Population Connection

Population Connection (which before May 2002 was known as Zero Population Growth) was founded in 1968 and "has been educating young people... and advocating for progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth's resources" for nearly forty years. 

The popularity of Paul Ehrlichs' book, "The Population Bomb, which dealt specifically with the impact of U.S. population growth on the environment, gave ZPG a head-start in its own marketing. Americans knew that the developing world might have population issues to deal with, but the argument that the U.S. also had population problems was a shocking concept to most readers. Richard Bowers, a Connecticut lawyer, found the issue particularly interesting and suggested forming an organization around it. Professor Charles Remington, the third of ZPG's founding trio, recalled, "We decided that we would not let this organization handle what we called gringoism in which North Americans tell people in other parts of the world what they ought to do. We decided that it would be officially only linked to the United States." An organization was born.

The next step was choosing the organization's name. Zero population growth was used by demographers and had been coined by Kingsley Davis in 1967. Bowers, Remington, and Ehrlich understood the concept, but felt that it was not necessarily an obvious name choice...

"In 1969, legendary folk musician Pete Seeger wrote "We'll All Be A-Doubling" for ZPG. Those who already know this song will notice that he added a new last verse. Pete Seeger felt that the first version of the song was too serious, and in April 1997 he wrote a new, lighthearted verse. "We need to get people laughing," he said recently. "It's the best way to reach them."


 * John Seager, President and CEO
 * Peter H. Kostmayer, former President

Board
Accessed September 2010:


 * Eli Adashi - Professor of Medical Science, Brown University
 * Mary Barbara Alexander - Actress and Activist
 * Bill Berg - President/Founder of Coolworks.com
 * Gretchen Borchelt - Senior Counsel, National Women's Law Center
 * Kristy Brugar - Field Instructor, Michigan State University
 * Catherine Cameron (Secretary)- Consultant; Former Executive Director, Wallace Global Fund
 * Trammell S. Crow - Shareholder, Crow Holdings
 * Dianne Dillon-Ridgley (Chair) - Founding Chair Emeritus, Plains Justice
 * Marianne Gabel (Vice Chair) - Attorney, Education Advocate, Writer
 * Duff G. Gillespie - Professor and Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
 * Carol Ann Kell - Founder, Kell & Associates
 * Robert K. Musil, PhD, MPH, LHD (Treasurer) - Senior Fellow, The Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University; Former CEO, Physicians for Social Responsibility
 * Bob Pettapiece - Assistant Professor, College of Education, Wayne State University
 * John Robbins - President, Greathorn Properties, Inc.
 * Emily Rosenberg - Advocate and Activist
 * Joseph Speidel - Professor, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco
 * Theodore L. Steck - Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Chicago
 * Susan A. Stout - Public Health Specialist
 * Jo Lynne Whiting - Senior Adviser, Sensis
 * Stacey Young - Attorney

Directors (2007)
Source
 * Patricia Burke, Family Nurse Practitioner, Board Chair
 * Kathleen L. Bonk, Executive Director, Communications Consortium Media Center
 * Michael F. Burke, Associate Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chesapeake Bay Program
 * Catherine Cameron, Consultant
 * Sachu Constantine, Teacher
 * Trammell S. Crow, Jr., Businessman
 * James R. Denbo, Attorney
 * Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, Consultant
 * Marianne Gabel, Attorney
 * Ellen Harley
 * John Lazarus, Retailer
 * Lorenzo Martinez, Vice-President External Affairs, Episcopal Relief & Development
 * Bob Musil, Scholar, American University
 * Emilyn Page
 * Bob Pettapiece, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University
 * Theodore Steck, Professor, University of Chicago
 * David Weiss, Executive Director, Energy Solutions Center
 * Stacey Young, Public Interest Attorney

Publications

 * 2005 Annual Report (Pdf)

Related SourceWatch

 * John Tanton - former president
 * Carl Pope - former political director


 * Paul Driessen
 * Joe Spiedel
 * Pete Seeger
 * Lester R. Brown
 * Catherine Cameron
 * William N. Ryerson
 * Alexandra Minna Stern
 * Deron Lovaas
 * Avis Ogilvy Moore
 * Marilyn Hempel
 * Ecology Action of Santa Cruz

Contact

 * Web: http://www.populationconnection.org