Population Growth Rebounds From Pandemic Low |
From Stephanie Feldstein, Population and Sustainability Program Director |
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Despite recent alarmism about declining birth rates leading to a plummeting human population, new population estimates show that the U.S. population grew by about 1% — to 340.1 million people — in 2024. There was a growth in both birth rates and migration, signifying a significant rebound from pandemic lows and outpacing average annual population growth since 2000. The bottom line: We’re not in population decline yet, and our numbers are far from faltering.
What is faltering, though, are protections for commonsense solutions to population pressure, like gender empowerment, education, and universal access to all forms of sexual and reproductive healthcare. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity will fight to protect reproductive rights and gender equity against the renewed threats they’ll face in 2025. We’ll wage innovative campaigns that address the connections between population pressure and the extinction crisis to improve the lives of all species, including our own. Read on to learn more about a landmark plant-based food-purchasing policy adopted in Los Angeles County, my new series of children’s books about nature’s secret superheroes, and more. |
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Crowded Planet: Tens of thousands of red wolves once roamed across most of eastern North America, but today only 16 remain in the wild. Vehicle collisions are their leading cause of mortality. In a critical win for wolves, a new $25 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration will fund 13 wildlife underpasses beneath U.S. 64, a North Carolina highway that runs through the heart of the last red wolf refuges.
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Seaweed: Another False Solution |
Is seaweed the most effective way to reduce cattle emissions? It’s an academic question that keeps getting funding in pursuit of climate-friendly cows. But as Senior Food Campaigner Jennifer Molidor points out in her latest Medium piece, feeding seaweed pellets — or any feed additive — to grazing beef cattle in the hope of reducing methane emissions will never be a silver-bullet solution to the ecological problems caused by cows.
Research into reducing meat production emissions is important. But refusing to acknowledge the urgent need for dietary shifts is another form of climate denial. As Jennifer points out, we can’t “seaweed” our way out of beef’s climate destruction. Here’s one thing you can do: Check out our factsheet that explains how cattle contribute to climate change. |
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Environmental, Social, Economic Crises Interlinked |
A new report by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services finds that environmental, social and economic crises — such as biodiversity loss, water and food insecurity, health risks and climate change — are interconnected. The report highlights how existing actions to address these challenges keep the problems siloed, leading to unintended consequences like harming biodiversity through tree-planting efforts.
The Center has long recognized how deeply interwoven these issues are, and that’s why our program tackles not just population pressure but food, economy and justice issues. This interconnectedness is becoming increasingly apparent to others, too, as reproductive rights organizations address climate impacts, environmental groups speak out about equity and healthcare, and our work on issues like bringing reproductive health into sustainability metrics and emergency planning and accelerating a just food transition gain momentum across movements.
Here’s one thing you can do: Donate to support the Center’s critical intersectional work. |
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Nature’s (Secret) Superheroes |
My new series of children’s books brings nature’s unsung heroes to light. The six-book Nature’s Secret Superheroes series teaches readers about how bats, native bees, beavers, elephants, freshwater mussels, and vultures have a profound influence on shaping and preserving ecosystems all over the world. Each book includes amazing facts and photos that help kids learn about the vital role these animals play in supporting life on Earth and the urgent need to protect them.
The books, published by Cherry Lake Publishing, are geared to grades 4 to 7 and available in paperback, ebook, or reinforced binding for libraries and schools.
Here’s one thing you can do: Encourage your local school or public library to carry the Nature’s Secret Superheroes series. |
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Los Angeles County Passes Landmark Food Purchasing Policy |
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. The oil and gas industry needs to be held accountable for its role in this tragedy. Meanwhile, as the first fires were breaking out on Jan. 7, the county passed a landmark motion that will help with the region’s long-term resilience and food-related emissions. In the new expanded policy, the county will serve at least one plant-based entree daily, provide plant-based alternatives to dairy, and price these items competitively.
At the recommendation of the Center, the county will also distribute guidance on emissions-reduction targets that include other environmental metrics, such as biodiversity loss and deforestation, and how to replace animal proteins with plant-based offerings. Prioritizing plant-based food service is an excellent way to strengthen environmental protections and help cities meet their climate emissions-reduction targets.
The National Dietary Guidelines for Americans are being updated this year, and sustainable guidelines could push more cities to follow LA’s lead. Our Food and Agriculture Policy Specialist Leah Kelly has a new op-ed on why sustainable nutrition policy matters.
Here’s one thing you can do: Take action to support sustainable dietary guidelines. |
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Valentine’s Day Consumerism Isn’t Loveable |
The Christmas lights are barely put away, and retailers' shelves are already stocked with giant teddy bears, boxes of chocolate, and heart-shaped plastic knickknacks. Thanks to corporate marketing tactics, Valentine’s Day has become a multibillion-dollar industry, but there’s not much to love about the environmental harms, from climate pollution to waste, that come with all those pink and red purchases. Even roses come with a thorny environmental cost: Growing and transporting them for Valentine’s Day produces as many emissions as 2,000 cars being driven for a year.
Thankfully there are plenty of ways to show your love to others without harming wildlife or the planet. Our Simplify the Holidays website is filled with homemade, low-waste, and alternative Valentine’s Day gift ideas. Here’s one thing you can do: Check out our Valentine’s Day Pinterest page for even more sustainable Valentine’s Day gift ideas. |
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Wildlife Spotlight: Hellbender |
Whether you know them as snot otters, devil dogs, or “ol’ lasagna sides,” hellbenders are one of the most fascinating prehistoric giants on the continent. At 2 feet long and topping 4 pounds, they’re the largest salamanders in North America. They’re considered living fossils because they’ve changed little over the last 160 million years. But while hellbenders haven’t changed much in millennia, their habitat has changed substantially, and today they face tremendous threats from degraded water quality.
In response to more than a decade of advocacy by the Center and allies, last month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to protect eastern hellbenders as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This protection will not only help the hellbender — it will also give umbrella safeguards to thousands of other species that rely on clean rivers and streams for survival.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States |
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