Population Connection
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Population Connection is an organization in the United States, formerly known as Zero Population Growth. They adopted their current name in 2002. Zero Population Growth was originally founded in 1968 by Paul R. Ehrlich, Richard Bowers, and Charles Remington, in the wake of the impact from Ehrlich's best-selling book, The Population Bomb.
According to an ad in the paperback edition of that book: Zero Population Growth Inc. is an organization which has been formed to bring the crucial issue of over-population to the attention of the general public, and more specifically, to the attention of our legislators (both state and federal): the ultimate goal of ZPG being to form a lobby group to press for legislation to implement far-reaching birth control programs, repeal of archaic legislation that runs counter to these objectives, and to press for allocation of funds for more research into population problems and research for better methods of contraception. In addition, ZPG will press for tax laws that, instead of offering incentives for having more children, will emphasize the need for population control."
Population Connection currently focuses strongly on education in third-world countries as a means to counter over-population, as well as female empowerment in these countries. Population Connection's argument is that female empowerment in developing nations is not only a good thing in itself, but women who have more of a voice in their household are more likely to have fewer children.
By 1972, membership in ZPG had grown to more than 35,000 members. ZPG has passed into common usage as a concept perhaps prompting ZPG to change their name to Population Connection after 34 years on May 1, 2002. The organization's headquarters is in Washington, D.C. The Population Connection works on issues concerning overpopulation and reproductive rights, and publishes a quarterly magazine, The Reporter. A full-length, science fiction film titled Z.P.G. [1], appeared in 1972, referring to an overpopulated, very polluted future Earth, whose world government practices executing persons who violate a 30-year ban on procreation.
Population Connection charters exist nationwide, and college activism groups also have worked with Population Connection as part of the organization's campus outreach program. In 2006, Population Matters was formed as the first high school club affiliated with Population Connection at Sierra High School in Tollhouse, California.
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