50th UN Session of Commission on Population & Development

Posted on April 6, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: The growing human population is the source of most of the environmental destruction that is threatening the biological diversity and stability of the Earth. Here’s some information from Joe Bish of the Population Media Center (PMC) that will help you stay updated on critical issues (Fertility projections). Bish is reporting on the latest United Nations nonsense about sustainable development.

Travel by train in India (anonymous).

“Welcome to Population Media Center’s Weekly News. Click here to review an on-line newspaper filled with population and sustainability related stories.They provide a good summary of international developments and population-related news-flow during the past week.

“It is debatable as to what was the biggest news in the field this week: the 50th session of the Commission on Population and Development was convened in New York City — and the current U.S. administration cut off American funding for UNFPA. Normally, I would say the latter was a much more meaningful news-item, after all, the cut-off of funds will lead to the suffering and death of multitudes of women and children. On the other hand, you will likely join me in disbelief and consternation to find the official news release from the UN (see below) has a headline that states “population… decline” is a key focus of the 50th session.

“Bear in mind that during the 5-day work week of proceedings at the UN, global population will have increased by roughly 1.1 million people. Also, you don’t need reminding that since the Commission was established in 1947, world population has risen by well over 5 billion people. Yet… “population… decline” is the headline?

“We all know what this headline is referring to are a score of countries that are thought to be experiencing natural decrease. These include Japan, Spain, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Georgia. Nonetheless, while some attention may be required to help these countries adopt a sustainable economy that does not require perpetual population growth to function, surely it seems not quite right that the 50th session of the Commission is being dedicated to the relative distractions of aging and “population decline.” –Joe Bish

3 April 2017 – The United Nations advisory body on issues related to population and development today kicked off its annual session, with a focus on changing population age structures and sustainable development.

“Population ageing and population decline have now become key issues for a growing number of Member States,” Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo told the opening segment of the Commission on Population and Development’s fiftieth annual session, which will run at UN Headquarters through 7 April.

He also noted that with global fertility at, or even below, fertility [sic] level, international migration “is becoming the main driver of population change for a number of countries.” –United Nations (Continue: PMC’s Weekly News: 50th Session of Commission on Population & Development).

Live Q&A: How can the environment and development sectors work together to achieve the SDGs?

Posted on October 24, 2016 by GarryRogers

GR: They can’t. “Sustainable development” is a nonsense term used to green-wash the destruction of nature. To sustain nature we must reduce our population and our overuse and abuse of natural resources. This cannot happen until our economic system embraces negative growth and nature restoration. Look at this current story from the Guardian to see the size of the problem.

Q & A item from the Guardian: “Traditionally, the environment and the development sectors have worked separately, but the era of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change calls for a shift in approach.

Profit motive drives human behavior.

In ratifying the Paris Agreement, countries have pledged to limit the increase in average global temperature to below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Meanwhile, protection of the environment features heavily in the SDGs: countries commit to creating sustainable cities and communities, promoting responsible consumption and promotion, and taking climate action – all measures that could help fulfil the Cop21 agreement.

“What’s exciting about the SDGs is the interconnectedness,” said Archana Patkar, networking and knowledge management programme manager for WSSCC, at an event organised by the Guardian alongside the UN General Assembly in September.

“So how can the development and environment sectors collaborate and align their efforts in achieving these interconnected goals? Where can parallels be found between the two sectors? How can efforts to improve economic growth be made without harming the environment? And which “dynamic new ways of working” can environment and development professionals adopt to achieve the SDGs?” — Katherine Purvis.

More: Live Q&A: How can the environment and development sectors work together to achieve the SDGs? | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian

LA Planners Do Not Want City Council to Ban Fracking

Posted on November 11, 2014 by GarryRogers

Anne C. Mulkern, E&E Reporter: “Los Angeles planners after a nine-month review are advising their City Council not to attempt a ban on fracking and other unconventional oil drilling.” (Source: http://www.eenews.net)

GR: The photograph: Smart Growth joins Sustainable Development in the Urban planner’s arsenal of deceptive terms. They don’t realize how oxymoronic they are.

GR: Planners are always on the side of growth and development. Society’s “progress” syndrome prepares young people for their final brainwashing in college. Imaginations constrained by courses, teachers, and fellow students, planners can’t conceive of a world without growth. Quality planning becomes full utilization of space for human benefit.

Africa’s oldest national park counts on sustainability

Posted on June 29, 2014 by GarryRogers

People living in and around Africa’s oldest wildlife reserve—threatened by armed groups and oil prospectors, are pinning their hopes on sustainable development projects for energy, agriculture and tourism.

Source: phys.org

GR: No development can be sustainable without population control and nature conservation. Without these goals, “sustainability” is just another word for “smash and grab.”