News from Population Matters.
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Report: overpopulation one of ten greatest threats to humanity
A new report by a group of Australian researchers identifies the ten most catastrophic threats to human survival, including overpopulation, climate change, biodiversity loss, and pandemics, and calls for urgent global…
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Study: preference for small families is ‘contagious’
As highly social creatures, much of what we say and do is influenced by the people close to us. A new paper examines this effect on family size and consumption behaviour…
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Population growth and environmental destruction fuel deadly diseases
Our growing population and resulting overexploitation of nature are facilitating the emergence and spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19. Population Matters’ Communications Officer, Olivia Nater, investigates how relentless deforestation, habitat encroachment, wildlife trade, consumption…
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The ‘blue acceleration’: ocean plunder in the Anthropocene
A new study highlights the rapidly increasing pressure on the world’s oceans as a result of human population growth and burgeoning demand for resources. The paper, published in One Earth,…
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Wildlife habitat crumbling under weight of human footprint
A new study shows that the majority land-dwelling vertebrate species are now under intense human pressure due to population growth and land use change. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, examines the human…
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Chris Packham: we need to talk about population
In a powerful BBC documentary broadcast this week, Population Matters patron Chris Packham examined the challenges of population growth, and made an impassioned plea for “the elephant in the room”…
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Here’s why 2020 could be a ‘super-year’ for nature
Despite the climate and biodiversity crises continuing to escalate, environmentalists are calling 2020 a ‘super-year’ for nature because of several upcoming international policy meetings that have the potential to set nature…
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2019 Year in Review
PM director Robin Maynard reviews the year. To steal Ervin Drake’s Christmas song made famous by Frank Sinatra, ‘It was a very good year’ for Population Matters. Our Annual Report…
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Big Baby calls for small families to cut CO2
With the critical COP25 climate change meeting opening in Madrid, Population Matters’ 7m-high Big Baby brought a critical message to Westminster on Friday: cutting population growth through choosing smaller families is vital to fight climate change.
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Unmet needs: conversations with the women left behind
Population Matters’ Director, Robin Maynard, summarises events at this month’s Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, and recounts his experience of meeting young women and their families in Africa’s largest slum and surrounding…