The Economy Shouldn’t Depend on Population Growth |
From Stephanie Feldstein, Population and Sustainability Program Director |
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In recent months we’ve seen a number of opinion pieces fretting over declining fertility rates in the United States and many other countries across the globe. As the argument goes, ever-growing birthrates are needed to sustain social safety nets and economic growth. But in a recent letter to The Washington Post, I push back against the assumption that endless growth — of people or the economy — is an essential part of our future.
It’s quite the opposite, I argue. As anyone who has watched the climate and extinction crises worsen right before our eyes can tell you, infinite growth on a finite planet is doomed to fail. Instead of putting the fate of the entire economic system on the shoulders of women, we should untangle our economy’s success from the birthrate. We should focus our energy on building a just and sustainable economy, slowing the climate and extinction crises, and protecting a future where all kinds of families can thrive.
Read on to learn more about the connection between cows and climate change, the Center’s partnership with Neil Young’s Love Earth tour, and how to host wildlife-friendly weddings. |
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A landmark UN report on the state of the world’s migratory species found that humans have altered the Earth so much that 1 in 5 migratory animals are facing extinction. It found that the two biggest threats were overexploitation and loss of habitat due to farming, roads, and other human infrastructure. |
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A Roadmap for Food Systems Just Transition
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Despite mounting evidence of its harmful effects on people and the planet, industrial animal production continues to expand, driving deforestation, habitat destruction, and pollution and making it impossible to achieve international climate goals.
That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity, along with a global coalition of organizations, released a food systems just transition roadmap at the climate talks in Bonn, Germany, earlier this month. The roadmap represents a shared vision for transformation away from the industrial animal agriculture system that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase equity and resilience, protect biodiversity, and improve animal welfare.
Here’s one thing you can do: The just transition must address both food production and consumption. Tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture that its climate strategy must include sustainable food policies. |
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Study: Environmental Changes are Fueling Diseases |
A new study shows that human-driven environmental problems like climate change, biodiversity loss, and the spread of invasive species is driving the risk of infectious diseases in plant, animal, and human hosts around the globe. The authors found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing ecosystem health, and preventing biodiversity loss could help to reduce the burden of infectious disease, especially when coupled with improvements to social and economic determinants of health.
Here’s one thing you can do: Read the latest Food X to learn how factory farming contributes to the spread of bird flu. (Don’t forget to subscribe to Food X if you haven’t already.) |
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Jamming With Neil Young and the Stop Shopping Choir |
Neil Young has spent his life singing about and fighting for the planet, equality, and freedom, so it only makes sense that the Center teamed up with him on his latest tour in his Love Earth Village.
The village is Neil’s hometown-square approach to showcasing not-for-profit organizations and their passionate staff and volunteers who are working on the frontlines to protect the Earth and people’s freedoms. Center employees — and Frostpaw the polar bear — were at booths in the Love Earth Village at Neil’s shows across the country to share about the work we do every day to save life on Earth.
Here’s one thing you can do: Listen to the podcast of Neil’s opening act, Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir. In episode 115 Mary K. Reinhart, deputy director of the Center’s media team, explains how the work she does at the Center gives her hope for the future.
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The Connection Between Cows and Climate Change |
Livestock emit at least 16.5% of global greenhouse gases, with cattle alone responsible for 65% of those emissions. But cows are often left out of the climate conversation. To help individuals and policymakers understand the enormous role that cattle play in contributing to the warming climate, we’ve released a new fact sheet on cows and climate change.
The fact sheet provides hard-hitting insight into how cattle contribute to climate change and debunks industry-driven myths, like the idea that cattle can mimic the historic impact of bison on the environment.
Here’s one thing you can do: Americans consume four times the global average in beef. If you’re grilling this summer, plan an extinction-free BBQ. |
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Expanded Wildlife-Friendly Wedding Guide
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Weddings are a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry in the United States, but there’s an even bigger price tag for wildlife and the environment. The average wedding produces more than 400 pounds of trash and 63 tons of carbon dioxide. To offset this, you’d need to plant 2,722 trees.
But your next big party doesn’t have to take a toll on the planet. The Center’s newly updated Wildlife-Friendly Wedding Guide lays out many of the ways you can make your wedding friendlier to wildlife. Our wedding guide website also includes Earth-friendly event blogs and Pinterest boards for additional inspiration.
Here’s one thing you can do: Help inspire others — send us your photos or ideas for planning a wildlife-friendly event. |
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Wildlife Spotlight: Amargosa Toad |
Amargosa toads are quiet, brownish toads that are about 2 to 3 inches long. They live only in southern Nevada’s Oasis Valley, a rare and biodiverse wetland area along the Upper Amargosa River, on the crux of the Great Basin and Mojave deserts. Like other endemic species in Oasis Valley, these unique toads rely on consistent groundwater discharge in the Amargosa River for survival.
But the groundwater that sustains the Amargosa River and the toads’ habitat is imminently threatened by seven proposed gold-mining projects, which would put huge stress on the delicate aquifer that sustains the Amargosa River. That’s why the Center recently filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking protection for Amargosa toads under the Endangered Species Act.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States |
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