What is the greatest threat to our oceans? Climate change and other population-driven crises are the greatest threats to our oceans. Better family planning policies are the greatest solution.
So why is it still taboo to talk about those solutions? Why do so many concerned parents have to remain anonymous in order to speak out? Meet one parent and activist taking action: Adam Sugalski is an accomplished surfer and animal protection expert from Jacksonville, Florida. Adam is urging the Surfrider Foundation, one of the leading ocean protection organizations in the world, to speak out on the need for better family planning policies both in the U.S. and worldwide, through the United Nations. Why Surfrider? Overpopulation is not just destroying our oceans – it’s perhaps the biggest problem in the sport today.
Adam’s efforts follow on the efforts of Willow Phelps, a budding 11 year old surfer who wrote personally to Surfrider recently.
Willow has never shied away from asking the tough questions. That’s a noble trait in anyone, but Willow is only 11 years old. She just sent a letter to the Surfrider Foundation (one of her favorite organizations) about her passion for surfing and protecting the ocean. Willow also asked the organization to stand behind its mission to protect the ocean by embracing an ethic of smaller families. Having Kids stands behind Willow and all kids, who will have to live with the environment we leave for them.
The Facts are Clear
- The most effective way to address many of the impacts on our environment and other species, like climate change, is by choosing smaller families. In fact, it’s 20 times more effective than changing diet or forms of transportation.
- By 2100 world population could vary by billions of people, depending on whether the average woman in the world today has one child more or one child fewer in her lifetime.
- Child-first family planning provides a clear human rights-based solution and path forward. It’s sustainable and equitable, and reflected in the worldwide trend towards smaller families that can invest more in each child and ensure a safer future.
Do you have a young activist in your life? Encourage them to contact their own favorite environmental organizations about smaller, sustainable families.
