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April 30, 2002   New Scientist   Men's Murky Motives for Romance .   Men are more likely to spoil their female partners and keep a close eye on their movements around the time of ovulation.

April 29, 2002   Population Reference Bureau   ****International Migration: Facing the Challenge .     This important report needs summarization. If you would like to help, click on the red arrow and follow the instructions.

April 29, 2002   Population Council release   Responding to Cairo: Case Studies of Changing Practice in Reproductive Health and Family Planning .   - a new book published by the Population Council. It examines global efforts to translate the Cairo commitments into practice. Notable findings: Some of the population policies that impinged on women's rights and freedom of choice were abolished or modified—including in India and China. Nonetheless, strong pressures to achieve demographic goals by promoting contraceptive use persist in some settings. Sexuality is increasingly regarded as a legitimate part of reproductive health care and is being incorporated into some programs. However, deeply entrenched gender biases remain, and concerted, long-term efforts will be required to eliminate these ingrained obstacles to change. A wider range of reproductive health needs is being addressed. Efforts to broaden the content of services have met with considerable success, often at low or no additional cost. Progress in this area has been enhanced by some technological innovations and has been hindered by some technological gaps (e.g., the lack of simple, low-cost methods to diagnose reproductive tract infections and of female controlled methods of sexually transmitted infection prevention, such as microbicides). Efforts to empower women as health care consumers, equal partners in sexual relationships, and important members of their families and communities are feasible and desired.

April 29, 2002   African News/The Herald (Harare)   Use of Contraceptives in Zimbabwe Is Up .   The harsh economic climate in Zimbabwe has made it imperative for people to reduce the sizes of their families. 50% of Zimbabwean women - 60% in urban and 48% rural - use contraception. Inflation has been rising at an alarming rate, peaking at over 116%, and many cannot afford basic commodities or even 3 meals daily. Men are afraid to have a vasectomy, thinking they would not be able to perform effectively and enjoy sex with their partners after the operation. Only 14% of men and 6% of married men use condoms. Abortion is widely used, particularly when women get pregnant while suckling infants.

April 26, 2002   Daily Mail   UK: Mobile Pharmacy to Sell Morning After Pill at Pop Concerts .   Young women at UK pop festivals will be sold the morning after pill (emergency contraception - EC) from mobile pharmacies. The project was designed to help young women who may 'fall victim to a moment of festival passion'. For £19.99 the emergency contraceptive, Levonelle will be available at festivals in Bristol, London, Essex, Staffordshire, Leeds and Kinross in Scotland.

April 26, 2002   IRIN Africa English reports   Two Ethiopian Teenagers to Promote Child Concerns at UN Session .   At a UN Special Session on Children, May 8-10, hundreds of youths representing the children of their country will attend. They will each urge member states to help end the suffering of children in their country. 150 million children across the planet are still malnourished and 100 million do not go to school. Half a million children have died of AIDS and two million were killed in conflicts in the 1990s. The goal of the conference is to develop a Plan of Action to improve the lives of children over the next 10 years. Tens of thousands of children were surveyed in Ethiopia, in a joint venture with UNICEF and Save the Children Alliance, to give priorities for improving their lives. Concerns that they expressed were: care for street children, fulfilling children's basic needs, ending harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, promoting child participation, care for AIDS-infected children and orphans, and ending the wars.

April 26, 2002   CAPS release   Population Activist, CAPS Director, Elected to Sierra Club's National Board of Directors .   Ben Zuckerman, a long-time environmentalist and advocate for reducing population growth, received the highest vote total of any candidate for election to the Sierra Club Board of Directors. His vote total was 8% higher than the next highest of the five winning candidates. Zuckerman is a professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA and a board member of Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS). Zuckerman's candidate statement said: "We should provide members with much more information about overpopulation and what they can do about it."

April 24, 2002   The Washington Post   Abstinence Moves to the Head of the Class; Topic Gains Favor, and Funding, in Sex Education Courses .   President Bush has proposed nearly doubling federal spending next year on programs that adhere to eight strict criteria prohibiting any mention of contraception except failure rates. Belle Sawhill, senior researcher at the Brookings Institution and president of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy said "There is some merit in promoting abstinence," ... "But it's also the case that there are going to be kids, no matter what adults tell them, who are going to be sexually active, and it doesn't make sense to deny them information about how to protect themselves." 65% of students have already engaged in intercourse by the time they leave high school, said Lloyd J. Kolbe, director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bush administration officials say the dramatic increase is needed to bring federal spending up to par with other forms of sex education. But much of what the administtration categorizes as comprehensive sex education is found in Title X, a federal program which allows poor women to receive medical services. Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.) says "Title X funding is not about school-based educational programs. This is not even a case of apples and oranges; it's apples and marmalade." Greenwood and Rep. Barbara T. Lee (D-Calif.) sponsor legislation to fund programs teaching a combination of abstinence and contraception. "Since 1996, Congress has committed over half a billion dollars to abstinence-only education programs and zero dollars to comprehensive sexuality education. . . . It is time for a more balanced approach." The most compelling case for abstinance-only was found in virginity pledge programs where some teens who signed such pledges were able to delay sexual activity by about 18 months. But Peter S. Bearman,of Columbia University, found that teens who broke the pledge were less likely to use contraception during intercourse. "All adolescents should learn how to protect themselves," he wrote. Researcher Douglas Kirby said "there is very strong evidence that some, but not all, comprehensive sex education programs can delay sex, reduce frequency of sex, reduce the number of partners, increase condom use and increase contraceptive use." While abstinence-only programs tend to lack scientific data as proof of their effectiveness, CDC has evaluated hundreds of sex education programs and found that under the CDC designated "Programs That Work", sexual activity among students in grades 9 through 12 dropped from 54% to 50%, and teen pregnancies fell from 8% to 6.4%.

April 24, 2002   Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California   California Family Planning and Reproductive Choice Bills .   Here are a few California bills to lobby for or against: AB 130 (2001) Expands state funding for preventative health services, including family planning services, to women under 65. Specifies that condoms are within the scope of covered contraceptive methods. SJR 23 (2001) Calls on Congress and the President to enact the "Family Planning State Empowerment Act of 2001," which would allow states to expand funding for family planning and other health services without obtaining a waiver from the federal government. SB 1291 (2002) Requires the DMV to create "Choose Life" license plates. Funds go to non-profit agencies within the state that provide counseling and other services that meet the needs of pregnant women committed to placing their children for adoption. AB 2537 (2002) Requires that an ultrasound be performed 24 hours prior to obtaining an abortion. The woman is required to view the ultrasound prior to receiving abortion services.

April 23, 2002     Worldwatch Interactive Timeline .   The Worldwatch Institute released a new interactive web-based timeline - The Path To Johannesburg, to build momentum for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will open in Johannesburg, South Africa. The timeline provides a snapshot of some of the world's most significant environmental moments and allows users to learn more on a wide range of issues-from biodiversity to global warming to third world debt-by accessing Worldwatch's vast library of research and other resources on the web. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 to September 6, 2002. The WSSD will bring together world leaders, concerned citizens, international agencies, multilateral financial institutions, and other major actors to assess global change since the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (also known as the Rio "Earth Summit"). For more information go to http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/.

April 23, 2002   WOA!! website   WOA!! Honors Jacob Lund Fisker as An Outstanding Volunteer .   Steadfastly summarizing pertinent sustainability and environmental impacts articles, Jacob Lund Fisker has contributed significantly to the World Population Awareness webpage. "Without the help of volunteers, this web site would be significantly more static," says editor-publisher Karen Gaia Pitts. "Jacob is keenly aware of the environmental and resource depletion problems resulting from overpopulation - this is obvious in his summarizations." Jacob says he is a graduate student in theoretical physics. His primary concern is how resource depletion will enact Leibig's law on the human population as it runs out of fossil fuels, potable water, top soil,biodiversity, etc.. Jacob's own web site can be seen at http://quasar.physik.unibas.ch/~fisker/401/oil/oil.html.   [Now I need to ask him what is Leibig's law.]   kgp

April 23, 2002   Long Beach Press-Telegram   U.S.: California Assembly Unanimously Passes Bill Requiring Hospitals to Provide EC to Rape Survivors.   Bill AB 1860 that would require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape survivors when they receive medical treatment. Over 10% of the 300,000 American women who are raped each year become pregnant. If taken within 72 hours of sex, EC is "at least" 75% effective at preventing pregnancy. The bill now goes to the state Senate. If passed, California would be the forth state passing such a bill.

April 22, 2002   Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean   Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2001 .   For researchers interested in Latin America and the Caribbean.

April 19, 2002   MTV release   MTV, Kaiser Family Foundation Launch Yearlong Campaign to Inform Teens About Sexual Health .   "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself," is a year-long effort to teach young people about sexual health issues through media programming, grassroots campaigns, a sexual health guide and an Internet site. The campaign will kick off on April 20th at 1 p.m. with the television premiere of "MTV's First National Sex Quiz." Other parts of the campaign include a sexual health guide: "It's Your (Sex) Life: Your Guide to Safe & Responsible Sex" which discusses HIV/AIDS and other STDs, contraception and "pressing issues surrounding teenage sexuality." The guide, free, can be obtained at (1 888 BE SAFE 1) or through the MTV Web site; a made-for-television movie titled "Everybody's Doing It" that examines sex education in schools and the effects of peer pressure on sexual decision-making; public service announcements; grassroots campaigns: a "Sexual Health 101" forum in cities across the country, "HIV testing drives", and efforts to "mobiliz young people in support of comprehensive sex education"; the MTV web site with the sex quiz, information about the campaign and its events, a list of HIV testing facilities and links to Internet resources on sexual health and teen sexuality. "When it comes to issues directly impacting them, our audience overwhelmingly calls sexual health their number one concern. With one in four sexually active teens set to get an STD this year and over 50% of new HIV infections occurring among those under 25, there is little question that sexual health issues hit young people the hardest," Brian Graden, president of entertainment for MTV, said.

April 18, 2002   New York Times*   Study Sees 6,000 Deaths From Power Plants.   A study prepared for the Rockefeller Family Fund by a technical consulting firm "estimates that pollution from … 80 power plants owned by eight electric utilities will cause 6,000 premature deaths in the year 2007". In the same year, the study predicts, pollutants from these same utilities will cause "140,000 asthma attacks and 14,000 cases of acute bronchitis". This study adds to the debate over the best way to diminish air pollution; the Bush administration wishes to replace the measures used to enforce the Clean Air Act with a "strategy call Clear Skies" which is condemned by many environmental groups. The 8 companies mentioned operate 83 of the more than 9350 power plant in the U.S. and "all eight … have been cited by the Justice Department as being in violation of the Clean Air Act and are in various stages of legal action." The greatest impact on health will be in Pennsylvania, which is downwind of the plants, but New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will also be affected. Not unexpectedly, spokespersons for the industry have "cast doubt on the study’s credibility".     st

April 18, 2002   Zero Population Growth   Time for Activists to Think About Title X Funding.   Low income Americans face many obstacles to receiving family planning information and services. Federal funds for the Title X (ten) program - the only federal program dedicated to making family planning available to Americans - are woefully inadequate. As Congress begins to consider the 2003 federal budget, they should support a funding increase for the crucial Title X program. Help make sure that America's women and teens have access to the full range of family planning services. It's time for members of Congress to make decisions about fiscal year 2003 funding. Ask your lawmakers to request an increase for Title X - the nation's domestic family planning program. Click on the headline link to take action from the ZPG website.

April 18, 2002   Los Angeles Times   Dispel the Myth That Cheap Food Comes Without High Costs.   In this commentary, the Lappes decry "the hidden costs of our ‘factory farming’ model of agriculture" which undermine the sustainability of current agricultural practices. These costs include: "the loss of plant diversity" arising from the aggressive sale of a limited selection of seeds, overexploitation of the ocean, soil erosion on prime farmland, the loss of marine life by nitrogen runoff of fertilizers, the poisoning of wells in the Midwest by farm chemicals and the loss of "rural communities [because of] rising farm costs and lower returns". The meat industry, resisting the added costs of "food safety procedures" adds "more than 5,000 deaths each year [due to] food-borne illnesses". They suggest instead ways "to align with nature’s genius to create sustainable efficiency". The authors cite studies, reported last year, of "sustainable farming practices, covering 70 million acres in more than 50 countries", which showed that ecologically sound agricultural practices increased yields (there were increases of 150% in root crops). Using these techniques, the productivity of some crops was reduced, but because production costs dropped even more, farmers’ incomes rose. The authors note that "overproduction, not underproduction, has been the bane of U.S. agriculture." Subsidizing organic practices and supporting ecologically minded farmers would go a long way to alleviating these problems.   In the context of a rising world's population, climate change which may threaten food production in some parts of the world and problems with food distribution, sustainable agricultural methods become increasingly important.  st

April 17, 2002   Earth Policy Institute   New York: Garbage Capital of the World.   Each day, New York City produces 11,000 tons of garbage. To haul it away to fiscally strapped local communities in other states requires 550 tractor trailers in a convoy nearly nine miles long, impeding traffic, polluting the air, raising carbon emissions, and increasing road maintenance costs. But landfills in adjacent states will soon begin to fill up, pushing disposal costs ever higher. For every 40,000 tons of garbage added to a landfill at least one acre of land is lost to future use. And surrounding residential areas must be buffered against potentially toxic wastes. Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposes to halt the recycling of metal, glass and plastic to save money, proposing incineration of the garbage instead. But burning 11,000 tons of garbage each day will only add to air pollution, making already unhealthy city air even worse. The list of throwaway products that we use has steadily grown. We must replace the throwaway economy with a reduce/reuse/recycle economy. The costs of such an economy are manifested not only in landfill space, but in the energy use, the disruption from mining, and the deforestation that throwaway economy requires. The challenge is not so much what to do with the garbage as it is how to avoid producing it in the first place. New York recycles only 18% of its municipal waste. Los Angeles recycles 44% and Chicago 47%. While Seattle and Minneapolis both have high rates of recycling - near 60% - they are not close to exploiting the full potential of garbage recycling.

April 17, 2002   Guardian Unlimited   Scientists Warn of Himalayan Floods.   Within the next five years, rising temperatures in the world's highest mountain range, caused by global warming, are expected to cause 44 rising glacier-fed lakes high in the Himalayas to burst their banks, sending millions of gallons of water and rock cascading on to settlements in the valleys of Nepal and Bhutan below. Millions of people live in similar danger areas in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet and China. Pradeep Mool, from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said Tsho Rolpa, a melting glacier-fed lake in Nepal, has grown sixfold since the 1950s and is now 2.6km long by 500 metres wide, with a depth of 107 metres. When the ice in the pile of frozen rock which dams it melts, it will become unstable. "A flood from this lake could cause serious damage down to the village of Tribeni, 108km downstream, threatening 10,000 lives," Mool said. Even though the temperature has risen by only 1C since the 1950s, this is enough to cause the glaciers to retreat an average of 30 metres a year. One such ice dam, the Sangwang dam on the Tibet-Nepal border, broke in 1954, resulting in 40 metre high flood, destroying the city of Gyangze, 120km away and killing many thousands. Surendra Shrestha, Asian regional coordinator for the United Nations environment programme's early warning division, said: "For most of the Himalayas the risk is unknown, but it is very great. This is a seismic zone, and a catastrophic flood could be sparked by an earthquake." Scientists have found it difficult to investigate the sitution since many of the retreating glaciers are in sensitive border areas where governments are reluctant to allow investigation and also because most of the lakes are at altitudes of 4,500 to 5,000 metres.

April 16, 2002   Durex Parliamentary Briefing   Durex 'Easy-on Launch .   One in 7 people are still having unprotected sex and young people are reported to be the greatest risk-takers. To overcome excuses for not practising safer sex Durex has created a uniquely shaped range of condoms designed to be easier to put on and more comfortable to wear and includes a latex odour masker.

April 16, 2002   Reuters Health   Incentives Fail to Halt Declining Birth Rates in Asian Countries .   Singapore's fertility rate is 1.42 births per woman. South Korea's is about 1.4, Taiwan's is 1.5, and Japan's is 1.3 births per family. These countries have Asia's strongest economies. All are offering incentives for couples to have more children. Singapore and Japan offer cash incentives which have been shown as not working. It is argued that there needs to be better support facilities, such as child-care alternatives, and a change in the work environment. In Japan, only a small number of workers use the cash incentives because of social pressure to continue working.

April 15, 2002   Nature magazine   Climate Change Pinpointed in Global Amphibian Declines.   Climate change may be the cause for the declining population of amphibians a new article in "Nature" suggests. Populations have been declining around the world sometimes leading to the extinction of entire species. Amphibians usually spawn in shallow water, but when water levels decline due to changed weather patterns UV-B radiation from the sun reaches the eggs leaving the embryos vulnerable to infection. "Extreme climatic events" may also cause outbreaks of certain pathogens affecting the amphibians. According to the new hypothesis it is not increased radiation levels due to ozone-depletion but rather the changing weather patterns due to global warming which is the cause of the die-off which have been observed in various regions around the world e.g. in Central America, where adult golden toads and other mountain amphibians are dying from dry conditions. Scientist also observed that species whose eggs are shielded from direct sunlight also show lower population numbers suggesting that several factors must be taken into account. However even if the changing climate is not the only significant factor "there is clearly a need for a rapid transition to cleaner energy sources if we are to avoid staggering losses of biodiversity," scientist Alan Pounds comments. jlf

April 15, 2002   Seattle Times   The Arctic Meltdown: Quick Thaw Alarms Natives and Scientists.   In the Russian, Alaskan, Canadian and Greenland Artic, where the ground is usuallly frozen nearly year-round, the tundra and ice are starting to thaw. Seabirds die by the thousands; seal pups are found deformed; whales are sick and undernourished; the walrus and tundra rabbits are becoming scarce; reindeer herd numbers are declining; tree lines are advancing north; and native whale and walrus hunters are coming back empty handed. In people's experience, where there had always been ice, there is now the dark swell of the open ocean. Parts of the Arctic have warmed by 10 degrees Fahrenheit — 10 times the global average. Ice covers 15% less of the Arctic Ocean than it did 20 years ago, and that ice has thinned from an average of 10 feet to less than 6.

April 15, 2002   Deutsche Presse-Agentur   Sexual Trafficking in Bangladesh .   Every month, nearly 400 teenage Bangladeshi women become victims of organised human trafficking, Dr Saira Akhtar of the Bangladesh Gynaecological Society reported. These teenagers frequently suffer early pregnancies and have a high maternal mortality rate. Young girls from impoverished families are lured by offers of jobs and marriage, but end up in brothels in both India and Bangladesh. There is considerable social and religious pressure for girls from impoverished families to marry as soon as girls reach puberty because they are considered an economic burden. The legal marriage age at 20 for women and 22 for men.

April 15, 2002   New Scientist   Forest Experiment Questions Greenhouse Gas Strategy.   Some countries, including the US, are relying on carbon sequestration by growing forests to control their increasing carbon dioxide output in an attempt to slow climate change while avoiding measures aimed at lowering CO2 production. According to William Schlesinger this may not work. Schlesinger and his group at Duke University in North Carolina surrounded six plots of trees, each of which were 30 meters in diameter, with rings of 32 vertical pipes. Around three plots, pipes pumped out carbon dioxide enriched air (mimicking CO2 concentrations in the air of 2050); around the other three plots, pipes pumped out air characteristic of current air. They found that although the trees breathing 2050 air absorbed and converted into plant matter 27% more CO2 than do control trees, they calculated that temperate forests all over the world in 2050 "will absorb only 10% of human-generated CO2". That is, "the effect is not as large as people had expected", said Peter Cox at Britain’s Meteorological Office in Bracknell, Berkshire. Schlesinger, Cox and other specialists in this area agree that "forests cannot solve the problem of global warming, and emissions need to be reduced." Other factors which could undermine the ability of forests to absorb increasing amounts of CO2 in future years include the likelihood of increasing frequency of forests fires with a greater release of carbon and the more rapid "breakdown of leaf litter by microbes" at higher temperatures, which is already being observed in the wetlands of the Amazon rainforest. All workers in this area agree that many factors in the entire ecosystem must be studied to predict the outcome.     st

April 14, 2002   New York Times   China's Growing Deserts Are Suffocating Korea.   In Seoul, South Korea, for the third consecutive year, huge clouds of dust have blown in from China's deserts 750 miles away. Consequently, Seoul's residents have suffered breathing problems, school closures, cancelled domestic flights, workplace absenteeism, and dipping retail sales. 70 micrograms of dust per cubic meter of air is normal for Seoul, but a recently a record measurement of 2,070 micrograms was reported. The dust is a result of the rapid desertification in China and a prolonged drought affecting that country and other parts of Northeast Asia. The desertification is due to overfarming, overgrazing and the widespread destruction of forests. The Gobi desert grew by 20,000 square miles from 1994 to 1999, reaching a point 150 miles north of Beijing. The dust from the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts in rapidly industrializing China binds with toxic industrial pollutants, including arsenic, cadmium and lead. Not only South Korea is affected - Tokyo has seen an unusually dusty spring; particles of the airborne sand now travel 7,000 miles to Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, by riding the jet stream.

April 08, 2002   World Health Organization   Womens Health Factsheets .   Click on the link in the headline to see factsheets and FAQs on womens reproductive health matters.

April 07, 2002   New York Times*   U.N. Agency on Population Blames U.S. for Cutbacks.   The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) has been forced to make serious cut backs as a result of the current U.S. administration's decision to withhold $34 million appropriated by Congress for the Fund's use. The cut amounted to 13% of the agency's $260 million budget for 2002. Thoraya Obaid, the fund's executive director, says that this cut comes at a time when the need for reproductive health services is great and growing and that demand will rise by 40% over the next 15 years. According to Stirling Scruggs, a fund spokesman, this cut would result in million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 induced abortions, 4700 maternal deaths and 77,000 infant and child deaths. The UNFPA also supplies condoms to men in groups at high risk for HIV/AIDS. Cuts in contributions to the fund have also been made by Japan and Denmark, two other large contributors, because of budgetary constraints. Amy Coen, the president of Population Action International, a private organization in Washington that focuses on voluntary population planning and related health issues, called the cut 'pure politics.' It occurred after Representative Christopher H. Smith, a Republican of New Jersey wrote President Bush charging that the population fund acquiesced in Chinese birth control policies that include forced abortions and involuntary sterilization. This charge was made by the Population Research Institute, an organization founded by Human Life International, an anti-abortion group with branches in dozens of countries. The UNFPA counters this charge by observing that they fund programs only in counties where the one-child family policy is no longer enforced.

April 03, 2002   Arizona Republic   Arizona House Passes Contraceptive Coverage Bill .   HB 2115 would require insurers in the state who offer prescription drug coverage in their health plans to also offer coverage for FDA-approved prescription contraceptives. The bill, which applies only to group health plans, was passed by the House. A similar bill is before the state Senate.

April 02, 2002   New York Times   California, USA: Farms and Growth Threaten a Sea and Its Creatures.   California's largest lake and home to some 400 species of birds, its total bird population is second only to the Gulf Coast of Texas, the Salton Sea is now 25% saltier than the ocean and getting more so each day. But a rich nitrogen and phosphorus agricultural runoff has turned the Salton Sea into a briny soup oozing with algae and other life. Outbreaks of botulism and very low oxygen levels have killed thousands of birds and fish. Since over 90% of California's coastal wetlands have disappeared beneath bulldozers and asphalt, migrating birds such as the brown pelican and Yuma clapper rail (both endangered) white pelicans, cormorants, great blue herons, snowy egrets and other birds have turned to the Salton sea. Evaporation increases the salt load in the lake each year by more than four million tons — the equivalent of a mile-long freight train filled with salt, which will make it inhospitable to life by 2030. The sea is an accident of water transfers and may soon dry up if water rights are again transfered, creating serious wind erosion and hazardous air pollution problems, if water from the Imperial Valley is diverted. The city of San Diego needs the water that is going to the Salton Sea, to support economic activity and development in the area. Dr. Stuart Hurlbert, a biology professor at San Diego State and director of the Center for Inland Waters, a group of Salton Sea researchers, says the real problem is trying to maintain San Diego's high growth rate. "As a San Diegan, the worst thing that could happen is to have the water come here to add a million more people."

April 2002   Vogue magazine   AIDS: Vogue Profiles Research, Development of Microbicides .   Polly Harrison, director of the Alliance for Microbicide Development, said that there are currently 40 to 50 microbicidal agents in development, one of which, BufferGel, is scheduled to enter Phase II/III clinical trials this summer. Another product, recently acquired by Biosyn, "waits" for HIV, "paralyzes" it and then prevents the virus from replicating. Although development of microbicides has been hampered by a lack of funding, and only only 2% of the 2001 HIV/AIDS research budget for NIH was directed to microbicide research, now pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms have begun to look to microbicide research as the AIDS epidemic has worsened and hopes for a vaccine have "faded." Women want a method of STD protection that they can control.   [Note: microbicides may be developed that will combine AIDs suppression with pregnancy prevention.]

April 2002   Population Reference Bureau   The West Bank and Gaza: A Population Profile .   The West Bank and Gaza both experience population growth rates which are among the highest in the world: 3.4% in the West Bank and 4% in Gaza. Children under 15 years of age comprise 45% of the West Bank population and 50% in Gaza. With 4,091 people per square kilometer, Palestinian-controlled Gaza is one of the most densely population countries of the world. The Palestinian literacy rate is high at 92% males and 80% for females. About 78% of Gazans and 30% of West Bankers (includes descendants) are registered refugees from the 1948 war, with 55% of Gaza refugees and 27% of West Bank refugees living in refugee camps. While life expectancy at birth is relatively high, the area faces several significant health concerns relating to underdevelopment, the occupation, and political turmoil and violence. Over 1,000 Palestinians were killed and over 17,000 injured in clashes with Israelis from October 2000 to late February 2002. Escalation in conflict has resulted to reduced access to health and medical facilities. During 1992-1996, real per capita gross domestic product for Palestinians declined by over 36%, due to both falling aggregate incomes and high population growth. 21% of the population were below the poverty level in Fall 2000. In the 3 months following the uprising that began in October 2000, the Palestinian economy fell by 50% and unemployment rose to 40%. In Gaza, the groundwater is polluted by untreated sewage, garbage and industrial waste, and fertilizers from agricultural runoff.

March 30, 2002   Women's Health Weekly   Population - U.S. Women Are Having More Children, New Report Shows .   The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) birth statistics show that women in the U.S. are having more births than at any time in the last 30 years. Teen births, however, have continued to decline to 22% below the 1991 record high. In the 1970s and 1980s, births were below replacement level, which is 2.1 per woman. In 2000 the rate was at 2.1. U.S. birth rates increased 3% from 1999 to 2000 which was the third straight increase after the decline of the 1990s to 1997. White, Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian women all had total fertility rates of 2.1, and black women had a total fertility rate of 2.2. For Hispanic women, the total fertility rate was 3.1 and for Mexican women it was 3.3.

March 28, 2002   Agence France Presse   Many Mouths, Few Resources: Tajikistan Struggles with Birthrate.   While one mother of eight believes it is "a good thing to have lots of children, as they can look after their parents when they're old", desperate poverty and crippling unemployment have strained Tajikistan's economy due to the preference here for large families - with an average of 5 children per family. 80% of the population is below the poverty line. The population, at 6.2 million, is expected to reach eight million by 2010.Even the 150,000 left dead and hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee the country - due to the civil war - have not made a large difference. 93% of the country is mountainous, with little room for expanding agriculture. Many Tajik children work, typically as street vendors, to help their family eke out a living - they have no time for school. Tajikistan is primarily a Muslim nation where contraception is frowned upon and men often illegally take several wives.

March 28, 2002   Toronto Globe and Mail   Effects of Warming 'Clearly Visible'.   Many of the world's plants and animals are already experiencing extensive disruptions because of global warming, indicating the planet's environment is sensitive to even small climate fluctuations, according to ground-breaking scientific research.   [This article needs summarization - if you would like to help, click on the red arrow and follow the instructions].

March 27, 2002   Associated Press   California USA: Gov. Davis Orders HMOs to Cover Morning After Pill .   By order of the governor, California's health maintenance organizations must cover "morning-after" contraceptives for women. "A woman's right to choose must never be held up by red tape," said Governor Davis, who has been promoting abortion rights and increased access to contraceptives in his fight to re-election.

March 27, 2002   Atlanta Journal and Constitution   Profile of Georgia Woman Providing Reproductive Health Care in Peruvian Jungle .   The Peruvian Amazon Conservation, founded in 1991 by Eleanor Smithwick, provides women in the jungles of Peru with reproductive health care. Smithwick had visited Peru as a tourist and felt that a "little effort" would solve most of the population problems she observed in the Amazon. It was not unusual for women to have given birth to 15 children. 2,500 people in 14 villages are helped by handing out contraceptives, teaching local women how to use injectable birth control and educating couples about basic prenatal and postnatal care. The women are now having fewer children and delaying their age at first pregnancy. Infant mortality rates have decreased while family income levels have increased. More money would help, but a "lack of government will and responsibility" as impediments to further progress.

March 25, 2002   PAHO   New Gender and Health Website .   The Women, Health and Development Program of the Pan-American Health Organization, (PAHO/WHO) has announced the launch of a new website devoted to Gender and Health issues. Features included are: the latest Gender and Health news e-mailed to you; Fact Sheets or Advocacy Kits; a Virtual Library on Gender and Health; locator for training courses, seminars or workshops; information about gender and women's studies programmes throughout the Americas, and a calendar of events.

March 25, 2002   St. Louis Post-Dispatch   Strong Families, Strong Nations .   The recent U.N. conference on international development in Monterrey, Mexico stressed fighting poverty and fostering development, but neglected the need for family planning. President Bush also overlooked this need when he threatened to withhold funds from the UNFPA. A $50 million investment in contraception and family planning would mean 1 million fewer abortions and 100,000 fewer infant deaths as well as the prevention of nearly 3 million unwanted pregnancies, 7,000 maternal deaths and 90,000 serious maternal illnesses, according to the Population Fund's director, Thoraya A. Obaid. Thanks to the UNFPA, birth rates in Bangladesh have been halved in 20 years, women in India now have an average of three children, compared to five about 20 years ago. In Indonesia, family size has dropped to about 2.5 children, down from 4 children in 1980; and Mexico, which saw a fertility of about 7 children per woman in the late '60s, now sees an average of less than 3 children per woman. These trends tend to uplift women and bolster families, Obaid said.   [Not to mention lowering poverty]

March 25, 2002   CNN.com   'Crown jewels' of U.S. Parks Endangered Yellowstone, Glacier Bay, Mojave on the List.     [This article needs summarization. If you would like to help, click on the red arrow and follow the instructions.]

March 25, 2002   Asia Intelligence Wire   Australian Scientists Develop Effective Male Pill .   A male contraceptive pill developed by Australian researchers has been shown in a study group to result in zero pregnancies after two years. The pill, developed by scientists from the ANZAC Research Institute in Sydney and Prince Henry's Institute in Melbourne. The increase in hormones tricks the body's normal capacity to produce sperm.

March 25, 2002   InfoProd   Jordan: Family Planning as Key to Population Control.   Jordanian national family planning programs have helped reduce the fertility rate from 5.6 children per family in 1990 to 3.5 in 2001, but more needs to be done. The government wants to lower the birth rate to 2.1 children per family by 2020.

March 25, 2002   Europe Intelligence Wire   Ireland: Young Women 'Unaware of Sexual Health Issues' .   In Ireland a IFPA study found that many women aged 20 to 24 did not know the terminology for their reproductive organs and are not informed about contraception and sexually transmitted infections - and many mistakenly believe the contraceptive pill protects them from sexual diseases. Girls are often not getting sex education at home, and if they do not attend biology or home economics classes, or drop out of school early, they miss out altogether.The survey found that those who received little or no sex education were more likely to lose their virginity earlier, have more sexual partners and engage in unprotected sex. The Government introduced the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) programme to schools in 1995, but less than half of secondary schools have it.

March 23, 2002   UN Wire   Mexico and Guatemala Launch Plans to Reduce Maternal Mortality.   Using a World Health Organization strategy, Mexico and Guatemala plan to improve health care for their poorest populations. Health Secretary Julio Frenk said that good health, like education, is necessary for development and growth . "Most of the women who die from hemorrhages did not receive adequate care," said Julio Garcia Colindres, director of the new National Program on Reproductive Health. "They live so far away that when they arrive at the nearest hospital, it is already too late." Hemorrhages account for 40% of maternal deaths in Guatemala, while 21% are associated with complications from abortion. Women will be taught the importance of spacing pregnancies by at least two years, to have children between the ages of 20 and 35, and to seek prenatal and postnatal care. Public and private health services in Guatemala reach only about 58% of the population.

March 23, 2002   The Guardian   Disease Stalks the Megacities: 6,000 Children a Day Die From Water-Borne Illnesses That Could Be Cheaply Eradicated.   Two leading British development groups, Tearfund and WaterAid, warned in their report, The Human Waste that sanitation in many of the world's cities is in crisis and will dramatically worsen with the continuing growth of cities and slums. 2.5 billion people, 40% of the world's population, lack access to even the most minimal toilet facilities and up to 6,000 children a day die from water-borne diseases which could be eradicated cheaply and quickly. Sewage pollution, they say, is one of the biggest and most common causes of illnesses In Asia, the level of sewage in rivers is 50 times higher than UN guidelines. According to WHO, the World Health Organization, diarrhoea is the world's second most serious killer of children, despite the fact that in 90% of cases it can be easily prevented or treated. In Latin America only 2% of sewage receives any treatment at all." As people move to the cities, the number of people without sanitation will double to almost 5 billion within 23 years. In developing countries, "Contaminated water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene cause over 80% of all disease." "Half of all hospital beds in developing countries are full of people suffering waterborne diseases. Human waste is responsible for cholera, typhoid, trachoma, schistosomiasis and other infectious diseases that affect billions of people."

March 23, 2002   Xinhua/United News of Bangladesh/UNwire   Bangladesh: Maternal Morbidity Threatens Development, Says UNFPA .   Long-term maternal morbidity threatens about 9 million women in Bangladesh. "Changes in health condition directly affects development prospects, and the chances of eradicating poverty becomes less," UNFPA said. Fistulas, urinary incontinence and urinary prolapse are common problems. The maternal mortality rate is high at 4 deaths per 1,000 live births, with only 12% of births receiving skilled attention. Postpartum hemorrhaging accounts for 28%, and abortion accounts for 21% of maternal deaths. Mortality among adolescent mothers is almost double the national average, with women under 20 accounting for the largest segment of births.

March 22, 2002   PRNewswire   Catholic Health Association Supports Medically Appropriate, Morally Acceptable Care for Sexual Assault Victims .   Rev. Michael D. Place, STD, president of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) said "... a female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from a sexual assault. ... If, after appropriate testing, it is considered medically appropriate, approved FDA drugs can be administered in a Catholic hospital for contraceptive purposes for the prevention of fertilization." However, "a Catholic hospital cannot provide these drugs if their effect would be abortifacient: that is, the fertilized ovum would be destroyed."

March 22, 2002   Negative Population Growth   USA: Florida’s Population Increasing Faster Than Expected .   Florida’s population is projected to reach 25 million by 2030, University of Florida demographers said last week. Those numbers, higher than expected, will cause Florida’s population to surpass New York’s, making it the third largest state. June Nogle, a demographer with the university's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said that accommodating so many people will be a large challenge. Providing adequate housing could mean increasing density restrictions in zoning so more people can be squeezed into developments. "The smaller counties may be major development targets and the major counties will have to start demolishing to make room for different style of housing," said Nogle. The report said that Florida’s population growth is being fueled primarily by a population shift within the U.S. from the Northeast to the Sunbelt. About 85% of the new residents are expected to come from other parts of the country, with the remainder made up mainly of immigrants. The new people will need for new highways and mass transit systems, expanded seaports and airports, new schools and teachers, new water and sewage treatment plants and utility lines, new police, firefighters and paramedics, new parks and recreation centers and expanded health and social services. They sometimes destroy natural habitat for plants and animals and cause air and water pollution."

March 22, 2002   Seattle Times   Talking About Burqas, Bush and Birth Control.   [This is a summary of an opinion by Ellen Goodman, syndicated columnist.] The war in Afghanistan has been appropriately praised as a victory for the freedom of women. On International Women's Day at the United Nations, first lady Laura Bush said, "We affirm out mission to protect human rights for women in Afghanistan and around the world." But something is missing. The Bush administration has talked about the right to work, the right to education, the right to walk freely on streets, but nothing about rights that have to do with sex and childbearing, as if women's freedom didn't include the freedom to decide when and how to have children. Women living under the Taliban's rule had the second-highest rate of maternal death in the world. Only 5% of women were literate, they bore an average of eight children and one of every 15 women died from complications of pregnancy. Bush's attitude towards womens reproductive freedom is particularly evident when he withheld the $34 million for family planning that Congress approved for the U.N. Population Fund (the UNFPA) - he withheld it due to Rep. Chris Smith's (NJ) rant about how the money was supporting China's coercive one-child policies. Which is untrue, since the UNFPA only works in areas where the programs are voluntary and has been pushing China to change. Adrienne Germain of the International Women's Health Coalition says: "If women can't control their own bodies, make their own decisions about when to have children and how many to have, they have difficulty getting an education or employment. If they are forced to have sex, denied information and protection about sexual diseases, it limits how they can be and act in the world."

March 20, 2002   EurekaAlert!   Report Supports Sustainable Food Production Environment and Public Health Could Benefit From Shift in Agricultural Practices.   According to a review by the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, published in the May 2002 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the current industrial methods of food production are not sustainable because of their "damaging impacts on the environment and public health". These methods harm the environment: "heavy farm machinery degrades soil health and poor farming practices deplete soil fertility, excessive fertilizer and pesticide use pollute waterways, and monocropping?diminishes biodiversity." These methods also harm human health. The heavy reliance on "growth-promoting antibiotics" in animal husbandry promotes antibiotic resistance, and "animal crowding in factory farms and high-speed processing of food animals [results in] an increased incidence of foodborne diseases." Heavy pesticide use is associated with an elevated risk of cancer, and diets with high meat content have been linked to an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes further burdening our health care system. Given the world?s high current population density and its anticipated growth - 6 billion ballooning to 9.3 billion by 2050 - the impacts of industrial animal farming on our environment and health are unsustainable. "The authors describe various farming methods that enhance sustainability", but emphasize that these will be effective only when it is generally acknowledged that agriculture depends on a finite natural resource base. For a start, each of us should cut our meat consumption.     jlf

March 20, 2002   Xinhua   U.N. Official Calls for Investment in Women .   The 10 richest nations individually are wealthier than the 10 poorest nations combined, with the results that illiteracy and ill health are still the norm for half the world, said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) at a press conference in Monterrey, Mexico. One sure way of dealing with those problems was investing in women. World leaders should pledge more support for women and free them from lack of education and poor health such as malnutrition, chronic ill health, exposure to communicable diseases, maternal mortally, and HIV/AIDS. 17 billion dollars were to have been mobilized in 2000 for population activities, but, only 11 billion dollars has been raised. Developed countries have not even reached 50% of their share, while poor countries have attained 80% from domestic resources to meet their commitments. "Investing in women is investing in change and in the future," said Obaid.

March 20, 2002   Canberra Times   Salt Ravages Australia's Environment .   Salinity ravages key waterways and agricultural zones in Australia, according to the new Australian State of the Environment report by over 100 scientists, government agencies and private sector groups. The report also cited growing damage to the nation's coral reefs, vegetation loss. Committee chairman Bruce Thom said "Although there has been some improvement since 1996, as a nation we are not sustainable in environmental concerns." In the same report, Australia's biodiversity was found to be better protected, particularly in Sydney Harbour, and urban air was cleaner, but the salinity is increasing in the Murray-Darling basin which provides 40% of Australia's agricultural value. 5.7 million hectares of land are at risk from salinity and 17 million hectares are expected to be impacted by 2050. Greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 16.9% from 1990 to 1998 while the government has so far refused to ratify the international Kyoto treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions, instead partnering with the U.S. Bush administration to find practical approaches to deal with climate change. A $1.5 billion conservation plan was developed.

March 19, 2002     "The Stork"    by Nina Paley.  Click on the link to see a great cartoon video of the effects of overpopulation.

March 19, 2002   Los Angeles Times   Study Urges Trawling Ban in Fragile Marine Habitats Fisheries: A Practice Likened to 'Clear-Cutting' the Oceans Needs to Use Less Damaging Gear, Federal Researchers Say.   A report released by the National Academy of Sciences says that numerous areas of concern along the Pacific Coast, the North Atlantic, the Gulf coasts and waters around Alaska are impacted by modern practices of 'bottom trawling' which, in modern day practice, uses rollers attached to nets which allow them to scour deep, uneven terrain that functions as fish nurseries. Bottom trawling scrapes away cold-water coral, sponges and various plants, and a single pass wipes out 68% of sea anemones and 21% of starfish. Repeated passes result in a 93% reduction in these bottom-dwelling creatures. The Academy recommends that the federal government reduce bottom trawling and require trawlers to modify their gear to minimize damage. "We need to reduce fishing efforts because we have too many boats chasing too few fish." The recommendation is supported by environmental groups such as the American Oceans Campaign as well as the recreational fishing lobby who blame commercial trawling for ruining fishing for everyone else.

March 19, 2002   Planet Ark   Desertification Seen Ravaging Farming and Wildlife .   Desertification is devastating farm production and the variety of plant and animal life in many parts of the world, adding to pressure to produce food more efficiently, according to delegates to a conference in Egypt. Adel El-Beltagy, of the Syria-based International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) said "We continue to lose good land to desertification through wind and water erosion, salinity, urbanisation and unsuitable farming practices." .. and "drought is the worst enemy of the poor." One billion people live in the world's dry areas, with West Asia and North Africa facing the most serious threat of water shortages. 40% of the world's farmland was severely degraded. To make matters worse, the world's fast-growing population will be concentrated in area where dry lands are widespread. The global population may grow to over eight billion by 2020. Brian Johnson, a leading British geneticist, said intensive farming methods, such as over-grazing, were degrading soils at an alarming rate and cutting their capacity to hold water. Genetically modified foods that are drought and salt tolerant may be the answer, he said, but they also could lead to changes in land and water use that damage wildlife and promote intensification of agriculture and forestry.

March 19, 2002   IRIN Plus News   Religious Leaders in Tanzania Opposed to Condoms .   AIDS NGOs Network in East Africa (ANNEA), is concerned about religious leaders recent statement that they were implacably against the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS, saying "all holy books" across the world were against the use of condoms." An estimated two million people in Tanzania were now believed to be living with HIV, some 70% of whom are between 25 and 49 years old. There is already a high level of HIV/AIDS awareness among Tanzanians.

March 19, 2002   New York Times   White House Adds Billions to An Increase in Foreign Aid .   Preceeding President Bush's visit to a development meeting in Mexico, his administration proposed to double what the president had previously promised in foreign towards fighting world poverty in coming years. Bush will increase foreign aid spending by 50% over three years beginning in the 2004 fiscal year. The proposal would raise development assistance to $15 billion, from $10 billion by 2006, the officials said, and would not decrease it thereafter. Mark Malloch Brown, head of the United Nations Development Program, said the goal set by world leaders in 2000 was to cut poverty in half by 2015.

March 18, 2002   IRIN/Africa News   Rwanda: Sexual Activity Among Street Children in Kigali.   Most of the street children in Kigali knew about HIV/AIDS and wanted more information about it. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University conducted survey in conjunction the Myboboh Club of street children and youths with a median age of 13 years, ranging from six to 20. Most of them - 184 - were male, while 54 were female. Over 50% of those interviewed had lost both parents, and 13% had one parent. 50% the boys and over 75% of the girls interviewed reported having had sex. 35% of those under 10 were found to be sexually active.

March 18, 2002   Asia Intelligence Wire   China: Healthy Plea for Family Man .   Chinese men will be asked to take more responsibility for family planning by health experts and family planning workers - to show they care for their family and to guarantee their equal rights to information and access to services. This will lessen unwanted pregnancy and prevent reproductive tract and other sexually transmitted infections - particularly since female contraceptives do not prevent transmitted diseases. State Family Planning Commission figures show that 46.3% of those using family planning measures take intra-uterine devices and 37.6% have chosen female sterilization, and only 2% use condoms. 77.8% of those surveyed in Northeast China's Jilin Province refused to use condoms, saying it is inconvenient or makes sex less enjoyable, but with the promotion of condom use and the dissemination of male sexual health knowledge, condom use increased by 45.8%. Men are also being urged to educate children about safe sex and avoid resorting to domestic violence.

March 17, 2002   Earth Policy Institute   Our Closest Relatives Are Disappearing .   At the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago, baboons outnumbered humans by 2 to 1. The invention of agriculture allowed the humans to grow at an unprecedented rate and about 2,000 years ago humans became the most populous primate. In 1930 the human population was outnumbered all the other primates combined. Today the human population has grown to 6.2 billion but many other primate species are in danger of going extinct. Only recently scientists verified the disappearance of the monkey known as "Miss Waldron's red colobus", a subspecies of a West African Monkey. This happened after more than a century without any known extinction of a primate species. Out of the 244 known primate species 19 are "critically endangered" (up from 13 in 1996), 46 are "endangered" (up from 29 in 1996), and 19 are classified as "vulnerable". The critically endangered group counts species which have suffered extreme losses and now only count populations to at most a few thousand. If humanity continues their present actions some species will disappear within this decade. The species in endangered group will most likely be extinct within the next two decades, whereas the vulnerable species may go extinct within this century. In contrast to humans which have spread themselves all over the Earth 75% of the all other primates live in just four countries: Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, and Madagascar. In all of these countries forest cover is diminishing due to human activity. In Indonesia almost two million hectares are cleared annually and by 2005 all the lowland forest of Sumatra will be gone taking with it the Sumatran orangutang among many other species. The Borneo orangutan is not likely to stay with us past 2010 if present trends continue. In Congo the bonobo which is homo sapiens closest relative, genetically speaking, numbered 100,000 in 1980, but now there are fewer than 10,000 left. In comparison more than 300,000 human babies are born daily - more than the total population of the great apes. Congo contains half of Africa's remaining tropical forests but is plagued by civil war which though it has created millions of human refugees and an increased demand for wild meat may cynically be considered a good thing for the apes as it slows "economic development" of the region. IF stability were to return the rate of forest logging would likely increase by several factors. Gorilla populations have dropped due to commercial hunting for wild meat. Fewer than 325 mountain gorillas are left. The Cross River Gorilla is limited to only 150-200 individuals scattered around the Cameroon/Nigeria border region. In parts of West and Central Africa hunting is a greater threat than habitat destruction/forest logging. The combined "bushmeat" trade is estimated at $1 billion a year and up to 60% are consumed in the cities. Almost half of the 30 million people living in the forested regions of Central Africa are fed on bushmeat from collapsing primate populations. To save the primates resources are needed to curb illegal hunting and logging. Large areas can be converted into parks and ecotourism can be used to support primate conservation, where former hunters may find an alternative income in park protection once they realize that live animals are worth more than dead ones.     jlf

March 17, 2002   Women's E-News   FDA 'Red Tape' Delays Reintroduction of Today Sponge Contraceptive in United States .   The popular Today sponge contraceptive was taken off the U.S. market eight years ago. Now "red tape" has delayed its reintroduction. The sponge is reported to be one of the "few over-the-counter, non-hormonal, woman-controlled contraceptives" approved in the United States. It can be placed in the vagina up to 24 hours before intercourse and is 90% effective in preventing pregnancy by releasing a spermicide. The former manufacturer Whitehall-Robbins (now Wyeth Consumer Health Care), did not want to make the equipment upgrades necessary for maintaining FDA approval. Allendale Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to the sponge in 1999. The product is still sold in Canada. The FDA has required "significant packaging changes" to the sponge, including adding a warning about toxic shock syndrome. Allendale says that FDA officials have also cancelled two appointments to inspect for compliance with changes, leading some reproductive health advocates to suspect that the agency may be "stalling for reasons unrelated to the sponge itself." Gene Detroyer, Allendale's CEO, said "Today's sponge is an approved product ... there has never been a major health risk or health problem from it. What better proof that you have a safe and advantageous product than a quarter of a billion uses?" The FDA approval process is 'tougher' under the Bush administration.

March 17, 2002   Miami Herald   Florida State Employees Enrolled in PPO Would Receive Contraceptive Coverage Under Budget Proposal .   Florida employees who receive health insurance coverage through the state's PPO health plan would also receive coverage for prescription contraceptives under a provision added to the state's budget proposal. Florida's personnel agency estimated that the cost to the state would be $1.6 million, but this cost would be offset by savings resulting from fewer unintended pregnancies and abortions. Contraceptive coverage for federal employees was approved by Congress in 1998, and 17 states have passed laws requiring private insurers to include contraceptives in their coverage plans.   [Note: while the U.S. has reached replacement level fertility, it still grows by about a million avoidable pregnancies. The growth rate of the US is an unacceptable 1%, the increase due immigration, births, and long lives.

March 16, 2002   Womens ENews   USA: Arizona State Senator Introduces Bill Mandating Comprehensive, Medically Accurate' Sex Education .   In Arizona, a bill (SB 1157) has been introduced by state Sen. Susan Gerard (R) requiring public schools that opt to teach sex education to give students comprehensive, "medically accurate" information drawn from the CDC and peer-reviewed medical journals. Schools would be required to provide "up-to-date, judgement-free information" about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases - if they teach sex ed. The bill is intended to counter abstinence-only sex education such as the Bush administration has proposed a $33 million funding increase for fiscal year 2003. Gerard said "Abstinence is fine, but we need to deal with the realities of today. Kids are having sex and they aren't getting the information they need to make important decisions." California, Oregon, Missouri and Alabama all have "medically accurate" sex education laws, and Washington state is considering similar legislation to require comprehensive education.

March 15, 2002   University of Florida   USA: Florida’s Population Increasing Faster Than Expected .   Researchers at University of Florida said this week that the state can expect steady population growth over the next three decades and will replace New York as the third-largest state. Projects show Florida’s population is expected to grow from the current 15.9 million people to 24.5 million. Broward County in South Florida is expected to have the largest population increase, growing by 940,000 people over the next 30 years. npg

March 15, 2002   Negative Population Growth   USA: Growing Population Strains Water Resources.   Due to increasing demand by an increasing population underground aquifiers -which supply 60% of the U.S.'s fresh water - are mined faster than they are replenished. With surface water also being stressed situations of shortages are appearing all over the country now. With water becoming more scarce, conflicts are growing as diminishing supplies have to be distributed between industries, farmers, ordinary citizens, and fish and wildlife.   [In CIA's "Global Trends 2015", water shortages are listed as one of the problems facing the U.S.]  jlf

March 15, 2002   Associated Press   Vatican Attacks UN Birth Control Policy .   Msgr Renato Martino, a Vatican official said the latest population figures "give the lie to the doom mongers who have been spreading alarming forecasts on world population growth," and said that women's fertility was falling because of "poverty, AIDS, lack of water, disease and long conflicts" and that they are penalized by family planning policies which in some cases, like China, even impose punishments, and by a model of development based on industrialisation. He said that, while a family with eight children is a catastrophe for someone living in New York, "it's a blessing for a Brazilian mother, who needs strong arms in the field."   [Note: Msgr Martino needs to tell us on what planet has poverty, AIDS, lack of water or long conflicts slowed women's fertility. He should check out the conditions and fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, for example. And where in Brazil is this mother of eight going to find enough arable land to grow enough food with which to feed her brood?]

March 14, 2002   The Jerusalem Post online   Emergency Contraception Available Without Prescription in Israel .   A "morning after" pill called Postinor 2 is being changed by the Israeli Health Ministry from a prescription-only to an over-the-counter (OTC) drug since many young girls become pregnant on weekends, when access to a physician is limited. England, France, Norway, Portugal and Belgium, already offer it as an OTC drug. A study involving 95,000 women in Britain showed that only a small percentage of them took Postinor 2 a second time after unprotected sex. 90% of the participants at a recent conference of the Israel Society for Contraception and Sexual Health said they supported the new policy.

March 14, 2002   The Independent   New Pill Means Less Periods for Women .   "Seasonale" is a new version of the oral contraceptive pill undergoing clinical trials in America. It will allow women to lengthen their menstrual cycle to three or four months. It will not change the chance of women becoming pregnant if they stop taking it, says Professor John Guillebaud, medical director at the Margarete Pyke health centre in London. Those are effectively put to sleep, the same as when a woman is pregnant. Seasonale contains the same combination of female hormones, but with different packaging.

March 14, 2002   Grist Magazine   How's the Weather? Taking the Earth's Temperature .   The world just experienced the warmest January ever recorded according to measurements by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Global temperatures with up 0.69C (1.24F) above the 30 year 1951-1980 baseline. In large areas of North America and Central Asia the temperature was 4C (7F) above average. February did not set a record - 1998 was warmer. The period 11/2001-01/2002 were the second warmest on record going 0.57C (1.03F) above average. According to NOAA scientist water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have increased bt 2C (3.75F) in February eventually leading into a full-fledged El Nino in the next three months. An El Nino typically brings heavy rains and floods to the U.S. and South America and drought and forest fires to many areas of Southeast Asia, Australia, and the western Pacific. The last El Nino occurred in 1997.     jlf

March 14, 2002   The Independent   New Pill Means Less Periods for Women .   "Seasonale" is a new version of the oral contraceptive pill undergoing clinical trials in America. It will allow women to lengthen their menstrual cycle to three or four months. It will not change the chance of women becoming pregnant if they stop taking it, says Professor John Guillebaud, medical director at the Margarete Pyke health centre in London. Those are effectively put to sleep, the same as when a woman is pregnant. Seasonale contains the same combination of female hormones, but with different packaging.

March 14, 2002   New York Times*   F.D.A. Considers New Tests for Environmental Effects.   In light of the recent discoveries of medicine traces in much of the U.S. water system, the FDA are now considering to reevaluate their 1997 cut-backs (as suggested by the Clinton administration) of the environmental tests in the drug-approval process. The survey, published in the online journal, Environmental Science and Technology and also relased on http://toxics.usgs.gov, investigated more than 100 waterways in 30 states and found traces of medications excreted by humans and animals and not captured by sewage treatment plants. Additional studies, investigating whether the contamination also reaches human drinking water supply, are coordinated under the $14 million toxic substances hydrology program of the US Geological Survey which is slated to be eliminated by the Bush administration and replaced by a $10 million program for water quality studies coordinated by the NSF. The USGS program provided the first comprehensive concrete data on levels of antibiotics, hormones and other drugs in American waterways many of which are not defined as pollution under the clean-water laws and consequently not checked. A previous drug assessments turned up no instances where the compounds had an adverse effect, FDA officials said. However some categories were excluded from such assessments, including hormones, like estrogen, which are natural substances. Estrogens are increasingly the focus of the EPA and it is now thought that they alter sexual characteristics in fish and other aquatic species. "As we look more at low levels of drugs, it appears that some of them have real biological effects in real situations," said Dr. Rebecca Goldburg, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense, a private lobbying and research group. Some 40% of the investigated streams showed traces of estrogen or other reproductive hormones.   [Another example of the IPAT formula at work: environmental Impacts (I) = Population (P) X Affluence (A) X Technology (T) ]     jlf

March 14, 2002   New York Times   U.S. Finds Trace Levels of Medications in Waterways .   A federal survey of more than 100 waterways have discovered trace levels of medicine such as antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, cough suppressants, and disinfectants throughout the U.S. Many of these are unchecked as they are not defined as pollution under clean water laws. Additionally the environmental impact of most drugs has not examined by the FDA since 1997 and long-term health effects are unknown. A USGS project to study whether such contamination reaches drinking water has been slashed under proposed Bush administration budget cuts.   [More under the article entitled F.D.A. Considers New Tests for Environmental Effects below.]  jlf

March 14, 2002   Honolulu Star-Bulletin   Hawaii House Passes Legislation to Allow Pharmacists to Dispense EC Without a Prescription .   Pharmacists would be allowed to dispense emergency contraception to women over the age of 18 without a doctor's prescription, under a bill (HB 2806) passed by the Hawaii House. Supporters say the bill would benefit women without health insurance and women in rural areas who have access to few clinics or doctors and would allow women to avoid the wait for an appointment with a doctor that "could inhibit women from being able to take advantage" of the benefits of EC. The pill must be taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. The state Board of Pharmacy is opposed to the bill. Opponents say that only physicians can determine whether "harmful side effects are likely" in women who use EC. An amendment to the bill would exclude minors from being eligible to receive EC without a physician's prescription even though under current law minors to have access to medical care regarding venereal diseases, pregnancy and family planning services."

March 12, 2002   Development Gateway   New Food Aid Database .   Food Aid Management's database catalogues and describes the more than 8,000 materials in the Food Security Resource Center. Topics covered include (but are not limited to): food security, monitoring, evaluation, monetization, local capacity building. participatory approaches, agriculture, integrated pest management, commodity management, maternal/child health, nutrition, child survival, water and sanitation, ethics, and biotechnology.

March 12, 2002   Newsday   Group is Mislabeled .   Why is the White House giving credence to unsubstantiated information provided by a group whose avowed goal is to reduce - if not end - U.S. involvement in international family planning efforts? The administration is ignoring the factual evidence and recommendations supplied by its own State Department. In your March 1 issue, "Bush Holds UN Aid for Family Planning" the Population Research Institute is portrayed as a "watchdog group in family planning but in June 2001, PRI President Steven Mosher stated that "the use of contraceptives and sterilization is offensive to human dignity in many ways, but not the least because of its connection to abortion and euthanasia." The aim of PRI is to dismantle and defund any and all international family planning programs. The UNFPA has saved and improved the lives of millions of women and has worked since 1969 to expand family planning and related health services to families across the globe.   [Summarized from a letter to the editor by Terri L. Bartlett of Population Action International].

March 11, 2002   Christian Science Monitor   New Global Forecast: Population Decline in Sight.   James Chamie, director of the United Nation's population division (UNFPA) estimates that the growth of the human population will level off by the end of this century. He attributes this to a combination of international family-planning programs, growing prosperity, and better education of women, which is credited with reducing fertility rates worldwide. Last year, UN experts projected that the population would grow to 9.3 billion in 2050, and stabilize at 10 billion in 2150. The new projections are based on the trends in 74 "intermediate-fertility countries" where women now have about three children on average - India, Brazil, the Philippines, Syria, Israel, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Egypt are in this category. China, with 1.2 billion people - and Russia, another populous nation, already have fertility rates below the replacement rate. Once fertility falls below the replacement rate, it takes a generation or two for the population to cease growing and then decline. Wolfgang Lutz of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna puts the world's population peak at 9 billion in 2070, while 4 years ago he figured that the population would peak at 10.5 billion to 11 billion in 2075. Some experts are concerned that the new population projections may discourage the financing of family planning in developing countries by the world's wealthy nations. Sally Ethelston, a spokeswoman for Population Action International in Washington says that 9 billion is still a 50% rise in world population. "The rationale for expanding family-planning access still exists." Many experts see risks of overcrowding resulting in famine, spreading disease, other catastrophes, and political unrest. Even in some poor nations with high illiteracy, fertility rates have been falling. In Tunisia, with nearly 40% illiteracy among women, the fertility rate has fallen to the replacement level. Couples in these countries have perhaps been influenced by family-planning information. Mr. Sanderson, of State University of New York at Stony Brook said, "The average Bangladeshi woman knows seven methods of contraception." Average fertility rates are still high in Africa and the Middle East. Economist Warren Anderson said "It really means that human beings are able to control their fertility before it reaches the carrying capacity of their environment."

March 11, 2002   CNSNews.com   Massachusetts, USA: Contraceptive Coverage Bill Becomes Law .   Acting Gov. Jane Swift (R) on Thursday signed into law a bill requiring all private insurers that offer prescription drug benefits to cover prescription contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, Legislators rejected an amendment that would have allowed religiously affiliated organizations, including hospitals, universities and nursing homes, to opt out of the requirement if they have a moral objection to birth control. Organizations directly controlled by religious groups are already excluded from mandatory contraception coverage by federal law.

March 10, 2002   New York Times*   Population Estimates Fall as Poor Women Assert Control.   Experts once thought that some of the big developing nations would push the world population to 10 billion people by the end of this century. But new evidence from women in rural villages and big megacities in Brazil, Egypt, India, and Mexico run contrary to these past estimates. Many once thought, and still believe, that in order to decrease birth rates, one must first improve the country's living standards and educational opportunities. A decrease in birth rates, however, has been seen in countries that are still impoverished and have low literacy rates. In India alone, there may be 600 million fewer people by 2100 than predicted. Demographers will meet next week to reassess the outlook on global population and may lower population estimates for the century. Some are being bold enough to even say that lower birth rates have little to do with government policies on family planning and foreign aid. In Brazil, fertility levels tumbled from 6.15 to 2.27 children per woman in the last half-century without an official national family planning policy. Women's health organizations say that fertility rates are decreasing because women are starting to have control over their reproductive lives. Cynthia Steele, Vice President of programs for the International Women's Health Coalition in New York, said "Women have always known what's best for them and their families." Demographers even think that fertility rates may drop below the replacement level of 2.1 children per women in the big developing countries. This would follow trends in industrialized countries, which have caused concern about the shrinking labor force and an aging population. John C. Caldwell of the Australian National University warns that countries are not homogenous however and that some large countries in Africa and Asia will continue to prefer more children.     rs

March 08, 2002   New York Times*   Afghanistan: Children as Barter in a Famished Land.   Afghanistan is now in its fourth year of drought, and with has come famine. The hungry cope by selling their possessions, eating fodder, and wandering away to beg. But still, they see their family members die one by one. To survive they must sometimes sell their children into labor. Even without famine, more than 1 in 5 children die and life expectancy is 44. Even with food aid, roads are few and distribution is poor. Many villages are several days away from food distribuition - far from roads and isolated by high mountains and snow. Girls have always been "sold" for marriage, but now for children it is closer to the practice of bonded labor. Arrangements differ but most often the child is exchanged for a continuing supply of cash or wheat.

March 08, 2002   Wall Street Journal   ACOG Sends Letter to Physicians Urging Them to Prescribe Advance Doses of EC to Patients .   The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has launched an "unprecedented" campaign to expand access to emergency contraception urging its 40,000 member physicians to give patients advance prescriptions for EC in case of "emergencies," and to lobby local pharmacies - many of which do not stock EC due to low demand - to stock the pills. EC can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, [It does not cause abortion]. Although 50% of U.S. women between the ages of 15 and 44 have had an unintended pregnancy, only 2% of women in this age group have ever used EC.

March 08, 2002   Asia Intelligence Wire   WHO Calls for the Reduction of High-risk Maternity .   Dr. Seipati Mothebesoane-Anoh, regional co-ordinator of the Making Pregnancy Safer(MPS) of WHO said that WHO aims to "ensure that women could have access to reproductive health care and appropriate action at community level." Assisted childbirth, emergency obstetrical care of quality and PAC were proposed. High- risk maternity should be reduced by at least 50% of 2000 levels. The improvement of the quality of services and accessibility to post-abortion care, educating the community on reproductive health and high-risk abortion, as well as amending laws and policies on women's reproductive health, protection can help reduce high-risk pregnancy considerably.

March 08, 2002   Planet Ark   Wind Energy Grows Worldwide .   Wind turbine installations increased by 45% last year, powering 10 million homes, making wind the world's fastest growing energy source. Europe, was leader at 4,500 MW; the U.S. came in second, increasing capacity by 1,700 MW, and India added about 240 MW. In the U.S. tax credits encouraging new wind power projects expired at the end of 2001 have yet to renewed, so the U.S. risks losing 2nd place.

March 06, 2002   The Washington Post   Study Ties Pollution, Risk of Lung Cancer; Effects Similar to Secondhand Smoke .   Long-term exposure to microscopic particles from coal-fired power plants, factories, refineries, and diesel trucks which can be compared to the effects of second-hand smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows. Previous research by Harvard University and the American Cancer Society linked the particles to high mortality rates from cardiopulmonary diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and asthma. People living in the most heavily polluted metropolitan areas are 12% more likely to die from lung cancer than people in the least polluted areas. The particles so small (>2.5 micrometers) that they evade the lungs natural defenses and are thus inhaled deeply. The new findings come as the Bush administration considers proposals to ease restrictions on aging coal-fired power plants. Coal plants built before 1980 supplies half of the U.S. electricity but according to experts they emits nearly all of the utility industry's unhealthy sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and soot. Though air pollution has declined during the past 20 years due to increased enforcement of clean air laws though EPA limits are still exceeded in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington. About 30,100 American deaths a year can be related to power plant emissions.     jlf

March 05, 2002   North Jersey News   N.J. Water Contains Traces of Daily Life.   Epilepsy drugs, deodorants,traces of antibiotics, flame retardants, artificial colors, and fuel additives, and other compounds have been discovered in minute amounts in 30 of New Jersey's brooks and rivers. Carbamazepine, a painkiller; AHTN, a fragrance in consumer products; and prometon, a herbicide, were most common. The chemicals were in such tiny concentrations that many scientists think they pose no risk. Many of the compounds have not been studied at low concentrations ingested over months, years, or a lifetime. Of the 139 streams across the country 80% had at least one compound. Half had traces of seven or more. Much of the contamination comes from drugs and chemicals that flow through our bodies, down our drains, and eventually end up in the lakes, rivers, and underground pools that feed our tap water. We don't know that any of this is a danger. European scientists have tied an ingredient in birth control pills to male fish that produce female hormones. Shrunken testes in alligators have been linked to pesticides. Experts are scrambling to learn what's in the water. Testing methods have become able to pick up low levels of a chemical that may have previously been undetectable. Others are newcomers. The body can excrete drugs and food additives, or turn them into new compounds. Hormones and antibiotics are pumped into livestock and then seep into nearby streams. Chemicals leak out of landfills, and even cemeteries. Sewage and water treatment plants have been designed to take out traditional pollutants. The findings are tentative and researchers are trying to figure out what danger, if any, the compounds pose. In general, levels were far below health standards;, however, for most of the compounds found, no standards exist. It could take years to figure out what the low levels mean, especially in tandem with hundreds of other unusual chemicals.     rw

March 04, 2002   IPPF   China's First Clinic for Teenagers .   China's first clinic for teenagers opened in Beijing Saturday to cater to their special needs. The clinic has departments of gynecology, maternity, and psychological consultation and will provide education on safe sex practices.

March 02, 2002   United Nations Population Fund   UNFPA Executive Director Warns of Implications of Rapid Population Growth as Preparations Continue for Sustainable Development Summit .   Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), warned that "today, population growth is a matter for the poorest countries, but it affects the world, and demands a global response". Speaking before a preparatory meeting for the World Summit On Sustainable Development (WSSD) to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September, she said that, in the next 50 years, the combined population of the least developed countries was expected to triple from 658 million to 1.8 billion, and that "if they have no other choices, the damage to the environment will be profound and permanent." An estimated 120 million couples would use family planning services, if they had access to them and said, "as a matter of human rights and as a basis for their other choices, women need ready access to the full range of reproductive health information and services, including voluntary family planning."

March 02, 2002   United Nations Population Fund   Minister Says Increasing Population is a Challenge to Rwanda .   With a population density of 250.7 people per square kilometer (1998 figures), Rwanda is one of the most crowded nations in the world. Growing at 3.2% per year, it's size will double to 16 million by 2020. Donald Kaberuka, the country’s Finance and Economic Planning Minister, says this presents a challenge to the government. The country would need to increase its gross domestic product 7 or 8% per annum by 2020. Such an effort would fail unless agriculture was transformed from subsistence to commercial production. To meet development goals, there must be good government, poverty reduction, prudent management of the economy, training of people for a service-based economy and implementation of a vigorous rural development policy.

March 2002   The White House   Bush's Plan to Dramatically Increase Developing Country Assistance.   The U.S. will increase assistance to developing countries by 50% in the next 3 years, a $5 billion annual increase by FY 2006. A White House report says that in two generations, per capita income in developing countries has nearly doubled. Illiteracy has been cut by a third. Infant mortality in the poorest countries has been almost halved. However, over half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. To receive funding, countries must demonstrate a commitment to three goals: 1. Root out corruption, uphold human rights, adhere to the rule of law. 2. Invest in education, health care, and immunization. 3. Foster enterprise and entrepreneurship. Open markets, sustainable budgets and support for entrepreneurship unleash growth and prosperity. This will be the largest increase in foreign assistance in 40 years. The complaint has been raised that the new compact rewards past performance rather than future promise and the old system has not worked.     rw

February 28, 2002   PRB release   Women of Our World 2002 Wallchart .   The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) has produced the "Women of Our World 2002" wallchart, an updated data sheet that catalogues the status of women in 168 countries. Women have seen major gains in health, education, and rights over the last half-century, but women in the poorest countries continue to be held back by gender inequality that limits their schooling, hinders their ability to plan their pregnancies, and affords them few economic opportunities. The data sheet was released in advance of International Women's Day on March 8. Contact PRB at prborders@prb.org.

February 27, 2002   planetwire.org   Information on the UNFPA Funding Hearings Available .   On February 27 Senator Barbara Boxer chaired a Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on the UNFPA funding situation. www.PLANetWIRE.org will be posting a summary and analysis of the hearing, including a full Webcast and copies of statements. Included will be background information, latest media coverage (including a link to a BBC News expose' of Population Research Institute), copies of letters written by NGOs and members of Congress in favor of continuing funding of UNFPA, spokespeople contact information and much more. As of today, 50 editorials have been written in support of full funding. It is imperative that the White House sees the groundswell of support that exists around the country for the full funding of UNFPA. Please continue to call the editorial boards, fax those memos and submit letters to the editor. The White House has seen all of the editorials, articles and letters placed to date. Please contact Tawana at 202-326-8724 or tjacobs@ccmc.org if you have any questions or need assistance.

February 27, 2002   BBC News   Abortion Row Threatens UN Funds.   Accusations by the Population Research Institute (PRI) could cause the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to lose more than 10% of its annual funding this year. The UNFPA says its mission is to save women's lives and promote better reproductive health care and family planning; but PRI has accused UNFPA of assisting in the slaughter of tens of millions of children, and aiding and abetting genocide in the developing world. PRI says the UNFPA is guilty of assisting the Chinese authorities in a brutal campaign of population control in which some women are forced to abort their babies, while others are sterilised after giving birth to their first child. UNFPA policy director Stirling Scruggs says that even if the charges were true, there would be no way to escape the close scrutiny of other foreign donor nations. "Switzerland, Sweden, the UK, developing countries all over the world who all care about human rights would be outraged," if the allegations were true. "We'd go out of business, we couldn't do this in secret. They all monitor what the UN does. They visit us, we talk with them all the time. People would know." Unfortunately, the Population Research Institute peddles false allegations about coercive abortion and sterilisation campaigns to the media in the developing world where they are oftentimes believed. The UNFPA says the potential U.S. donation of $34m for family planning is enough to prevent almost 5,000 maternal deaths, two million unwanted pregnancies, nearly 60,000 cases of serious maternal illness, and almost 80,000 infant and child deaths.