April 2010's Edition of
POPULATION ONLINE
Brings you stories on...

• Population Institute Prepares for Earth Day
  In observance of the 40th Earth Day, the Population Institute this month launched a public education campaign that focuses on the challenges that population growth poses to the planet. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, world population has almost doubled. In 1970, world population was 3.7 billion. Today, it is 6.8 billion, an 84% increase. The United Nations projects that world population will reach 9.2 billion my mid-century, even if birth rates continue to decline. As part of its education campaign, the Population Institute joined other organizations in operating an Earth Day booth on the on the National Mall.
• Population Institute Unveils Earth Day Quiz
  As part of its observance of Earth Day 2010, the Population Institute today unveiled this month its 40th Earth Day Population Quiz. The quiz, which was disseminated to Capitol Hill and was be featured at an Earth Day exhibit on the National Mall, highlights the challenges posed by population growth.
• Mother Jones Asks "Who's to Blame for the Population Crisis?"
  The cover story of the May-June issue of Mother Jones {"Who's to Blame for the Population Crisis?"] asks the provocative question, "What unites the Vatican, lefties, conservatives, environmentalists, and scientists in a conspiracy of silence?" The answer, of course, is population. Written by Julia Whitty, the feature story ["The Last Taboo"], looks at India and the challenges posed by population density and growth, and concludes that it's time to lift the taboo against speaking about population. She suggests that women's empowerment and education, in addition to family planning, are needed to deal with the crisis.
• Washington Post Reviews Three New Books for Earth Day
  Just in time for Earth Day, the Washington Post book section this month reviewed three new books that offer a grim environmental assessment. The books by Heather Rogers, Bill McKibben, and Paul Collier, suggests that human activity is doing irreparable harm to the environment and the human prospect. Thomas Hayden, the reviewer, criticizes the authors, noting that, "Bizarrely, none of these authors discuss population growth in any kind of depth, if at all." Hayden goes on to say, "Condoms and birth control won't solve all our environmental and economic problems. But they can make almost every one we have substantially easier to deal with."
• Yemen and Child Marriage
  A bill to ban child marriage in Yemen is attracting international controversy. In Yemen roughly half of all girls are married before age 18, with some girls in rural areas married at half that age. The proposed law, which would ban the marriage of girls under the age of 17, has aroused opposition from powerful Islamic leaders who have blocked the bill, sending it back to parliament's constitutional committee for review after finding it un-Islamic. Yemen, however, is coming under mounting international pressure. Just this month a 13 year old Yemeni girl made headlines when she bled to death after being tied down and forced to have sex with her 23 year old husband. While the government has enough votes to pass the law, government officials are unwilling to challenge the conservative tribal leaders that govern Yemen's rural areas fearing war between the governing General People's Congress and the religious Islah party. A final decision on the legislation is expected at the end of this month.
• Maternal Mortality Research in The Lancet
  This month, the Lancet released a report indicating that the global maternal mortality rate (the rate in which women dies during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period) has fallen about 40 percent since 1980. The global rate in 2008 was 251 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, with the highest being in Afghanistan and dramatic reductions occurring in India, China, Brazil, and Egypt. However, this is still far from where we need to be. The U.S. ranks 41st in the world for maternal deaths with a rate of 17, a rate much higher than Italy at 4. According to an article in the Huffington Post by Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, "The decrease in the maternal mortality rate does not justify a decrease in attention, urgency, or funding. Rather, it requires a strategy that meets the needs of those it affects."