Population Connection media coverage

Media stories about population issues are often inaccurate, or even misleading, for example repeating common myths and misconceptions. When we encounter this type of article, we usually write a letter to the editor to have our say. Sometimes, if an article is particularly good, we voice our agreement. We also send out press releases, submit opinion pieces to external media outlets, and do occasional interviews to increase awareness of population problems and solutions.

Below, you can find links to some of our recent media coverage. And on this page, you can find links to our members’ media coverage. Be sure to let us know if you get published so we can share the link!

FEATURED COVERAGE

The New York Times, October 11, 2024

Letter

To the Editor:

Re “Getting People to Pitch In” (Climate Forward special section, Sept. 25):

Thanks for highlighting that individual climate actions do, in fact, matter. Big corporations and billionaires have oversized environmental footprints, but the footprints of eight billion and counting “normal people” also add up to a huge impact. …

The Guardian, April 9, 2024

Letter

I appreciate Devi Sridhar pointing out that declining fertility rates are a success story reflecting women gaining more choices over their bodies and lives. The trend towards smaller families is not a new one, and it has never been something to lament, but media outlets around the world sadly continue to portray it as a crisis. …

The Washington Post, March 31, 2024

Letter: Remove safety-net barriers

Beyond the unacceptable and preventable tragedy of so many American children and their families being trapped in poverty detailed in The Post’s March 26 article on President Biden’s safety net plans, our consistent refusal to fund critical programs such as day care causes great harm to the economy. …

The New York Times, January 28, 2024

Letter: China’s Concern About Lower Birthrates

To the Editor:

Re “China Told Women to Have Babies, but Its Population Shrank Again” (front page, Jan. 18):

China’s government may think of the country’s lack of population growth as a “national emergency,” but from a global perspective, it certainly isn’t. Endless growth is not compatible with planetary limits. …

GCTV interview with John Seager, August 19, 2023

Population Connection President and CEO John Seager spoke to Bill Miller of Global Connections Television (GCTV) about the planet’s carrying capacity, why we should aim for quality over quantity, and why empowering women and girls is key to a more sustainable future.

Watch on GCTV website

The New York Times, April 26, 2023

Letter: China and the Population Ponzi Scheme

To the Editor:

Re “Shrinking Population in China Affects All” (news article, April 20):

No doubt, China’s shrinking population will create economic challenges that will require creative solutions. But aren’t economic challenges preferable to the environmental ones China would face if its population continued growing well past its current 1.4 billion? ….

Boston Globe, April 8, 2023

Letter: Growing population continues to make a sizable dent in the Earth

In “Want to live to 150? The world needs more humans” (Ideas, April 2), Raiany Romanni makes the bizarre claim that we have an “emerging underpopulation crisis.” In fact, our global population is on track to exceed 10 billion in the next 40 years. If the belief that “more minds translate into better solutions” were true, then at 8 billion and counting, we surely would have solved humanity’s environmental crises by now. Instead, all of them, from climate change to resource depletion to biodiversity loss, are getting worse. …

The New York Times, February 22, 2023

Letter: End Population Growth

To the Editor:

Re “Would You Have Four Kids if It Meant Never Paying Taxes Again?,” by Jessica Grose (Opinion, nytimes.com, Feb. 8):

I appreciate Ms. Grose’s important investigation into the poor effectiveness of financial incentives for childbearing. Many governments are fretting about declining birthrates, without considering that women may not want to have larger families, or that infinite population growth is incompatible with a finite planet. …