In “Population & environment: a progressive, feminist approach,” Laurie Mazur argues that slowing population growth can assist in efforts of building a sustainable and equitable future. Mazur asserts that this can be achieved by “ensuring that all people have the means and the power of making their own decisions regarding childbearing” (para.1). Mazur notes that the environmental crisis currently presents in our world is because of unsustainable systems of production and consumption, and women are on the front lines of the crisis. She calls for the enactment of population policies that take into consideration issues of human rights and social justice.
I find the site to be an added voice in raising the alarm of the importance of protecting our planet and ensuring that our resources are equally distributed. However, Mazur’s failure to acknowledge the benefit of some population policies such as “the one-child per human mother” policy amazes me. I chose the website because of the following reasons: first, it addresses the issue of population explosion, which is the lens through which other significant global issues are viewed; second, it also addresses the current environmental crisis that we are facing.
The site’s contents are important in helping us understand development and population policies. For example, Mazur says that “they had goals to increase U.S. funding for family planning and reproductive health, provide comprehensive sexuality education in the U.S., and to pass the Global Poverty Act and implement the Millennium Development Goals” (para. 5).
Works cited
Mazur, Laurie. “Population & environment: a progressive, feminist approach.” On the issues. The Issues Magazine. 2009. Web.