Difference between revisions of "Population Matters"

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(<ref>Population Mattters [https://populationmatters.org/expert-advisory-group Expert Advisory Council], organizational web page, accessed May 13, 2020.</ref>)
 
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The '''Optimum Population Trust''' "is the leading think tank in the UK concerned with the impact of population growth on the environment. OPT research covers population in relation to climate change, energy, resources, biodiversity, development impacts, ageing and employment and other environmental and economic issues. It campaigns for stabilisation and gradual population decrease globally and in the UK. OPT is a registered charity and is financed by its members. It receives funding neither from the government nor from any political or business interests, and is not affiliated to any other organisation*.(*Except as a partner in the [[Global Footprint Network]].).
+
'''Population Matters''', formerly the Optimum Population Trust, "is the leading population charity in the UK. We campaign to change the way people think about population."<ref>[http://populationmatters.org/about/ About] Population Matters, accessed 13 March 2011</ref>
  
"The Optimum Population Trust was founded in 1991 by the late [[David Willey]], its first chairman. Its purpose was to collect, analyse and disseminate information about the sizes of global and national populations, and their relations with the carrying capacities of different countries and the quality of life of their inhabitants. It was intended that such information should help people to make informed choices about policies affecting their and their descendants' welfare. Special emphasis was given to the situation in the United Kingdom." <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html About], Optimum Population Trust, accessed April 24, 2008.</ref> [http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aims.html Aims]
+
*[[Simon Ross]] -  Chief executive
  
[[Jack Parson's Archive]] "has been created by the Optimum Population Trust to publicise and preserve Jack Parsons' unique published monographs and articles, which cover a period of more than 40 years, and earned him a sound international reputation." <ref>[http://www.jackparsonsarchive.org/ Home], Jack Parson's Archive, accessed September 16, 2008.</ref>
+
==History==
 +
Population Matters was founded as the Optimum Population Trust in 1991 by the late [[David Willey]], its first chairman. Its purpose was to collect, analyse and disseminate information about the sizes of global and national populations, and their relations with the carrying capacities of different countries and the quality of life of their inhabitants. It was intended that such information should help people to make informed choices about policies affecting their and their descendants' welfare. Special emphasis was given to the situation in the United Kingdom." <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html About], Optimum Population Trust, accessed April 24, 2008.</ref> [http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aims.html Aims]
  
*[[Simon Ross ]] - Chief Executive <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html About], Optimum Population Trust, accessed January 12, 2011.</ref>
 
  
[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.media.html Media Coverage]
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==Activities==
[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.journal.html Journal]
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Population Matters describes its activities as to:
 +
*campaign for the stabilisation and gradual decrease of the population to sustainable levels by voluntary means, globally and within the UK.
 +
*lobby government and international bodies to increase support for reproductive health and other relevant policies.
 +
*engage with the broader developmental and sustainability movement to encourage them to include population in their thinking.
 +
*research matters of population in relation to the environment, sustainability and other issues.
 +
*disseminate this research to the public and interested parties via our website, through the media and at events.
 +
*ask individuals to consider the impact of population size on sustainability and the environment in their decisions on family size.
  
*Best online news service - [[Population Institute]] Awards 2009/10
+
==Trustees==
 
+
*[[Sara Parkin]] OBE, Chair
==Principal policies==
+
*[[Fiona McKenzie]], [[Maggie Avison]], [[Stephen Bown]], [[Harry Cripps]], [[John Davies]], [[Rebecca Foljambe]], [[Pip Hayes]], [[Anna Hughes]], [[Emma Olliff]], [[Chris Padley]], [[Ascanio Vitale]]
 
+
*Honorary treasurer: [[Percy Kelland]] <ref>Population Matters [https://populationmatters.org/our-board Board], organizational web page, accessed May 13, 2020.</ref>
OPT recommends the following population policies:
 
 
 
<blockquote>Globally, that full access to family planning should be provided to all those who do not have it, that couples should be encouraged to voluntarily "stop at two" children to lessen the impact of family size on the environment, and that this should be part of a holistic approach involving better education and equal rights for women.
 
 
 
In the UK, that population should be allowed to stabilise and decrease by not less than 0.25 per cent a year to an environmentally sustainable level, by bringing immigration into numerical balance with emigration (zero net migration), by making greater efforts to reduce teenage pregnancies, and by encouraging couples to "Stop at Two" children.<ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.policies.html]OPT Population Policy Proposals</ref></blockquote>
 
 
 
Further, the OPT has lobbied for stricter controls on immigration to the UK:
 
  
<blockquote>OPT notes the recent House of Lords committee report that immigration has brought no overall benefit to the UK. We welcome recent Government measures to restrict immigration. However, migration monitoring is weak. Additionally, there is no control over intra-EU migration, and no target for net migration has been set. OPT urges the Government to improve monitoring, work with other EU Governments to further limit immigration to the EU, and set a target of zero net migration for the UK. <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.sub.ecotowns.June08.pdf Eco-Towns: Living a Greener Future?] Submission by the Optimum Population Trust in response to the Department for Communities and Local Government consultation by Andrew Gill, Simon Ross and Richard Wilson, June 2008</ref></blockquote>
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===Trustees (2012)===
 +
Accessed August 2012: <ref>Population Matters [http://www.populationmatters.org/about/our-people/trustees/ Trustees], organizational web page, accessed August 29, 2012.</ref>
  
However, despite campaigning for a stable UK population size, the OPT specifically rejects the idea that any racial, ethnic or cultural criteria should be applied for would be in-migrants and has a neutral position regarding maintaining the UK's existing ethnic make-up <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.policies.html OPT UK Migration Policies]OPT UK Migration Policies</ref>
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*[[Roger Martin]], Chair, [[Nina Clarke]], Vice-chair
 +
*[[Pippa Hayes]], [[Maggie Avison]], [[Stephen G. Bown ]], [[Venetia Caine]],[[Harry Cripps]], [[Colin Gallagher]], Treasurer
  
==Trustees==
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===Trustees (2011)===
Accessed January 2011: <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html About], Optimum Population Trust, accessed January 12, 2011.</ref>
+
Accessed March 2011: <ref>[http://populationmatters.org/about/who-we-are/trustees/ Trustees], Population Matters, accessed March 13, 2011.</ref>
  
*[[Janet Boston]]
+
*[[Janet Boston]], TV producer, communications and international environment/development specialist; has held senior media and charity positions including CEO of The Thomson Foundation
 
*[[Stephen Bown]] Professor of Laser Medicine at University College London
 
*[[Stephen Bown]] Professor of Laser Medicine at University College London
*[[Harry Cripps]] MA MSc DMS CEng CEnv FIChemE MEI, chemical engineer, energy efficiency consultant and chartered environmentalist
+
*Harry Cripps, MA MSc DMS CEng CEnv FIChemE MEI, chemical engineer, energy efficiency consultant and chartered environmentalist
*[[Colin Gallagher]]
+
*Colin Gallagher, Chair of a leading UK economic research and strategy consultancy.
*[[Pippa Hayes]] is a full-time general practitioner in Devon and mother of two teenage boys.
+
*Pippa Hayes, is a full-time general practitioner in Devon and mother of two teenage boys.
*[[Roger Martin]], CHAIR OF TRUSTEES, was a senior diplomat, resigning 20 years ago; becoming a leading environmentalist in the South-West and serving on many green NGOs and quangos.
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*Roger Martin, Chair, was a senior diplomat, resigning 20 years ago; becoming a leading environmentalist in the South-West and serving on many green NGOs and quangos.
*[[Robin Maynard]]
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*[[Robin Maynard]], Campaigner with extensive experience of working for leading environmental organisations.
*[[Nick Reeves]] OBE Executive Director of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and writer on environmental affairs.
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*[[Nick Reeves]], OBE Executive Director of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and writer on environmental affairs.
*[[Alan Stedall]] is an IT Director and has led a number of large-scale systems projects for several UK businesses.
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*[[Alan Stedall]], Vice-chair is an IT Director and has led a number of large-scale systems projects for several UK businesses.
  
===Trustees (2010)===
+
==Patrons==
Accessed November 2010: <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html Directors], Optimum Population Trust, accessed November 14, 2010.</ref>
+
Accessed March 2011: <ref>[http://populationmatters.org/about/who-we-are/patrons/ Patrons], Population Matters, accessed March 13, 2011.</ref>
 
 
*Professor Stephen Bown is Professor of Laser Medicine at University College London
 
*Harry Cripps MA MSc DMS CEng CEnv FIChemE MEI, is a chemical engineer, energy efficiency consultant and chartered environmentalist
 
*Pippa Hayes is a full-time general practitioner in Devon and mother of two teenage boys.
 
*Roger Martin, CHAIR OF TRUSTEES, was a senior diplomat, resigning 20 years ago; becoming a leading environmentalist in the South-West and serving on many green NGOs and quangos.
 
*Alan Stedall is an IT Director and has led a number of large-scale systems projects for several UK businesses.
 
*[[Yvette Willey]], Company Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary. Yvette Willey has been with OPT since its foundation and is a businesswoman with treasury and accounts experience.
 
  
==Patrons==
+
The following list of patrons is from 2011, but as of May 2020 the only additions included [[Leilani Münter]], [[Malcolm Potts ]], [[Lionel Shriver]] and [[Adrian Hayes]]. People removed included [[Aubrey Manning]] and [[Norman Myers]].
Accessed April 2010: <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html Directors], Optimum Population Trust, accessed April 10, 2010.</ref>
 
  
*[[Sir David Attenborough]]  Naturalist, broadcaster and trustee of the British Museum and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; and a former controller of BBC Two.
+
*[[Sir David Attenborough]], Naturalist, broadcaster and trustee of the British Museum and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; and a former controller of BBC Two.
*[[Sir Partha Dasgupta]]Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge
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*[[Sir Partha Dasgupta]]Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge
*[[Paul Ehrlich]],   Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University
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*[[Paul Ehrlich]], Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University
 
*[[Jane Goodall]] PhD DBE,  Founder, Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace.
 
*[[Jane Goodall]] PhD DBE,  Founder, Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace.
*[[Susan Hampshire]] OBE,   Actress and population campaigner
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*[[Susan Hampshire]] OBE, Actress and population campaigner
*[[John Guillebaud]]   Former Co-chair of OPT, Emeritus Professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, UC London. Ex-Medical Director, Margaret Pyke Centre for Family Planning.
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*[[John Guillebaud]]Former Co-chair of OPT, Emeritus Professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, UC London. Ex-Medical Director, Margaret Pyke Centre for Family Planning.
 +
*Dr [[James Lovelock]] CBE, Scientist and environmentalist known for proposing the Gaia theory that Earth functions as an organism, and author of 'The Revenge of Gaia'
 
*[[Aubrey Manning]] OBE,  Emeritus Professor of Natural History, University of Edinburgh
 
*[[Aubrey Manning]] OBE,  Emeritus Professor of Natural History, University of Edinburgh
*[[Norman Myers]] CMG,   Visiting Fellow, Green College, Oxford University, and at Universities of Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, California, Michigan and Texas
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*[[Norman Myers]] CMG, Visiting Fellow, Green College, Oxford University, and at Universities of Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, California, Michigan and Texas
*[[Sara Parkin]] OBE,   Founder Director and Trustee of Forum for the Future and Director of the Natural Environment Research Council and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and Head Teachers into Industry.
+
*[[Sara Parkin]] OBE, Founder Director and Trustee of Forum for the Future and Director of the Natural Environment Research Council and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and Head Teachers into Industry.
 +
*[[Chris Packham]],  Naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author
 
*[[Jonathon Porritt]] CBE,  Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission.
 
*[[Jonathon Porritt]] CBE,  Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission.
 
*[[Crispin Tickell]] GCMG KCVO,  Chancellor of Kent University, Director of the Policy Foresight Programme at the James Martin Institute, and former UK Permanent Representative on the United Nations Security Council
 
*[[Crispin Tickell]] GCMG KCVO,  Chancellor of Kent University, Director of the Policy Foresight Programme at the James Martin Institute, and former UK Permanent Representative on the United Nations Security Council
  
In addition some time after April Dr [[James Lovelock]] also became a OPT patron.
+
==Expert Advisory Council==
 +
*[[Muhtari Aminu-Kano]], [[Wendo Aszed]], [[Ugo Bardi]], [[Elizabeth Cripps]], [[Patrick Curry]], [[Herman Daly]], [[Edu Effiom]], [[Rebecca Foljambe]], [[Clifford Garrard]], [[Graeme Maxton]], [[Fred Naggs]], [[Jane O'Sullivan]], [[Niki Rust]], [[William Rees]], [[William Ryerson]], [[Jeroen van den Bergh]], [[Peter Wadhams]], [[Judy Ling Wong]] <ref>Population Mattters [https://populationmatters.org/expert-advisory-group Expert Advisory Council], organizational web page, accessed May 13, 2020.</ref>
  
==Advisory Council==
+
''2011''
Accessed April 2010: <ref>[http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.aboutus.html Directors], Optimum Population Trust, accessed April 10, 2010.</ref>
+
Accessed March 2011: <ref>[http://populationmatters.org/about/who-we-are/advisory-council/ Advisory Council], Population Mattters, accessed March 13, 2011.</ref>
  
 
*[[Martin Chilcott]],  Chief Executive, Place Group.
 
*[[Martin Chilcott]],  Chief Executive, Place Group.
 
*[[Patrick Curry]] PhD  lives in London and lectures in Religious Studies at the University of Kent. He is the author of 'Ecological Ethics: An Introduction', Polity, 2006.
 
*[[Patrick Curry]] PhD  lives in London and lectures in Religious Studies at the University of Kent. He is the author of 'Ecological Ethics: An Introduction', Polity, 2006.
 +
*[[Martin Desvaux]] PhD CPhys  is a physicist experienced in life assessment techniques for power generation, petrochemical and plant, and formerly a director of ERA Technology and a Trustee of OPT. He now researches ecological issues.
 
*[[Rajamani Nagarajah]],  Health and development consultant to the European Commission and former Director of [[Population Concern]]
 
*[[Rajamani Nagarajah]],  Health and development consultant to the European Commission and former Director of [[Population Concern]]
 
*[[John Rowley]],  Founder/Editor of www.peopleandplanet.net and former Editor, People magazine ([[International Planned Parenthood Federation]])
 
*[[John Rowley]],  Founder/Editor of www.peopleandplanet.net and former Editor, People magazine ([[International Planned Parenthood Federation]])
 
*[[William Ryerson]] (USA),  Founder and president of [[Population Media Center]], William Ryerson has worked to promote population stabilisation for four decades, with an emphasis on social change communications.
 
*[[William Ryerson]] (USA),  Founder and president of [[Population Media Center]], William Ryerson has worked to promote population stabilisation for four decades, with an emphasis on social change communications.
 
*[[Alastair Service]] CBE, former Chairman of the [[Family Planning Association]]
 
*[[Alastair Service]] CBE, former Chairman of the [[Family Planning Association]]
*[[Valerie Stevens]]   former Co-chair and Chair of OPT
+
*[[Valerie Stevens]] former Co-chair and Chair of OPT
  
New addition at the end of 2010 is [[Martin Desvaux]] PhD CPhys  is a physicist experienced in life assessment techniques for power generation, petrochemical and plant, and formerly a director of ERA Technology and a Trustee of OPT. He now researches ecological issues.
 
  
 
==Contact==
 
==Contact==
:Web: http://www.optimumpopulation.org
+
:Web: http://www.populationmatters.org
 +
:Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PopulationMatters
 +
 
  
 
==Criticism==
 
==Criticism==
 
*[[Richard Seymour]], "[http://leninology.blogspot.com/2009/11/eco-malthusianism.html Eco-malthusianism]", ''Lenin's Tomb'', November 18, 2009.
 
*[[Richard Seymour]], "[http://leninology.blogspot.com/2009/11/eco-malthusianism.html Eco-malthusianism]", ''Lenin's Tomb'', November 18, 2009.
 +
  
 
==Resources and articles==
 
==Resources and articles==
 
===Related Sourcewatch articles===
 
===Related Sourcewatch articles===
*[[Carter Dillard]] - Research Fellow
+
*[[Andrew Ferguson]], Honorary Editor of the the OPT Journal's research on eco-footprinting and population carrying capacity.
*HONORARY EDITOR, OPT JOURNAL - [[Andrew Ferguson]]  co-ordinates the OPT Journal's research on eco-footprinting and population carrying capacity.
+
*Professor [[Chris Rapley]] CBE, Director, [[Science Museum]], and former OPT Patron
*[[Edmund Davey]]
 
*Professor [[Chris Rapley]] CBE - Director, [[Science Museum]], and former OPT Patron
 
 
*[[PopOffsets]]
 
*[[PopOffsets]]
 +
*[[Lionel Shriver]]
 +
*[[Baroness Shreela Flather]] - new patron as of Nov 17, 2011 [http://populationmatters.org/2011/news/baroness-shreela-flather-patron-population-matters/]
  
 
===References===
 
===References===

Latest revision as of 14:11, 13 May 2020

Population Matters, formerly the Optimum Population Trust, "is the leading population charity in the UK. We campaign to change the way people think about population."[1]

History

Population Matters was founded as the Optimum Population Trust in 1991 by the late David Willey, its first chairman. Its purpose was to collect, analyse and disseminate information about the sizes of global and national populations, and their relations with the carrying capacities of different countries and the quality of life of their inhabitants. It was intended that such information should help people to make informed choices about policies affecting their and their descendants' welfare. Special emphasis was given to the situation in the United Kingdom." [2] Aims


Activities

Population Matters describes its activities as to:

  • campaign for the stabilisation and gradual decrease of the population to sustainable levels by voluntary means, globally and within the UK.
  • lobby government and international bodies to increase support for reproductive health and other relevant policies.
  • engage with the broader developmental and sustainability movement to encourage them to include population in their thinking.
  • research matters of population in relation to the environment, sustainability and other issues.
  • disseminate this research to the public and interested parties via our website, through the media and at events.
  • ask individuals to consider the impact of population size on sustainability and the environment in their decisions on family size.

Trustees

Trustees (2012)

Accessed August 2012: [4]

Trustees (2011)

Accessed March 2011: [5]

  • Janet Boston, TV producer, communications and international environment/development specialist; has held senior media and charity positions including CEO of The Thomson Foundation
  • Stephen Bown Professor of Laser Medicine at University College London
  • Harry Cripps, MA MSc DMS CEng CEnv FIChemE MEI, chemical engineer, energy efficiency consultant and chartered environmentalist
  • Colin Gallagher, Chair of a leading UK economic research and strategy consultancy.
  • Pippa Hayes, is a full-time general practitioner in Devon and mother of two teenage boys.
  • Roger Martin, Chair, was a senior diplomat, resigning 20 years ago; becoming a leading environmentalist in the South-West and serving on many green NGOs and quangos.
  • Robin Maynard, Campaigner with extensive experience of working for leading environmental organisations.
  • Nick Reeves, OBE Executive Director of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and writer on environmental affairs.
  • Alan Stedall, Vice-chair is an IT Director and has led a number of large-scale systems projects for several UK businesses.

Patrons

Accessed March 2011: [6]

The following list of patrons is from 2011, but as of May 2020 the only additions included Leilani Münter, Malcolm Potts , Lionel Shriver and Adrian Hayes. People removed included Aubrey Manning and Norman Myers.

  • Sir David Attenborough, Naturalist, broadcaster and trustee of the British Museum and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; and a former controller of BBC Two.
  • Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge
  • Paul Ehrlich, Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University
  • Jane Goodall PhD DBE, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace.
  • Susan Hampshire OBE, Actress and population campaigner
  • John Guillebaud, Former Co-chair of OPT, Emeritus Professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, UC London. Ex-Medical Director, Margaret Pyke Centre for Family Planning.
  • Dr James Lovelock CBE, Scientist and environmentalist known for proposing the Gaia theory that Earth functions as an organism, and author of 'The Revenge of Gaia'
  • Aubrey Manning OBE, Emeritus Professor of Natural History, University of Edinburgh
  • Norman Myers CMG, Visiting Fellow, Green College, Oxford University, and at Universities of Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, California, Michigan and Texas
  • Sara Parkin OBE, Founder Director and Trustee of Forum for the Future and Director of the Natural Environment Research Council and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and Head Teachers into Industry.
  • Chris Packham, Naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author
  • Jonathon Porritt CBE, Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission.
  • Crispin Tickell GCMG KCVO, Chancellor of Kent University, Director of the Policy Foresight Programme at the James Martin Institute, and former UK Permanent Representative on the United Nations Security Council

Expert Advisory Council

2011 Accessed March 2011: [8]


Contact

Web: http://www.populationmatters.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PopulationMatters


Criticism


Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch articles

References

  1. About Population Matters, accessed 13 March 2011
  2. About, Optimum Population Trust, accessed April 24, 2008.
  3. Population Matters Board, organizational web page, accessed May 13, 2020.
  4. Population Matters Trustees, organizational web page, accessed August 29, 2012.
  5. Trustees, Population Matters, accessed March 13, 2011.
  6. Patrons, Population Matters, accessed March 13, 2011.
  7. Population Mattters Expert Advisory Council, organizational web page, accessed May 13, 2020.
  8. Advisory Council, Population Mattters, accessed March 13, 2011.