by Nena Carpenter

Created on: March 05, 2009

The issues of overpopulation and overconsumption are at the heart of our global environmental crisis. Now, more than ever, controversial topics such as abortion and birth control are being discussed within a context of environmental politics rather than as the domain of religious doctrine and morality. Experts are now seriously considering the possibility of unnecessary wars, resulting in nuclear annihilation, as the human species fails to find solutions to the real problem but continue to compete for rapidly dwindling resources.

There is a big push to provide birth control and family planning education to developing nations such as Nepal, The Philippines, Botswana and Kenya. President Obama has reversed the U.S. policy prohibiting the allocation of funds to family planning organizations that offer abortion and/or pro-choice counseling services. He has also announced his intention to begin a discussion about family planning issues and possible solutions at home, as well as abroad. Scott Porter, of Swan's Commentary, is emphasizing the importance of comprehensive sex education in schools. This is nothing new but Porter proposes that it be done in a way that not only highlights the disadvantages of teen pregnancy and parenthood but also focuses on how unplanned births affect us globally. Porter also suggests basic economics and sex education courses as prerequisites to obtaining marriage licenses.

While sex education, birth control allocation, abortion and the empowerment of women are primary topics of conversation regarding developing nations, overconsumption is of primary concern in the developed world (particularly in the U.S.). As stated in the film, The Ecological Footprint, the average American occupies 23.5 acres of space in environmental terms. This is more than double the average of any other developed nation. Although experts in Economics and Environmental Studies have identified this as a major problem, politicians and private industry are selling The American Dream. The whole consumer ideology that post World War II American culture was built on is in direct opposition to the possible solutions.

It is definitely encouraging that there is a renewed interest in providing family planning education and birth control to those areas of the world where overpopulation and poverty go hand in hand. The fact that women in those areas are asking for these options is even more encouraging. The problem I see is that more importance is being placed on reducing population

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