Early on in my efforts as a climate activist it became evident that any attempt to discuss the issue of overpopulation was divisive. Awareness is essential, if a problem is not acknowledged then people will not be aware that it is a problem.
There are actually three ‘Elephants in the Room’ when we look at the human induced climate and ecological collapse and they were all identified in the early 1970s when the IPAT equation was first derived. We are unwilling to admit that any of our three favourite indulgences are a problem: Technology, Affluence and Pro-creation.
The ‘pro-creation’ problem seemed the most thorny issue. To get this topic into open debate would be a paradigm shift in itself. Thinking along these lines I compiled a document which suggested a revision to Article 16 of our Declaration of Human Rights. This was sent to the UN Secretary General with a covering letter on 5 June 2020, that date is significant because it is annually recognised as ‘World Environment Day’.
The UN then advised me which Brussels office were responsible for any proposed amendments to the Declaration of Human Rights. I submitted my documents but I never received a response. The documents that I sent are available here: