Population Policy
2002 : Population
Statement of Position: POPULATION POLICY
The League of Women Voters of Salt Lake recognizes that the rapid expansion of the human population has negative consequences on the health and welfare of the people of the world and is rapidly destroying the biosphere. The League of Women Voters of Salt Lake supports the development and implementation of a national population policy, which has as its goal a stable and sustainable human population.
History
The League of Women Voters of Salt Lake has become increasingly aware that population growth is an element in many of the issues the League has studied in recent years. Here in the Salt Lake Valley League members live with the deleterious effects of a rapidly growing population coupled with a high level of resource consumption. We observe a high indigenous birthrate and frequently robust in-migration. We now experience urban sprawl and air pollution and have expectations of future water scarcity. Therefore, the League studied population trends and biosphere degradation in the spring of 2002.
League members concluded that the United States should have a population policy that considers the number of people that can be sustained without damage to the environment of the nation and the rest of the world. To develop this policy the Salt Lake League members considered the following topics and believe they should be included in a national dialogue.
impact of different consumptive lifestyles on the earth’s living systems.
balance between a desirable number of people with an acceptable standard of living
consequences of a limited water supply
limits for contaminants of air, soil, and water that can be recycled by the biosphere
differences in sustainability among ecosystems including those of urban areas-support for the equal status, education, and autonomy of women within all world cultures
Population Policy
A population policy should include (but is not limited to)
The best estimate of what a sustainable human population is
Support of individual determination and responsibility
Social justice (including an expectation for survival of children and security in old age)
Worldwide availability of health care with emphasis on reproductive and pediatric health
Education about the social and environmental consequences of individual decisions about family size
Elimination of taxation policies and other policies that undermine attainment of sustainable population and consumption
Support for programs which achieve these goals in other nations
November 2002