Population and the Environment
Using the foundations of demography introduced in the first session of the series, we’ll explore how human development intersects with the environment. We will investigate the connections between industrialization, living standards, consumption patterns, and the availability of natural resources at regional and societal scales. Additionally, we’ll discuss the relationship between population growth, poverty, fertility rates, and environmental sustainability within the broader context of climate change and global inequality.
Session Date: Wednesday, April 20th
Hannah is interested in working with students, professors, and activists to promote positive social and environmental change. Hannah works with college-level students and professors to integrate population studies back into the mainstream, with a particular focus on human rights and social justice. She develops and gives comprehensive, solution-oriented presentations focused on the connections between global population growth, access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare, and environmental sustainability. Through an examination of some of the root causes of population growth, her work seeks to highlight the interconnections between poverty, marginalization, women’s rights, and environmental pressures made worse by climate change.
Before joining Population Connection’s staff, Hannah worked as an adjunct professor of Women’s Studies and taught classes on gender, science, and feminist theory. She has nonprofit experience working as a program developer for sustainable agriculture and public health programs in Honduras and Panama, and has worked as a researcher on food security issues throughout southern California. Hannah holds a BA in environmental policy and political science and a Master’s in political ecology from San Diego State University, where her research focused on sustainability labeling and ethical consumption.
Q&A
What is PopConn’s specific strategy to help support and increase funding for family planning services, domestic and internationally?
We approach this issue from several angles. Our most direct impact comes through policy work and lobbying in favor of U.S politicians, policies, and funding agendas that uphold and expand U.S. aid to international organizations that provide direct family planning services. We also partner with different organizations around the world (Africa, Latin America, and Asia) that engage in community-led sustainable development programs and act as direct service providers. Finally, our domestic work focuses on education for teachers, students, and activists of all ages and backgrounds. (you can include links here to the various programs on our webpage)
What is your assessment of the accuracy and reliability of the information disseminated by the World Inequality Lab?
I do not have enough experience with this organization to comment definitively. That said, I believe they do great work and have produced some really meaningful research in the spaces of economic development as it relates to social inequality.
How can we minimize the environmental damage of an increasing population while also providing refuge for climate migrants and other international refugees?
Climate migration will be a simple fact of life moving forward. Many argue that high-consuming countries that are most responsible for the climate crisis also have a responsibility to help and work with climate migrants who have been forced from their homes and communities because of climate impacts. The best way we can mitigate the impact of population pressures is to work to expand access to health care and education.
Several groups of ecologists have estimated that the earth can only support 2-4 billion sustainably. Limits to Growth and some others predict that there will be a collapse (i.e mortality will rise due to famine, pestilence, and war as Malthus wrote). Can you address this scenario?
I think it’s really hard to predict what will happen in the future because many solutions will come from technological innovations that have not been invented yet. In addition, the amount of people that can sustainably live on the planet is contingent upon how resources are used and consumed and the broader economic system in which human activities operate. We must change the way we produce food and energy to avert the worst possible trajectory of climate change. Our reliance on fossil fuels and extractive industry is an existential threat to humanity.
Assuming that the world population will eventually stabilize in the near future, how will we deal with overconsumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions? It seems that people don’t want to give up using fossil fuels to drive cars, fly to vacation areas, produce luxuries for purchase, etc.
We have to stop relying on fossil fuels and nonrenewable resources. So many extractive industries still benefit from government subsidies and other incentives which keep production and consumption costs artificially low. Instead, we should be making renewable energy sources more widespread and accessible. At the individual level, we all have the responsibility to make conscious choices to the best of our ability.
Can you touch on the landscape of reproductive rights in countries with high fertility rates? For example, how has access transitioned with some South American countries loosening abortion restrictions?
In general, the countries with the highest fertility rates are also the most economically challenged. Social progress reflects the better and more equitable distribution of resources and social services like health care and education, which in turn facilitate better standards of living and individual freedoms. The biggest indicators of uptake in family planning services are access and education.
What repercussions could we expect to see if the US ends up overturning Roe?
Many states have enacted “trigger laws” in preparation for Roe being overturned, which means that if and when that happens, 26 states will most likely immediately ban abortion. This will clearly devastate access to comprehensive reproductive health care in general but will hit low-income, minority communities the hardest. For instance, if abortion is banned in a certain state, only the people who can afford to travel across state lines will be able to access the service. This won’t reduce demand; rather, it will drive the procedure underground, putting more women in life-threatening conditions.
Why is early and frequent childbearing exacerbated by climate change?
In many climate-vulnerable countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, child marriage has increased alongside climate impacts like inconsistent precipitation patterns, drought, and flooding. For the populations that depend on subsistence agriculture for survival, these changes have made food production more precarious. Many children are being married off as a result of a lack of available food or capital to support them. Read more here.
What repercussions could we expect to see if the US ends up overturning Roe?
Many states have enacted “trigger laws” in preparation for Roe being overturned, which means that if and when that happens, 26 states will most likely immediately ban abortion. This will clearly devastate access to comprehensive reproductive health care in general but will hit low-income, minority communities the hardest. For instance, if abortion is banned in a certain state, only the people who can afford to travel across state lines will be able to access the service. This won’t reduce demand; rather, it will drive the procedure underground, putting more women in life-threatening conditions.
Why is early and frequent childbearing exacerbated by climate change?
In many climate-vulnerable countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, child marriage has increased alongside climate impacts like inconsistent precipitation patterns, drought, and flooding. For the populations that depend on subsistence agriculture for survival, these changes have made food production more precarious. Many children are being married off as a result of a lack of available food or capital to support them. Read more here.
Will one of your sessions consider workable programs that increase access to contraceptives?
The last session will cover applied solutions in reproductive health and education. I’ll talk about some of our international partnerships with organizations that provide direct reproductive health care services and community-led sustainable development initiatives.
Contraceptive access won’t help in paternalistic countries with religious objections. We saw this with the Middle Eastern and North African outliers on the birth rate vs. prosperity chart. How was Nigeria’s family planning program successful?
The biggest indicators of successful uptake in family planning services are access and education. In many cases, there is a lack of political will by governments to expand these social services, due in part to a lack of political will and limited financial viability. Nigeria’s government has invested heavily in family planning and consequently has been successful in reducing unintended pregnancies and corresponding fertility rates. For example, the country has enacted many government-funded programs aimed at expanding both education about the benefits associated with family planning and the availability of free or low-cost contraceptives in both rural and urban contexts.
What are the names of the organizations doing the heaviest lifting, as far as getting birth control to the most people on the planet?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the biggest player in this field. They do a lot of great work in the space of reproductive health and rights and have worked with many different countries to form and implement short and long-term plans for increasing uptake and shifting social norms in favor of informed choice. The U.S. is consistently the biggest contributor of aid for international family planning programs, but that funding is highly partisan and thus contingent upon who is in power.
What have been the results of funding for family planning to date, and how is family planning actually defined?
Family planning is an internationally recognized human right that yields many benefits to society. I suggest taking a look at the UNFPA’s website for more information. This resource is also great if you’re interested in getting a better idea of the impact of U.S. International Family Planning Assistance.
How can assurances be provided so the funding is properly spent and not stolen from corrupt governments?
U.S. funding is distributed in two main ways. Most of it ($575 million) is bilateral aid, in which the U.S. provides funds to USAID that foreign NGOs and governments can apply for. We also contribute to multilateral aid, where grants are given through the UNFPA ($32.5 million) that go to foreign NGOs, along with programs that are run directly by the UNFPA. There is a well-established process that NGOs and governments have to abide by in order to receive aid, including follow-up. For more information, check out this great resource.
How can we avoid greenwashing by large corporations?
Unfortunately, greenwashing by corporations will likely continue so long as their primary function remains the accumulation of capital. Corporations can play a role in promoting positive change as well, so long as there is sufficient social pressure. Overall, though, it’s important to remember that corporations have a specific fundamental purpose, which is to make money. That’s not necessarily a bad or good thing; it’s just a fact.
Will one of your sessions consider workable programs that increase access to contraceptives?
The last session will cover applied solutions in reproductive health and education. I’ll talk about some of our international partnerships with organizations that provide direct reproductive health care services and community-led sustainable development initiatives.