Population Institute

The Population Institute is a charity based in Washington, D.C., United States.

Global Population Speak Out is its special project. Founded by John Feeney, PhD, an ecological writer and activist based in Boulder, Colorado, United States, the GPSO project is designed specifically to increase public discussion of human population as a fundamental variable in the human struggle to achieve a sustainable living scenario with our planet.

The project has a basic structure. A letter of inquiry, explaining the project's mission receives the endorsement of a specially selected group of high-profile scientists, activists and celebrities. Over the years, endorsers have included famous scientists such as Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University, and Dennis Meadows, Professor Emeritus of Systems Policy and Social Science Research, University of New Hampshire.

This letter is then distributed to individuals thought likely to have an interest in human population dynamics. The recipients are asked to make a personal pledge to publicly speak out at some point during the month of February on the size and growth of human population. Scientists, representatives of environmental NGO’s, science writers and activists, along with ordinary concerned citizens constitute the community of pledgers.

Pledgers also commit to reporting their project activities back to the Global Population Speak Out coordinator. These reports are then listed on the GPSO website.

Background

Dr. Feeney conceived of the GPSO idea in 2008 and organized and managed the first Global Population Speak Out in February 2009. He subsequently arranged for the GPSO franchise, and future GPSO activities, to be managed by the Population Institute, Washington D.C.

GPSO 2011

GPSO 2011 maintained the number of project endorsers at 50. There were 24 women and 26 men, who represented 16 nations, including: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, Uganda, UK, and the USA. The number of Pledgers increased from 386 in 2010 to 1,037 in 2011. Overall, GPSO 2011 achieved participation from individuals from 52 countries.

GPSO 2010

GPSO 2010 increased the number of project endorsers from 32 (in 2009) to 50 in 2010 (including 28 Ph.D's). Under Population Institute's project management, the number of pledgers had also increased from 216 in 2009 to 386.

GPSO 2009

After the letter had been signed by 32 persons, GPSO started as a project in the World Wide Web on September 2008. In October the journal Science wrote:

"At a time when some developed nations are paying citizens to bolster flagging birth-rates (Science, 30 June 2006, p. 1894), a grass-roots group of scientists and environmentalists is calling for a new push to limit human numbers".[1]

GPSO is being supported by the World Union for Protection of Life (WUPL), which was founded in Luxembourg 1964.

GPSO 2009 received pledges from 216 persons [2] in at least 17 countries. Among them was John Guillebaud, Emeritus Professor of Family Planning & Reproductive Health, University College London, and former Co-chair of OPT. In November 2009 the Population Institute (PI), established since 1969 in Washington D.C., declared its cooperation with GPSO.

In 2009, the Global Population Speak Out was covered in Science, The Christian Science Monitor and The Times Online, among others.

References
  1. Science, “Random Samples” section, October 31, Volume 322, Issue 5902
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-04-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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