Center for Biological Diversity


For Immediate Release, August 26, 2015

Contact: 

Leigh Moyer, (520) 623-5252 x 313, lmoyer@biologicaldiversity.org
Stephanie Feldstein, (734) 395-0770, sfeldstein@biologicaldiversity.org

Back to School: Students Will Distribute 10,000 Free Condoms at 100 Colleges

Endangered Species Condoms Will Highlight Connection Between Human Population Growth, Wildlife Extinction Crisis

TUCSON, Ariz.— As millions of college students return to school this week, there’s a new item on the back-to-school lists of students on more than 100 campuses nationwide: Endangered Species Condoms. Student volunteers will distribute 10,000 free condoms on more than 100 campuses — from the University of Alaska Fairbanks to the University of Florida — to help raise awareness about the connection between reproductive health, human population growth and the wildlife extinction crisis.

Hellbender
Art by Shawn DiCriscio. Package design by Lori Lieber. Images are available for media use.

“The typical college freshman today has seen more than a billion and a half people added to the planet since they were born,” said Leigh Moyer, the Center for Biological Diversity’s population organizer. “These students have lived with massive population growth and climate change all their lives, so they’re much more aware of the connection between human activities and the environmental problems the planet is facing. Back-to-school is the perfect time for students to give away free condoms and start the conversation about how sex and reproductive health fit into these other issues they care about.”

The Endangered Species Condoms are wrapped in colorful packages featuring six different endangered species and information to help volunteers start the conversation about the impact of runaway human population growth on polar bears, monarch butterflies and other imperiled wildlife. The Center has given away more than 600,000 free Endangered Species Condoms since 2009 and has worked with students on more than 750 college and university campuses nationwide.

“One of my college’s main goals is to promote sustainable lifestyle choices. Although we have a strong connection to the earth, water and how to sustain life on our planet, very little of our focus is directed toward wildlife and the increasing number of endangered species,” said Quincey Johnson, an environmental studies student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a volunteer Endangered Species Condom distributor. “I would like to make that connection and educate my peers. With Endangered Species Condoms I feel I can make positive changes on my campus that will reflect positive changes in the environment.”

Students will distribute Endangered Species Condoms at welcome events as well as at club fairs, environmental gatherings, dormitories, classrooms, and fraternities and sororities.

In addition to sending Endangered Species Condoms, the Center is also sending Campus Wild Action Kits to students across the country. These kits are packed with resources to help students facilitate conversations with their peers about the negative impact meat consumption has on the environment and wildlife.

Scientists agree that the Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass wildlife extinction. While previous extinction periods were driven by geological or cosmic factors, the current crisis is caused by human population growth and overconsumption of resources.

The Center’s population and sustainability program promotes a range of solutions, including universal access to birth control and family planning, as well as education and empowerment of women and girls.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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