Center for Biological Diversity
Pop X
No. 52, March 21, 2015
New Colorado Fashion Statement: IUD Jewelry

We often hear that our Endangered Species Condoms are a bold way to get people talking about the impact of population growth on wildlife -- but now it seems we may be upstaged, in terms of contraceptive outreach, by none other than the legislators of Colorado, who have started wearing IUD-themed jewelry on both sides of the aisle.

These earrings and lapel pins are more than a fashion statement. They're meant to help demystify this useful form of birth control and counter false claims by anti-choice lawmakers that IUDs are abortion-inducing devices. The jewelry has become an important political symbol this legislative session, as Colorado lawmakers consider a bill that would appropriate $5 million for the Colorado Family Planning Initiative.

The initiative, started in 2009, provided an estimated 30,000 IUDs and implants, leading to an incredible 40 percent drop in teen births in the past five years and proving that information and voluntary access to contraceptives is an effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancies. This is the kind of investment and outreach we need to reduce those accidental pregnancies and start tackling population growth. Let's hope the Colorado bill passes and these types of programs become the new fashion across the country.

For the wild,
Stephanie Feldstein Stephanie Feldstein
Population and Sustainability Director
P.S. Today's world population is: 7,255,141,067. We can still save room for wildlife -- spread the word and share the newsletter below.

New Endangered Species Condoms Arrive for Earth Day -- Sign Up

Endangered Species CondomsAfter receiving hundreds of votes and ideas from our supporters, the Center for Biological Diversity is excited to announce our next class of Endangered Species Condoms. As always, the slate of wildlife featured on the packages represents a range of species and ways that human population growth and overconsumption threaten biodiversity, with two returning favorites -- the polar bear and hellbender -- and four new species, the monarch butterfly, sea otter, flat-tailed horned lizard and whooping crane.

The condom packages, featuring all-new artwork and fair-trade Sustain condoms, will be released in time for Earth Day 2015, and we need your help to give them away across the country. Sign up today to be one of our condom distributors.

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, we've added 3.5 billion people to the planet and the pressure of ongoing habitat destruction, toxic pollution and a warming climate is taking its toll on the natural world. Help start the talk about our crowded planet and the need to expand access to contraception, reproductive healthcare, education and equality by becoming an Endangered Species Condoms volunteer.

The deadline to sign up is Wednesday, March 25. Even if you've signed up before, please fill out this form to make sure we have your current address and contact info.

 
 
Karner blue butterfly Bluefin tuna
New Threat to Pollinators

A new insecticide, called flupyradifurone, was recently approved by the Environmental Protection Agency even though the agency knew it could threaten endangered species, including butterflies, birds and frogs. That's why the Center and allies have filed a notice of intent to sue the EPA for violation of the Endangered Species Act in approving the chemical without consulting expert wildlife agencies. Read more about this latest in a line of toxic pesticides, and learn more about our work to protect wildlife and human health from toxic substances in our new Environmental Health program.

Cracking Down on Seafood Crime

The Obama administration just released a new action plan to crack down on illegal fishing. The plan includes a system to track the origin, fishery and method of fishing for all seafood entering the U.S. market. While better seafood tracking is an important part of saving imperiled overfished species like bluefin tuna, eating less seafood is ultimately the only way to save our ocean wildlife. A 2014 study estimated that 85 percent of the world's commercial fish stock is being harvested up to or beyond its biological capacity to meet the growing demand for seafood-heavy diets.

 
Don't Let the Meat Industry Hijack the Food Pyramid -- Take Action
Vegetable Display Cows Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell

For the first time ever, the expert panel that helps inform what goes into the national food pyramid recommended that Americans eat less meat and more plant-based foods for our own health and the environment.

The meat lobby is pressuring the Obama administration and Congress to keep any mention of sustainability or meat reduction out of the final dietary guidelines.

Tell the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services that you support sustainable, science-based food recommendations that focus on what's best for the health of people and the planet -- not meat-industry profits.

 
 
Corals Make Climate History

Elkhorn coralYou may not think of corals as trendsetters, but some of them have been making history on their journey to Endangered Species Act protections. In 2012 the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a status review report on several coral species that had been listed in 2006 in response to a Center petition. The report identified "increasing human population levels and the intensity of their collective human consumption as the root drivers of almost all global and local threats to coral species."

Following the long-overdue recognition of human population and consumption as the underlying threat to corals, this month the agency released a new recovery plan for elkhorn and staghorn corals near Florida and in the Caribbean. The plan includes a call to lower carbon emissions that are driving ocean acidification and increasing ocean temperatures, detailing specific targets and the need for agreements and regulations -- from the local to international levels -- to mitigate climate change.

The next step is putting measures in place to address the complex problems of population growth and carbon pollution to save these beautiful corals and hundreds of other species in peril.

 
Photo credits: Stephanie Feldstein staff photo; Endangered Species Condoms design by Lori Lieber and art by Shawn DiCriscio; Karner blue butterfly by John and Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS; bluefin tuna courtesy Flickr/Tom Puchner; vegetable display courtesy Flickr/clare & james; cows courtesy Flickr/Cedric Buffler; U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell courtesy Flickr/Pan American Health Organization; elkhorn coral courtesy Flickr/Phil's 1stPix.
 

This is an unmonitored email address; please do not reply.

To sign up for Endangered Species Condoms, click here. If you'd like more information on the Center's Population and Sustainability program, visit our website.

To make a donation, click here.

To stop receiving Pop X, click here.
Facebook Twitter

Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702-0710
Bookmark and Share