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 Lack of access to reproductive health information and services can lead to unsustainable use of natural resources and environmental degradation. From global warming and deforestation to water pollution, there is a connection between our health and the health of the planet.
Today, more than one billion adolescents across the planet - the largest number ever - are simultaneously entering their reproductive years at a time when contraceptive supplies are uncertain and inconsistent, and U.S. support for family planning programs is wavering. The reproductive choices available to young people, in addition to the educational and economic opportunities, will impact our world for years to come.
Now is the time for students and youth leaders here and around the world to stand up and demand that their rights be respected, and that they have access to safe and accurate information about sex, voluntary family planning services, clean air and water, and global warming solutions!
Join a growing movement of young people who are standing up for a more just and sustainable future!
Youth voices can change U.S. policies that affect the health of people and the environment. Now is the time to TAKE ACTION for sustainable development and global health solutions at home and abroad!
There is a growing "unmet need" for family planning and reproductive health information and services - what are the repercussions?
- An estimated 200 million couples worldwide would like family planning and safe motherhood services, but are unable to obtain them. (2)
- One woman dies every minute from preventable pregnancy-related conditions, the leading cause of women's ill health and death worldwide. (3)
- The U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rate of all developed nations.(4) Yet, the U.S. federal government funds abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that deter contraceptive use, putting teens at risk for unplanned pregnancies and STIs.(5)
How does population growth and the way we consume natural resources impact our shared environment?
- Our planet is home to more than 6.7 billion people, and we add almost 80 million more each year. Meanwhile, more than 1 billion people lack access to clean water, while 90-95% of all sewage and 70% of all industrial wastes are dumped untreated into surface waters. (6)
- We have decreased the planet's forest cover by almost one-half (7) and increased heat-trapping CO2 emissions contributing to global warming by over 30%.(8)
- We lose 27,000 species of animal or plant life each year due to habitat destruction. (9)
How do our lifestyle choices affect the environment locally and globally?
- The U.S. accounts for about 5% of the world's population, but uses approximately 25% of the world's energy. (10)
- If everyone lived according to the average U.S. lifestyle, we would require 5.3 planets. (11)
- A child born in an industrialized country will consume and pollute more over his or her lifetime than thirty to fifty children born in developing countries. (12)
Why is increasing women's access to basic rights - including health care, education and economic opportunity - key to poverty alleviation and a more sustainable future?
- One third of the global population survives on less than $1 a day. (13)
- Women make up two thirds of the world's poorest people, are more likely than men to be poor, malnourished and illiterate, usually have less access to medical care, property ownership, and employment, and are far less likely than men to be politically active. (14)
- Because roughly 70% of the world's poor rely on the land for income and subsistence, environmental crises like climate change, water scarcity and deforestation disproportionately impact the poor in developing countries. (15)
- "Statement on U.S. Funding Decision," United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 22 July 2002. http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=146&Language=1
- "Family Planning: So that Every Pregnancy is Wanted," United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2007.
- "The State of World Population 2005," Reproductive Health Fact Sheet, UNFPA. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2005/presskit/factsheets/facts_rh.htm.
- J.E. Darroch, S. Singh, J.J. Frost, and the Study Team, "Differences in Teenage Pregnancy Rates among Five Developed Countries: The Roles of Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use," Family Planning Perspectives, November/December 2001, vol. 33, no. 6, p. 246.
- Kirby D, "Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy," Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2001.
- "The State of World Population," United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2001.
- "World's Forests Continue to Shrink," Earth Policy Institute, 2006.
- . Reay, Dave and Michael Pidwirny. 2006. "Carbon dioxide." Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Jay Gulledge and Sidney Draggan. (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published September 27, 2006; Last revised October 13, 2006; Retrieved December 04, 2006].
- Wilson, E. O. The Diversity of Life (Norton, New York, 1992).
- "International Energy Annual 1996," pub. DOE/EIA-0219(96), Energy Information Administration, February 1998.
- . Global Footprint Network Overview. 2003-2006. http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=footprint_overview
- http://www.planetwire.org/wrap/files.fcgi/2054_swopfacts.htm
- . "Poverty, Population and Development," United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2002 Annual Report. http://www.unfpa.org/about/report/2002/2chapter.htm.
- . "Women at a Glance," United Nations Department of Public Information. http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/women96.htm.
- "The World's Next 'Population Problem,'" Bill Butz, Population Reference Bureau (PRB). www.prb.org/Articles/2005/TheWorldsNextPopulationProblem.aspx.
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