even hold a press conference. Be creative while considering how you might reach the most people (or the most influential people!). The GPSO website contains some talking points and materials you may find helpful in formulating your message.
We’ll need two simple replies from you:
- To make the pledge, please reply to this email with the phrase, “I pledge.” The website will include a list of participants. (Please include your title and any details to help us in listing your name.)
- When you do speak out, please send us a link, description, or other indication of what you did along with your name and title. We’ll collect these to create a page documenting the group’s efforts! Our email address is GlobalPopulationSpeakOut -at- Gmail -dot- com
Leading up to GPSO, we’ll submit press releases and articles on the event to major news outlets.
Please join us. Your speaking out will pave the way for others, helping to weaken the taboo against public mention of this pivotal issue. After February, the global discussion of overpopulation might take place a little more easily.
We look forward to hearing from you!
To pledge, simply go to the contact page to email your pledge.
Signed,
Jack Alpert, Ph.D., Director-SKIL Stanford Knowledge Integration Laboratory
Yves Bajard, D.Sc. (Earth Sciences), President, Networking for a Common Future in Sustainability Society
Albert A. Bartlett, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Physics, Author, University of Colorado
Joe Bish, Executive Director, New England Coalition for Sustainable Population
William R. Catton, Jr., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Author, Washington State University
Maria Luisa Cohen, Environmental activist, Founder and President of the Assisi Nature Council, Association for Environmental Education and Ethics, Italy
Gretchen C. Daily, Ph.D., Department of Biology and Woods Institute for the Environment, Author, Stanford University
J. Emmett Duffy, Ph.D., Professor of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary
Anne H. Ehrlich, Sr. Research Scientist, Author, Stanford University
Paul R. Ehrlich, Ph.D., Bing Professor of Population Studies, President, Center for Conservation Biology, Author, Department of Biology, Stanford University,
John Feeney, Ph.D., Environmental Writer
Lars Gamfeldt, Ph.D., Researcher, Department of Marine Ecology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Dave Gardner, Producer/Director of the Growthbusters Documentary Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
Brishen Hoff, President, Biodiversity First
Brian McGavin, Author, Member Optimum Population Trust, UK
Jeffrey K. McKee, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, Author, Ohio State University
Dennis Meadows, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Systems Policy and Social Science Research, Author, University of New Hampshire
Tim Murray, Vice President, Biodiversity First
David Narver, Ph.D., Former Federal Fisheries Research Scientist, Retired Directer of Fisheries, British Columbia, Canada
David Paxson, President, World Population Balance
David Pimentel, Ph.D., Professor of Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Author, Cornell University
Eric Rimmer, Population Campaigner, Optimum Population Trust, UK
Eugene Rosa, Ph.D., Edward R. Meyer Professor of Natural Resource & Environmental Policy, Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, Author, Washington State University
William Ryerson, President, Population Media Center
Peter Salonius, Research Scientist, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Lorna Salzman, Environmental Author and Activist, Former Candidate for U.S. Green Party Presidential Nomination
Rick Shea, Biodiversity Activist, British Columbia, Canada
J. Kenneth Smail, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Kenyon College
Emily Spence, Environmental and Social Policy Writer
Harold Welch, Ph.D. (Ecology), Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Retired)
George Wuerthner, Author, Ecological Projects Director, Foundation for Deep Ecology
Richard York, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon
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Added Jan. 31, 2009:
1. While population size multiplies with per capita resource consumption to dictate total consumption, the emphasis here is on our sheer numbers because that is the factor currently shackled by a taboo. Moreover, while the problem of per capita consumption is widely understood, recognition that our numbers themselves have passed the limits of sustainability, regardless of levels of per capita consumption, is less widespread. For an article detailing the issue, click here.
Added Nov. 6, 2008:
2. One of the historical roots of the taboo against public discussion of overpopulation involves understandable concern about some past human rights abuses carried out in the name of “population control.” (There were reports in the mid-1970s, for example, of forced sterilizations in some states in India.)
Many of the roots, however, reflect disingenuous, sometimes politically motivated distortions leading, for example, to denials of the population-environment link. In all cases the result has been a deliberate suppression of discussion of this crucial environmental issue. We urge instead open, intellectually honest discussion, repudiating abuses and asserting our respect for human rights. We note that nowhere are human rights more a concern than in the effort to avert the cataclysm for humanity portended by signs of global ecological collapse.
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Partial list of people invited to participate in GPSO:
Editor at E/The Environmental Magazine Brita Belli, founder and President of the Earth Policy Institute Lester Brown, United States President Jimmy Carter, Italy’s Director General of the Nature Protection Directorate Aldo Cosentino, ecological economist Robert Costanza, petroleum geologist Kenneth S. Deffeyes, anthropologist Jared Diamond, microsoft chairman Bill Gates, Grist founder Chip Giller, primatologist Jane Goodall, United States Vice President Al Gore, Joint Secretary to the Government of India with the Ministry of Environment & Forests A.K. Goyal, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute Brian Halweil, climate scientist James Hansen, African Academy of Sciences President Mohamed H.A. Hassan, Harvard professor of environmental policy John Holdren, theoretical physicist and author Michio Kaku, author and social critic James Howard Kunstler, environmental journalist Stephen Leahy, anthropologist Richard Leakey, environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben, author and professor of environmental journalism Michael Pollan, botanist and environmentalist Peter Raven, Director of the Program in African Studies at Princeton University Daniel I. Rubenstein, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, environmentalist and author David Suzuki, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint Mathis Wackernagel, Earth Island Journal editor Audrey Webb, and Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson.
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GPSO is organized by John Feeney with endorsement and help from the signers listed above.
