"Population: Benefits of Slowing the Growth"

Join us at Augsburg College as we celebrate our many successes in raising population awareness in the Midwest. Become current on the global situation. We are thrilled that long-time friend, David Pimentel, Cornell University, will be joining us. David is a highly informed and strong speaker. You will not want to miss him! He is one of the most informed people in the country regarding population growth and its impact on food supply and the environment. Sharing the spotlight this year will be Marilyn Hempel, Executive Director of the Population Coalition. We are tremendously fortunate that both will be with us in October.

Come to Augsburg College for a highly informative and energizing day. Please bring your friends. This conference will have much to offer everyone. Those already aware and concerned will learn more: the population issue will be discussed in detail. For those who do not yet believe population growth is a valid concern: come let the facts convince you.

"Population: Benefits of Slowing the Growth" will run from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm in the Christensen Center at Augsburg College. Parking will be readily available on the campus. We invite you to mark your calendar now. This will be an exciting event as we celebrate, learn and set our course for the coming year.

Enclosed is a reservation form for your convenience. Join us October 21st!

David Pimentel, one of the best-known experts in the world on population growth, agricultural production and environmental impact, will keynote our conference at Augsburg College on October 21st. David has written over 500 scientific publications, including 21 books. He holds appointments in three Departments at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York: Entomology, Population Ecology, and Natural Resources.

His research spans the fields of basic population ecology, ecological and economic aspects of pest control, biological control, biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, land and water conservation, natural resource management, and environmental policy. He has served on many national and government committees including the National Academy of Sciences; President's Science Advisory Council; U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare; Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress; and the U.S. State Department.

Although his name is familiar to some, many people know about his ground-breaking research during recent years through news reports covering his work. For example, newspapers throughout the country - including many in Minnesota - have often carried articles about his presentations at the annual meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Recent articles include: "Will Limits of the Earth's Resources Control Human Numbers?", published in "Environment, Development and Sustainability", 1999, and "Ecology of Increasing Disease: Population growth and environmental degradation", published in "BioScience", 1998.

Along with being the great scholar that he is, David is an inspiring activist on the population growth/stabilization issue. For several years he has been leading an initiative, The U.S. Population Policy Project, to help bring public attention in this country to this nation's tremendous population growth problem.

It is doubtful that you will ever meet a more knowledgeable or more passionate expert about the population issue than David. October 21st will be your "golden opportunity" to meet and hear him. Mark your calendar now. Send in your reservation . And join us for this most exciting event!

Marilyn Hempel is known around the world for her strong leadership and activism on population and sustainability issues. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Pop!ulation Coalition, a grassroots group dedicated to working on a broad spectrum of population issues, and she edits its highly acclaimed newsletter, the Pop!ulation Press. A committed environmentalist, she has embraced the slogan "no matter what your cause, it's a lost cause without population stabilization."

Having lived and worked in developing nations and studied population issues for many years, Marilyn believes that the interactive problems of overconsumption and overpopulation must be addressed in industrial and developing nations alike. Presently, she is working to implement the Population Coalition's two nationwide campaigns: A World of Six Billion and Building Sustainable Communities.

Since participating in the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, September 1994, she has given more than 100 speeches about population issues and the role of Americans in implementing population programs to organizations throughout the United States. In 1995 she attended the United Nations International Conference on Women in Beijing and actively supports empowerment of women as a key factor in worldwide population stabilization.

Marilyn serves on the Board of Directors of the Population Institute based in Washington, D.C. She also served on the Board of Zero Population Growth and the National Planning Committee of the President's Council on Sustainable Development.

Prior to these positions, she was the President of the League of Women Voters (LWV) Southern California Environmental Action Committee (ENACT). She has edited newsletters and contributed articles for both ENACT and other environmental organizations. She continues her League work in a volunteer capacity as the LWV California Growth Management Director.

Marilyn grew up in East Africa, where her father was Chief of the Social Research Section of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. She is a former high school and college teacher, specializing in ceramics and art history. She holds an M.A. from the Claremont Graduate University, an Ed.Cert. from McGill University, and a B.A. from Pitzer College.

by Marilyn Hempel

The hardest task is to understand--both mentally and emotionally--and act upon the fact that the world is shared with many others. Our actions affect the lives of these others, even if they live far away.

I love coral reefs, and the rainbow of splendid creatures who inhabit them. I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend time with these beings who live in a world far older than ours. Their home, the coral reef, is declining and dying because of global warming.

The causes of that warming can be traced to my home, where the energy from fossil fuels (mostly gas, oil and coal) provides endless comfort and convenience. Every time I drive my car, turn up the heat, and take a long hot shower, I contribute to the destruction of the ocean kingdoms I love so much. Even though I know all this, it's hard to be mindful of it, and make daily decisions that reflect that mindfulness.

We don't do a good job of recognizing root causes and long-term effects: of recognizing the interconnectedness of our choices with other lives on Earth. For example, as the price of gasoline has risen in recent months, I have heard no mention on TV news of the direct relationship between gas guzzling cars and climate change...or dying reefs. I have heard no mention of the subsidies that give us artificially low prices and encourage our overconsumption.

This year's Earth Day focus on global warming gives us a chance to understand that our daily decisions matter--and a chance to resolve anew to have compassion for the lives of people, plants, and animals affected by our choices.

From Pop!ulation Press. Marilyn Hempel , editor

The World Population Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation has provided a significant grant to World Population Balance to support our mission of raising awareness among Minnesota residents as to the resource, conservation, social and political effects of world population growth. We are tremendously excited and energized by this support.

As a result, we are able to expand and broaden our activities. In addition, we have several projects in development, and this grant makes it possible to move forward on these.

We deeply appreciate this generous financial support and the great opportunities it provides.

Please help us publicize "Population: Benefits of Slowing the Growth". One of our goals is to announce the conference in every community in Minnesota. To accomplish this, we need your help. Please take a copy of this newsletter to your local radio, television and newspaper offices. Ask them to promote our conference.

Also, inquire if they are interested in additional information or an interview with a staff member. Call us with their name, and we will be pleased to carry on from there. We have done dozens of media interviews throughout the region and would be delighted to do some in your community, as well.

Further, if you are a member of an organization that publishes a newsletter, please give your editor a copy of this newsletter and ask them to include information in their next issue. Since time is of the essence and deadlines are fast approaching, we greatly appreciate your efforts on behalf of population stabilization.

Are you concerned about population growth/stabilization? Would you be interested in a paid position to work on the issue? We need a part-time office person so our speakers can spend more time on presentations and outreach.

For more information or if you know of someone who might be interested, please call David Paxson at 612-869-1640. Make a meaningful difference. Work on a global issue that really matters!

In order to expand our scope and effectiveness we need several things:

• Computer, Macintosh Power Mac (Office)
• Computer monitor, SVGA type (Office)
• Laptop computer, either Mac or PC (Presentations and trips)

Also very helpful would be:

• Computer Hard Drive -- SCSI, prefer 1 Gig or greater; either external or internal (Office)
• Slide Projector -- prefer Kodak or compatible (Presentations)
• Kodak carousel slide trays (Presentations)
• Kodak projector remote control and/or extension cords (Presentations)
• Metronome (150 beats per minute demonstrates how rapidly human population is increasing, net gain!) (Presentations)
• Digital camera (Trips and presentations)
• Powerpoint projector (Presentations)

If you have or know where we might obtain any of these items, please call David Paxson at 612-869-1640. World Population Balance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; your donation(s) of equipment are tax-deductible, as allowed by law.

Thank you very much.

In May, two Board members of World Population Balance had a private meeting with Dr. Jane Goodall during her visit in Minnesota. Alan Anderson and David Paxson met and discussed the critical importance of raising population awareness in the United States. It was most heartening to hear Dr. Goodall recount her deepening concerns about population growth and stabilization. She first voiced this concern to the world several decades ago.

by Frank Babka

How time flies. It's already been over a year and a half since I joined World Population Balance as a full-time volunteer! School presentations began in April of 1999, after several months of orientation on population and related issues. Since then I have spoken to over 13,000 students in classes of over 200 teachers at about 70 schools in the Upper Midwest. Many days I talk to five to seven classes that range from 10 to 100 students.

Both the schools and students have been highly diverse. They have included inner city, suburban and small-town. I have also done programs in alternative schools for special needs students and in summer school for students who are repeating classes or catching up on credits.

Within every school there is a broad range of students with different interests and ability levels, similar to every group of people from the "general public". In addition to students, I have also presented to other groups, including at churches, service clubs and hobby groups.

My primary focus as a speaker is to convince people that population growth is one of the most serious - if not the primary - problem in the world, the nation, the state, and their community. All these places are being affected by increasing human numbers. My three main concerns are: (1) the quality of human life, (2) the welfare of plant and animal species, and (3) maintaining the planet's other vital resources. I continue to use a wide variety of audio-visual materials to help reinforce major points. In addition, I read constantly from a wide variety of media to stay current on population, environmental, and health-related issues.

These speaking engagements have been enjoyable as well as sometimes wearying. However, I believe they give young people valuable new perspectives on the world's problems and encourage them to find out more about important world issues. It is our view at World Population Balance that education on population and environmental issues is of paramount importance. Simply put, education is where it all must begin.

Frank Babka is Public Educator for World Population Balance