By Kevin Fagan, Asst. News Editor -

In an event sponsored by the College Democrats of Boston College, BC Students for Sexual Health, and the Americans for Informed Democracy, two representatives from the Sierra Club and the Population Justice Project gave presentations on Tuesday on how family planning and global warming are linked, as well as the need for activism to raise awareness on the connection.

Laurie Mazur, director of the Population Justice Project, described this time as a pivotal moment for the environment; she said there are probably less than ten years to take a serious stance about climate change on a global scale. She argued that population plays a big part in this, since the two primary factors contributing to the pollution of the environment are the number of people living and the way they live. She said that the generation that encompasses current college students is the largest generation of all time: it is twice as large as the baby boomer generation.

Mazur stated that given current growth rates, our population could grow from its current 6.8 billion to anywhere from 8 to 11 billion by 2050. In many countries with high rates of childbirth and poverty, much of this population growth is driven not by intention, but rather by lack of choice about childbearing. Many women in these countries are subject to arranged marriages from very young ages and are forced to reproduce in relationships with older men. She cited the example of a young Indian girl of age 11 preparing to marry a much older man.

The solution provided to the problem of high population growth rates is giving women the means and power to access family planning resources. In many countries, access to comprehensive sexual health resources is limited, mostly because of lack of funding. The other major issue deals with power and equality and getting women the education they need to advance both socially and economically. In many countries, lack of water is driving a cycle in which women are forced to spend more time searching for water instead of getting a job or education.

The price of this solution for the entire developed world would be about $30 billion per year. Although this may sound like a lot, Mazur pointed out that bankers received a comparable amount in 2009 in year-end bonuses. The United States’ share of this is about $1 billion a year, the same as the amount we already spend in Afghanistan every 13 hours. In addition to money, commitments of time are needed at organizations like the Sierra Club, which advocates for population justice and environmental issues.

This event is a part of BCisGreen Week, which continues later this week until its conclusion on Thursday, March 18th.