Balanced View! Fall 2016 — Page 1

I first met David Paxson seven years ago, when I interviewed h i m f o r m y d o c m e n t a r y , GrowthBusters: H o o k e d o n Growth. Within m i n u t e s I realized David

was the consummate communicator on the role of population in sustainability. This tireless crusader had spent two decades studying the issue, but it turns out the really important thing he was studying was messaging about the subject. Every time Mr. Paxson spoke to a room full of people, a talk show host or reporter, he studied the response. He never quit analyzing every word he said – every analogy, every PowerPoint slide, and adjusting for maximum effect .

So it is with a sense of loss that I honor David on the occasion of his re t i rement as Pres ident of the organization he founded in 1991 and has lovingly shepherded, World Population Balance. I accepted his invitation to take the reins as executive director because I believe World Population Balance, under David’s leadership, has put its finger on the solution to overpopulation (read on for that solution). It’s essential that the work David began continue.

Mr. Paxson pleaded with me not to make a big deal of honoring him for his work. I hope he’ll forgive me and the rest of the World Population Balance staff for making this issue of Balanced View a tribute to his work. We want to thank this man for his tireless efforts, and for improving the way we talk about overpopulation. We can all take comfort that we are not bidding David goodbye. It’s our intention to consult with him regularly, and continue inviting him to speak and write about the subject he knows so well.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. I’m not sure how many metronomes David Paxson wore out illustrating the enormity of adding over 140 human

At its May 10th m e e t i n g , t h e B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s o f World Population Balance accepted the retirement of David Paxson as President of the organization he founded over 25 yea r s ago . In

those years David has steadfastly and passionately dedicated himself to the cause of solving overpopulation. He has spoken to many thousands of people in person and over the airwaves. And he touched many thousands with the urgent message that overpopulation is a crisis that must be solved if we are to create a sustainable future for humanity and all other species on the planet. Despite the enormity of the task, David has remained ever hopeful that overpopulation is solvable.

We can all thank David for the passion, drive, and energy that he has given to the cause of solving overpopulation. From all of us at World Population Balance, we say “thank you”. Thanks for the inspiration and motivation you’ve given all of us to carry on the mission of creating a truly sustainable future. We look forward to David’s continued involvement as an advisor to the staff in his role as President Emeritus of World Population Balance.

Fall 2016

David Paxson Pioneered Overpopulation Messagingby Dave Gardner, Executive Director

You’re Invited to theSolve World Overpopulation Potluck!

Come meet the WPB board and staff, including new Executive Director Dave Gardner, learn a little about our plans, and help us dream about new steps we can take to help solve world overpopulation. Bring your favorite delicious dish to share and join us in great food and great conversation. We’ll provide the beverages. Where? Minneapolis Friends Meetinghouse4401 York Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55410(Go to minneapolisfriends.org for detailed directions.)When? Saturday, October 29th 6-9 pm6:00 dinner / 7:00 presentation and discussion / 8:00 mix and mingle

Please RSVP one of 3 ways: 1) by logging on to the World Population Balance Facebook Events page; 2) by e-mailing WPB at office@worldpopulationbalance.org; or 3) by calling us at 612-869-1640. With your RSVP please let us know if you are able to volunteer to help with pre-event setup or post-event cleanup.

Founder and President David Paxson Retirespassengers to the planet every minute.

He drove home this point in many hundreds of presentations and interviews about overpopulation.

Of course, success in solving overpopulation is evasive. I wish David were able to toast complete success as he scales back his efforts. World population has yet to stop climbing and begin to contract back toward a sustainable level. He’s too humble to celebrate the inspiration he’s provided to thousands of people to keep striving for a sustainable future. Today, we celebrate the progress David has made in determining how best to articulate the problem and the solution.

Early on, David had an astute appreciation of what he was up against. The Frequently Asked Questions section of our website has long been one of the best on the subject.

David had, and continues to have, an encyclopedic command of important facts about population dynamics. Over the years, David’s passion and curiosity drove him to read, attend conferences, and to get on the phone to pick the brains of people around the world that might have important thinking or experience to contribute to his quest for a feasible, humane solution to the overpopulation dilemma.

Over t ime, Paxson’s message evolved. Once Carolyn VandenDolder

David – Continued on page 2

Balanced View! Fall 2016 — Page 2

and Alan Ware joined the staff, the brain trust shifted into higher gear. The World Population Balance team was never satisfied with the status quo. There was always something that could be improved. Once David and I became acquainted in 2009, I was privy to many two-hour phone conversations analyzing with David the obstacles, and the words and imagery that might overcome them.

Most noteworthy in the evolution of that messaging were two things. First, under David’s leadership World Populat ion Balance reached the c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t a l k i n g a b o u t “population growth” was inadequate. Serious scientific estimates of a sustainable level of world population tend to congregate around 2 billion. Since world population passed 7 billion in 2011, stopping population growth would be woefully inadequate if our goal is to leave our children a world worth inheriting. David and staff began i n s i s t i n g o n u s i n g t h e w o r d “overpopulation” as much as possible.

Second, a new focus was put on the fact that overpopulation is a problem that IS solvable. It was determined that many, many people feel concern about overpopulation, but do not act on that concern out of a conviction nothing can be done.

We’ve included in this newsletter a portion of an essay written in 2013 by David, Alan, Carolyn and Karen Shragg (a member of our board of advisors): “Regarding Population Messaging, Exactly What’s the Problem: Growth or Overpopulation?” I think it’s a great example of how far the messaging has come.

Tributes from Staff to an Overpopulation Pioneer

Carolyn VandenDolder – Office ManagerDavid Paxson is one of those rare individuals with both vision and a b s o l u t e commitment. He and his wife Nancy have dedicated so much of their family life to the overpopulation crisis, and World Population Balance as a means to solve it.

I came to work in the World Population Balance office in 2003. David tirelessly tutored me, just as he h a s s o m a n y o f y o u , i n t h e overwhelming evidence that our human population (at current consumption) has grown beyond our resource means. He has dedicated most of his waking life to puzzling out what will compel people to acknowledge the overpopulation crisis and take action to solve it. For decades, he has left no possible avenue for furthering the overpopulation conversation untapped, no argument unexamined, no avenue for action unexplored. He has maintained a singleness of purpose that has kept World Population Balance on point and allowed us to focus on overpopulation, the cause of so many other distressing issues of our time.

We have had the opportunity to grow with David to understand the importance of articulating that overpopulation is solvable through lowering birthrates. We have learned some of his singleness of purpose and can recognize how so many other pressing issues – abortion rights, women’s empowerment, immigration – while important, can distract us from the overpopulation message.

David’s passion and dedication to helping create a sustainable human population through lower birthrates has built World Population Balance as an organization and as a community with common purpose. The work he embarked upon is too important to flounder. All of us, whom he labored so long and conscientiously to educate, have the privilege of assuming the overpopulation mantle.

ExcerptfromDavidPaxsonOp-EdinMinneapolisStarTribune

June24,1995“WhyaremanyAmericanseitherunawareordoubtfulthatpopulationgrowthisacriticalproblemthatneedstobeaddressedimmediately?Inmyspeakingappearancesonthissubject,Ifindthatmillionsinourcountryhaveheardnexttonothingaboutthisissue.ManypeoplehavecomeuptomeshockedatthefactsIhavepresented.Theysay,‘ButI'veheardforyearsthatU.S.populationisdecreasing,’or‘Ihadnoideapopulationisstillgrowingsofast,letalonethenegativeconsequencesonfoodandresourceseverywhere.’IbelievemostAmericansareignorantaboutthefactsbecausetheydidnothearaboutitinschool,theyseeandhearalmostnothingaboutitontelevisionorradio,andtheyseelittleaboutitinarticlesliketheonescitedabove.Itisnotenoughthatanoccasionalelectedofficialunderstandsthisissue.Itisnotenoughthatthereisoccasionalcoverageinthemedia.Thisissueishighlysensitiveandintertwinedwithmanyothers.Peopleinpolitics,educationandthemediamustreachatleastahighschoollevelofunderstandingaboutthissubjectorournationwillcontinuedowntheroadtowardgreaterpolitical,resourceandsocialproblemssuchascrowding,overdevelopmentandpollution.”

—DavidPaxson

"Ienjoyedhislecturebecauseheshowedpassionandstrengthaboutwhathestandsfor,andthatmakesthelecturealotmoreinteresOngthansomeonewhojusttellsthefactsandnothingmore."

–aPaxsonpresentationattendee

"IfoundPaxson'slectureextremelyinformaOve.Heusedgoodexamplesthatgavemementalpictures,notjustideasandconceptsaboutpopulaOongrowth.IrealizenowhowimportantitistoeducateothersonpopulaOon.Everyoneneedstounderstandhowseriousaproblemitis."

–aPaxsonpresentationattendee

"DavidPaxsonwasawonderfulspeakerwhobroughtamajorworldproblemdowntoasizewecouldgrasp.HeusedvisualaidsandgamestomakeusrealizehowfastthepopulaOongrowseveryminute.”

–aPaxsonpresentationattendee

David – Continued from page 1

David – Continued on page 4

Balanced View! Fall 2016 — Page 3

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Thank you for continuing to be part of this journey to a sustainable population!Alan Ware – Research AssociateI jo ined David Paxson at World Population Balance in the spring of 2008 to help with r e s e a r c h a n d writing. With his customary energy and thoroughness, David began mentoring me in all facets of our overpopulation crisis. I learned about the long and sometimes tortured history of the population issue. And I m a r v e l e d a t t h e h u n d r e d s o f relationships he had built with people around the world in the service of solving overpopulation.

I also quickly witnessed David’s courage and zeal in speaking the overpopulation truth to people in power: whether he was approaching a state governor on an elevator to discuss the population issue or tirelessly trying to connect with billionaires through layers of personal assistants and secretaries.

He had the courage to speak the overpopulation truth to leaders of other population groups. He was not afraid to take strong stands that might upset the polite consensus in the population community. David insisted that WPB frame the issue as overpopulation – not population growth as most other population groups have framed the issue.

And he was never content to coast along with one single best approach.

He was forever experimenting with d i f f e r e n t w a y s t o g e t t h e “overpopulation is solvable” message across to the most people possible. And , th roughout the cons tan t experimentation and inevitable disappointments, David has been insistent that all of us maintain hope that overpopulation is solvable.

As founder and long-time president of WPB, David’s mark on WPB has been fundamental and profound. We’ve learned so many lessons from David – lessons we’ll try hard to carry forward in our work to solve overpopulation and build a more sustainable future. His example has been an inspiration to all of us.

Barb Franklin- Current Board ChairWith my father’s concerns, I was aware of the population issue most of my life, so meeting Dave was quite exciting. What a dynamic proponent to support the cause! Dave spoke at the Breckenridge Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), where I was on the board, and we drafted him to help try to gain national support for our Population Resolution. On July 19 (in 105 degree heat!) Dave and I drove down to Springfield, Missouri to attend the 2006 National IWLA Convention as delegates from the Breckenridge Chapter. We arrived too late to attend the committee meetings when resolutions were discussed, but there was plenty more time for debate in the next couple of days. Meanwhile,

Dave was being quite proactive and we both met and made a lot of contacts (and friendships) with many people.

Unfortunately, the Virginia, Ohio, and Iowa delegations wanted to eliminate completely the section on popula t ion f rom the Na t iona l Conservation Guidelines and the resolution was ultimately voted down. But we gave it our best shot and realized how much more work is necessary. In spite of the disappointing outcome on the population issue, I got to know Dave better, and we enjoyed the experience, not to mention getting a lifetime membership in the IWLA. It eventually led to my joining a grant application committee for WPB, and currently chairing the Board of Directors.

Best of luck in your future pursuits, Dave!

Dave Trauger – Board MemberAs someone concerned about human overpopulation throughout my academic and professional career, I was greatly encouraged when I met Dave Paxson and learned of his tireless leadership of World Population Balance. Furthermore, I was honored to be invited to join the WPB Board of Directors so that I could work closely with him and others to solve overpopulation humanely. I wish him well as he begins a well-deserved retirement.

Alan Anderson – Former Board ChairDavid Paxson introduced me to overpopulation two decades ago. It became my lifelong primary issue and it has been a privilege to work closely with David on overpopulation for all this time.

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In a nutshell, David Paxson has led us to this simple, critical message: The world and this nation are overpopulated. That problem is, however, solvable – humanely and voluntarily. This has been demonstrated by remarkable campaigns such as the one in Thailand whereby the fertility rate was voluntarily reduced from nearly 6 to under 2 in 25 years. It is crucial that couples wishing to bear children are encouraged to choose to have only one child.

Overpopulation is solvable. That is very good news! And while David Paxson may be scaling back his work load, it’s good news that he is not disappearing completely from the scene. I and the staff of World Population Balance will do our utmost to build on the very strong foundation David Paxson has built. A news story a few years ago in the Sun Current newspaper about David was headlined “Richfield Man a Lonely Voice Against Overpopulation.” Thanks in part to the work of David and World Population Balance, that voice is becoming less lonely.

Regarding Population Messaging, Exactly What’s the Problem: Growth

or Overpopulation? As part of this tribute to retiring World Population Balance President David Paxson, we thought we’d share this excerpt from an essay by David Paxson and co-authors Alan Ware, Karen Shragg, and Carolyn VandenDolder published by the Population Media Center on June 3, 2013:

www.worldpopulationmedia.org/2013/06/03/regarding-population-messaging-exactly-whats-the-problem/At a talk last summer I had an amazing learning

experience with a college student. After speaking to Olee’s class, she explained that she was born in an Asian refugee camp thirty years ago. She came to the U.S. when she was a year old. Married for a couple of years, she had a darling nine month old daughter. After several questions she asked: “Why are you saying it is important that we have only one child? Why not two?” It was obvious that she loved having a baby and was eagerly looking forward to having another. I went to the board to explain why we need average birth rates down close to one child per couple.

Before I could figure out how to answer, she said, “I get it! . . . We have waited too long!” She was absolutely right. We have waited too long. We have kicked the can — of population reduction — down the road for decades.

A few days later I was recalling our conversation and pondering the “Stop at Two” slogan that was popular in the ’70s. It quickly dawned on me that — assuming sustainable, long-term global population is only in the 2 billion range — the “Stop at Two” slogan of those days was not close to being a winning slogan, or goal, even at that time. Since world population was already some 3.5 billion, even if we had reduced births to a two-child average, that would not have helped us decline to two billion.

Then I began to think about this question: Assuming our ancestors had understood that two billion people was the truly sustainable global level, when would they have needed to promote a two child average in order to have a “soft landing” at two billion people on the planet? The answer to that is probably between 1870-1890 when population was approaching 1.5 billion. Only in that way would humanity have avoided overshooting above the two billion range.

It is critical that we population leaders do the right thing in our messaging about this global overpopulation crisis. Many of the current messages that obfuscate the truth are only adding to people’s paralysis, confusion, argument and inaction. We must create a new, informed cultural norm.

We must speak this truth: “The world and nation are overpopulated. Therefore, it is crucial that couples are encouraged to voluntarily choose to have only one child.” Without “overpopulation/one-child” messaging, humanely reaching a 1-4 billion global — and 150-200 million U.S. — population is impossible. With one-child messaging, we will begin heading in the right direction. Will we humanely get to the top of that mountain? Maybe not. But if we don’t head in that direction, we know we won’t, for certain!

We would hate to lose touch, but this could be your last printed Balanced View newsletter! If we haven’t heard from you in a few years, make sure to let us know you want to continue receiving the newsletter. Please e-mail <office@ worldpopulationbalance.org or leave a message at 612-869-1640. If you would like to receive Balanced View via e-mail, make sure we have your current e-mail address. Thanks for your commitment to confronting the overpopulation crisis!

David – Continued from page 2