In an exhibit-format treatment with provocative photos from around the world, Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER) moves beyond insider debates and tired old arguments (yes, population numbers AND consumption both matter). The series of photo essays illuminating the range and depth of the damage that human numbers and behavior have caused to the Earth are framed by heartfelt, provocative essays by human rights, population, and conservation experts, as well as an opening parable and closing parable redux by editor Tom Butler.
Tom is the Editorial Projects Director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology and president of the Northeast Wilderness Trust. His books include Wildlands Philanthropy and ENERGY: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth.
This 4.5 minute video replica of the “Lord Man” parable in OVER sets the stage for the provocative photo essays that are the essence of OVER.
A native of Kenya, Musimbi is president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women. She is a leading champion for human rights, the health of women and girls, and social-change-centered philanthropy.
“WE ARE ONE HUMAN RACE living on one planet. We aspire for the same things: food, water, good health, and most of all, dignity and loving relationships. We yearn for opportunity, voice, and resources to develop our potential. We want to raise our children in a safe and healthy environment. We want to experience the Earth’s beauty and natural bounty….Read more of Musimbi’s forword.
The Introduction: William Ryerson
Founder and president of Population Media Center, Bill also serves as CEO of the Population Institute in Washington, D.C. He has a forty-year history of working in the field of reproductive health.
“MOST CONVERSATIONS about population begin with statistics—demographic data, fertility rates in this or that region, the latest reports on malnutrition, deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and so on. Such data, while useful, fails to generate mass concern about the fundamental issue affecting the future of the Earth….Read more of Bill’s introduction.
Eileen teaches in the Department of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech. She is author of Images of Animals: Anthropomorphism and Animal Mind and coeditor of Gaia in Turmoil, Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation, and Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of Earth.
“ONE OF THE COMMONPLACES of environmental writing these days is a population forecast of 10 billion (or more) people by century’s end. Indeed, this projection is endlessly repeated, as if it were as inevitable as the calculable trajectory of an asteroid hurtling through space. Besides being a facile meme amenable to replication, this recurrent demographic report signals a widely shared fatalism: The coming growth has too much inertia behind it, and is far too politically sensitive, to question. At the same time, the projection reinforces a collective impression that nothing can be done to change it. Ironically, the incantation of “10 billion” seems at work as self-fulfilling prophecy, for without concerted, proactive intervention it is roughly the number to be expected; so do we hypnotize and propel ourselves in the predicted direction…Read more of Eileen’s afterword.
There are many ways to participate! Together, we can raise awareness and bring about change.