ADDED in FEBRUARY 2024
Isaac Asimov on OVERPOPULATION (short film, 8 min)
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a professor of biochemistry at Boston University, but is better known to the general public as a science fiction writer. As a writer he wrote over 500 books, not only science fiction, but also on popular science, history, astronomy, mathematics, biblical exegesis and literary criticism. As this video shows, he was an able communicator, expressing his views with clarity and in a very direct way.
ADDED in MARCH 2023
Human Population Through Time, a 6 min FILM from the American Museum of Natural History
It took 200,000 years for our human population to reach 1 billion—and only 200 years to reach 7 billion. But growth has begun slowing, as women have fewer babies on average. When will our global population peak? And how can we minimize our impact on Earth’s resources, even as we approach 11 billion?
Population Conversation Symposium, Kilifi, Kenya – March 2022
In March 2022, Population Matters Director Robin Maynard attended the Population Conversation Symposium in Kilifi, Kenya. This key event, organised by local public health consultancy WellSense and supported by PM, brought together diverse stakeholders to discuss the wide-ranging impacts of rapid population growth and to identify the actions needed to mainstream the crucial ‘population conversation’. It is 16 minutes and you can view it by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebRgReivlH0
Sir David Attenborough: the 2011 RSA President’s Lecture In this lecture, introduced by the Duke of Edinburgh, Sir David discusses the effect of human numbers on the planet. It is on http://tinyurl.com/ohtbd7c
Mother: Caring for 7 Billion: This very important film makes clear the relationship of population growth and our most pressing social and environmental problems. It features Beth, who is a member of a family of twelve, who having two children herself decided that her mothering instincts should henceforth be fulfilled by adoption. A child’s rights advocate, she travels to discover how population growth is impacting people in the world. It has won several awards, including a Best Social Issue Documentary in the Atlanta Docufest.
It may be seen on line on https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mother , or purchased through suppliers such as Amazon. It is about an hour and seven minutes in length, and would be ideal to introduce the subject to a discussion group
World Population History. Also known as the Dot Video, it shows the growth of population over the last 2000 years through dots that light up on a world map. For a powerful demonstration of the way growth has accelerated, you should watch this. http://worldpopulationhistory.org/#watch-video
Jonathan Porritt on population. This very clear discussion by Jonathan about the problems of getting NGOs to talk about population: something that all of us in population are concerned about. Incidentally, the person in the chair at this lecture is Roger Martin, who spoke to Friends at BYMG at Bath in 2014 http://tinyurl.com/pko9atc
Empty Handed: responding to the demand for contraceptives. This tells the story of women’s lack of access to reproductive health supplies in sub-Saharan Africa, and its impact on their lives. The film documents the challenges at each level of the supply chain and identifies key areas for improvement. http://tinyurl.com/js82xyb
The Eighth Billion, The exponential nature of population growth shapes life on earth almost as much as gravity or respiration. But because it is so pervasive, it often goes unseen. One hour from now, earth will show a net increase of more than 9,000 humans, each one needing adequate food, water, shelter, clothing, education, and eventually jobs, not to mention realistic dreams of a better life for themselves and for their children… and on it goes. https://vimeo.com/102369639
Sarah Brown, ex head of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies (US), has strong words for the inane arguments of politicians, ideologues and others in the US. http://tinyurl.com/h524pgx
One Planet, One Child This excellent video from World Population Balance makes the case for single child families. This is on http://tinyurl.com/jqexgzq
‘I hear a lot about it, but not like this’ Three young people are startled by the consequences of population growth. This is directed at young people in a sympathetic manner. It is on https://tinyurl.com/57kcdnkv