Type 501(c)(3) | Founded 1968 | |
Formerly called Zero Population Growth (1968-2002) Founders Paul Ehrlich, Richard Bowers, and Charles Remington Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States Key people John Seager (President) | ||
Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth or ZPG) is a non-profit organization in the United States that raises awareness of population challenges and advocates for improved global access to family planning and reproductive health care. The organization was founded in 1968 by Paul R. Ehrlich, Richard Bowers and Charles Remington in the wake of Ehrlich's best-selling book, The Population Bomb. The organization adopted its current name in 2002.
Contents
Mission
"Overpopulation threatens the quality of life for people everywhere. Population Connection is the national grassroots population organization that educates young people and advocates progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth's resources."
Population Connection is the largest grassroots population organization in the United States, with more than 500,000 members, supporters, and participating educators. Population Connection works to ensure that every woman around the world who wants to delay or end childbearing has access to the health services and contraceptive supplies she needs.
Issues and campaigns
Education
Population Connection’s education program, known as Population Education or PopEd, develops K-12 curricula and conducts professional development workshops for teachers that focus on human population issues. Since 1975, the program has developed age-appropriate curricula to complement students’ science and social science instruction about human population trends and their impacts on natural resources, environmental quality, and human well-being. The program staff and their network of regional volunteers facilitate approximately 550 workshops each year for 10,000-12,000 teachers and future teachers throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada. The program staff is then able to educate over three million students on the impacts of overpopulation each year. Population Education also hosts an international student video contest each year through their World of 7 Billion website.
Activism
Population Connection Action Fund is the political arm of Population Connection. Founded in 2013, their mission is to educate the American people and advocate progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth’s resources. Since the beginning of 2014, Population Connection Action Fund has delivered nearly half a million petition signatures to the White House calling for on President Obama to rein in the overly broad enforcement of the Helms Amendment.
Population Connection sponsors an annual advocacy event in Washington, D.C. called Capitol Hill Days. During the event activists attend information sessions, learn advocacy techniques, and lobby on Capitol Hill for a greater U.S. investment in international family planning. In 2015, 200 activists (including 153 students) from 31 states participated in the event.
Population Connection Magazine
Population Connection is Population Connection's quarterly publication. The magazine highlights the connections between overpopulation, the environment, poverty, and women’s empowerment. It provides important population news, research, program developments, and legislative updates. Annual membership ($25) includes a one-year subscription to Population Connection magazine. All contributions, bequests, and gifts are fully tax-deductible in accordance with current laws.