Population Connection

06/03/2026

What if we biked more and drove less? Swapping some car trips for e‑bikes could cut millions of tons of carbon pollution each year even without everyone making the switch

🛴According to Project Drawdown, if every driver did it: we’d cut 224 million tons of emissions a year
🛴Even 1 e‑bike for every 2 cars: 117 million tons saved
🛴Just matching current Asia-Pacific cycling levels: 47 million tons saved

It is one of the highly recommended solutions that meet all of Project Drawdown’s criteria for global


Small switches = big climate wins. Less driving. More riding. Cleaner air
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https://drawdown.org/explorer/mobilize-electric-bicycles

06/03/2026

Rodents out. back.
A reminder that ecosystems can recover if we reduce the pressures we place on them.
“What we’re seeing now is evidence of an ecosystem beginning to reorganize itself after that pressure was removed.”

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Invasive vermin decimated the island’s native flora and fauna – but its unique cockroaches and beetles are thriving once again

06/02/2026

Close to 6 billion people—75% of the world’s population—currently live in middle-income countries, many of which are rapidly industrializing . As their economies continue to grow and integrate with global markets, increases in living standards and will likely drive up the production of greenhouse gases.

Meanwhile, rapid population growth continues to present challenges for in most impoverished regions. The combined population of the 45 countries that the United Nations considers “least developed” is growing 3.8 times faster than the average for the rest of the world and is projected to double between 2025 and 2065. High fertility is positively correlated with extreme : many of the fastest growing countries are also the poorest, with annual income per person averaging less than $1,000. Both conditions increase vulnerability to stresses associated with .

06/02/2026

Our World in Data (OWID) recently launched an interesting new tool that allows users to see how changes in fertility rates, life expectancy, and migration rates affect national and global population trajectories up to the end of the century. Here, we play with some global scenarios to see how much of a difference modifying the fertility rate could make.

We presented just a small handful of the scenarios the OWID population tool can produce. Check it out at the link and make your own, including by country.
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https://populationconnection.org/blog/new-population-tool-how-much-can-fertility-changes-affect-projections-to-2100/

06/01/2026

"The men of my tribe [extended family] threw my relative Kawthar Bashar al-Husayjawi, 15, into a pit and put a little dirt over her body. They had killed her hours earlier with 10 bullets, and split her small head with an axe. My family then joined others in coming on to the streets to dance and celebrate her death."
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This is not "honor." It is violence.

When girls are treated as property rather than people, when and are tolerated, and when legal systems fail to protect women and girls, tragedies like this become possible.

On behalf of all girls denied their voices, their education, and their futures, we remember Kawthar and call for justice.

Horrified by the recent murder of Kawthar al-Husayjawi, one of her female relatives describes what happened – and her fears for other women and girls forced into early marriage in Iraq

06/01/2026

"As she grows, I will teach her what overshoot means. I’ll model what it looks like to live within our ecological means. I’ll help her understand that we have power, not just to consume, but to choose differently.

And I will tell her that this is partly why she will be my only biological child. I’m fortunate that I’ve had the power to make reproductive choices that suit me."

On , we recognize the importance of building a world where future generations can thrive — with clean air, stable climates, protected biodiversity, and access to education and healthcare.

Supporting families also means protecting the planet they depend on. Read how one parent is raising an environmentally aware child.
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https://populationconnection.org/blog/earth-overshoot-day-2025/

05/31/2026

We kicked off our annual Summer Photo Contest! Share your passion for protecting the balance between people and the planet. Participate by sending in photos of the ecosystems, incredible , and different cultures you are passionate about protecting!

Photo categories include: Amazing Avians, Botanical Bliss, Candid Culture, Charming Creatures, Gorgeous Geology, Scenic Skies, and Wonderous Water.

All photos will be featured on our website, with the winning photos being printed and showcased in our September magazine issue. Submission window closes on , July 11th.

Photo Credit: David Newswanger, member since 1999 and winner of our 2025 Summer Photo Contest.
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https://populationconnection.org/virtual-events/summer-photo-contest/

05/29/2026

Fact: This couldn’t be farther from the truth. You could even say that everything we do is for the sake of preserving the planet for future generations, starting with today’s children.

Children benefit directly from their parents’ improved access to voluntary and slower population growth. Family planning allows parents to space births farther apart, which improves infant and and survival outcomes.

Family planning also allows girls who are too young to safely carry a pregnancy to term to avoid becoming pregnant in the first place. Physically immature adolescents are at higher risk of giving birth to premature and low-birth-weight babies, and they are also more likely to have obstructed labor because their birth canals are not large enough for their babies’ heads to pass through. In fact, pregnancy and birth complications are the primary cause of death of girls ages 15-19 worldwide. Their babies are also less likely to survive.

Babies born to older women are also more likely to die. Reducing high-risk pregnancies to women outside of their optimal childbearing years is a very effective way of lowering rates.
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https://populationconnection.org/reference/myths-misconceptions/

05/28/2026

In many communities, a girl’s first period is still seen as a signal that she is ready for marriage and childbearing, putting her health, education, and future at risk. FlowReady is working to change this story by equipping girls with knowledge, confidence, and support before they reach menarche, while engaging parents, teachers, and community leaders to shift harmful norms.

Join FlowReady , one of Population Connection’s newest Global Partners, for a powerful virtual conversation on why preparing girls before their first period is one of the most overlooked and impactful interventions in advancing girls’ health, education, and autonomy.

This conversation will explore how a simple shift—education before the first period—can unlock cascading benefits for girls’ health, confidence, and futures.

Register Now.
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https://populationconnection-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CblCkh65T1-KOR5o21qu0Q

Happy .

05/27/2026

"The Nordics, with [their] family-friendly social policies, they don't see an increase in birth rates."
UK births have fallen to their lowest level in nearly 50 years.

Behind the numbers are rising costs, housing insecurity, delayed parenthood, climate anxiety, changing priorities, and more people questioning whether they even want children at all.

What’s driving falling birth rates where you live?
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzdq23xpgo