Population and Climate Change Santa Cruz Climate Action

Population and Climate Change Santa Cruz Climate Action Network May 2018

Until today we’ve been ignoring the elephant – Population. BUT more mouths to feed and more consumers will make Climate Change even more difficult to solve. Guess we were afraid of tackling a sensitive issue Rules for later moderated discussion 1. Be polite and non-judgmental 2. Feel free to express opinions – but for 1 -3 mins only

Educating Girls #6 Drawdown Solution Kenya has made significant gains in education, with more than 80 percent of all boys and girls currently enrolled in primary schools. In secondary schools, the rate of enrollment drops to 50 percent for both boys and girls. Poverty is the main cause of low overall enrollment, and given socioeconomic norms, boys receive priority for higher education.

Education of Girls • Educating girls means they are much more likely to “choose” to have smaller families. • Biggest problems are in the poorest countries • Video – set in India – 5 min – https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=88 L 6 Wc 8 VN 6 E • Sample organizations that help - – Malala - Pakistan – United World Schools – Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal – Humans for education –sub Saharan Africa – Iimpact – India – CAI - Pakistan

Education is one of the most powerful levers available for avoiding emissions by curbing population growth. • Women with more years of education have fewer and healthier children. • Education helps women to face the impacts of climate change. • Today, there are economic and cultural barriers to education for 62 million girls • How to change that: – – make school affordable help girls overcome health barriers reduce the time and distance to get to school make schools more girl-friendly. • Abbreviated from Drawdown

Education of Girls cont. • Recent Guardian article stated that food insecurity, due to Climate Change, is causing increased selling of girls as brides - obviously discontinuing their education. • USA – are we doing enough to encourage girls from all social groups into careers of choice including Science and Engineering? • Brief discussion • Suggestions?

Family Planning #7 Drawdown Solution Three-day-old Waleed was recognized as the two millionth person born in Gaza, a tiny enclave squeezed between Egypt, Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea. Gaza is just 7. 5 miles across at its widest point, and has one of the highest population densities in the world.

World Population

• 2014 data showing China now leading in emissions

Emissions per capita (per person) tell a different story

Why Worry About Population Growth? • Poor countries with High population increase may be “Low Carbon Footprint” now but as they grow will be connected by cellphones and want “world lifestyles” • Population growth will continue to stress water, land other resources already close to maximum, as well as increase Greenhouse Gases. • People deserve to have choices • AMERICANS should also have fewer kids

State Controls Don’t Work Matthew Connelly in his book Fatal Misconception explained how movements that sought to remake humanity - seemingly with the best of intentions- caused untold suffering. – Wealthy foundations, foreign aid agencies, and the United Nations made “family planning” a means to plan other people’s families. – Beginning with eugenics, the temptation to breed better people culminated in the sterilization camps of India and the horrors of China’s one-child policy. – This history serves as a warning against even more dangerous experiments of the future. – Other bad examples? * Let’s focus on socially acceptable actions which can help *

• Securing women’s right to voluntary, high-quality family planning around the world would have powerful positive impacts on families • It also can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. • 225 million women in lower-income countries lack access to wanted contraception. • Worldwide underfunding - $5. 3 billion • Family planning is NOT about governments forcing the birth rate down. • NOT about rich countries telling people elsewhere to stop having children. It’s about empowerment and equality. • Benefits to the planet are side effects. Abbreviated from Drawdown

Teen Pregnancies USA Number of Live births per 1000 females 15 -19 2014 2015 2016 California 21. 1 19 17 USA 24. 2 22. 3 20. 3

Sex Education in California Required by the new California Health Youth Act (2016), all CA public schools are mandated to teach fully comprehensive sex education – once in middle school to all youth in 7 th or 8 th grade – once again high school (any grade level)

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Ensuring that every individual has the knowledge, opportunity, and freedom to make every child a wanted child and every family a healthy family Intro video 1: 15 mins https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Zt g. Zxays. IQo

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Services: • Birth Control • Periodic Check Ups • Breast and cervical cancer screenings • Pregnancy testing and options counseling • HIV testing • Sexually-transmitted disease (STD) testing and treatment • Emergency Contraception (the ‘morning-after’ pill) • Abortion Services* • Pediatrics* • Primary Care* • Hormone Therapy* *Services not available at all locations All Services are Confidential Low Cost | No Cost | Medi-Cal

Paying for Confidential Services • Self pay • Private Insurance • Medi-Cal • Family PACT

https: //www. plannedparenthood. org/planned-parenthood-mar-monte/patient-resources/information-for

Family Planning Education • Planned Parenthood Mar Monte provides comprehensive sex education in the schools and to community agencies throughout our service area. They provide curriculum to middle schools and high schools in Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties with trained Health Education staff. • In Monterey County, Planned Parenthood is involved in a county –wide initiative with 5 other partner agencies: YWCA; MC Rape Crisis Center; MC Boys and Girls Club; Girls’ Inc and the MC Public Health Department. • Each agency runs a girl-led peer education program and trains young women in speaking about sexual health and other topics to their peers. (info supplied by Laurice Rubalcava, Regional Director of Education, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte)

Other Resources • Salud Para la Gente • Women’s Health Center • Planned Parenthood, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Salinas • Others?

General / Small Group Discussion Moderator Roland Saher