In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Ted Turner urges global one-child policy

(The Globe and Mail) Billionaire Ted Turner has urged world leaders to implement a global one-child policy to save the environment. Turner is a long time advocate of population control and says that a one-child policy based on China's model could reduce the long-term effects of climate change. He spoke at a presentation where economist Brian O'Neill from the U.S.'s National Center for Atmospheric Research unveiled his study on the connection between a rising population and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Zhao Baige, China's national planning official, says the one-child policy has resulted in 400 million fewer births since 1979. He says this translates into a reduction of 1.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. But critics say the policy is a draconian measure that has resulted in female infanticide and abortions.

1.

The effects of China's one-child policy

The New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine was founded by Dr. John Collins Warren in 1812. It publishes editorials, peer-reviewed articles and case reports and is a well respected source for medical information. In 2005 Dr. Therese Hesketh and her colleagues published a report called The Effect of China's One Child Policy After 25 years. The report says the one-child policy was originally intended to be a short-term measure but it eventually evolved into a system of incentives and punishments designed to reduce population growth. the report says the policy has resulted in a sex ratio imbalance and a higher proportion of elderly people.

2.

The one-child policy according to the UN

UNDESA
The population division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) is responsible for monitoring the world's population, provide support for NGOs and help member states formulate population policies. The department published a report called Fertility Prospects in China. The report gives an unbiased view of China's policy showing that it has reduced the population and fertility rates but it has damaged the family system. The report says that in traditional family's children would support their elderly parents but with only one child this will become an increasing problem. It has also led to an imbalance of the sexes, right now China has a deficit of 60 million women.

3.

Pro-life group cites human rights abuses

ProLife Alliance
The ProLife Alliance is an anti-abortion U.K. based organization that seeks to secure the rights of all human beings from birth to death. They are staunchly against China's one-child policy because of the effect it has had on the women of that nation. They do not believe that overpopulation is a tangible threat to society. They campaigned for the freedom of anti-abortion activist Chen Guangcheng who was freed this September after four years in prison. Guangcheng accused family planning officials in Shandong province of forcibly sterilizing 7,000 women.

4.

Everything is a-okay: China

The National Population and Family Planning Commission of China
The National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (NPFPC), is China's state agency responsible for implementing the one-child policy. This organization promotes the one-child policy with the ultimate goal of limiting China's population to 1.4 billion by 2010. For example, the society ran a story about a new incentive launched by the Jilin government. Families in rural areas who comply with the one child policy get their photo taken free of charge. The commission is also trying to address the imbalanced sex ratio by campaigning on behalf of girls. Their efforts include harsher penalties for illegal abortions and improving the overall social status of women.

5.

Global population too high

The World Watch Institute
The World Watch Institute (WWI) is an independent research organization. It focuses on climate change, environmental degradation, population growth and poverty. Given the rate that humans are consuming the planets resources the WWI believes that the global population is ballooning out of control and that this threatens the survival of our species. They say that the earth's long term carrying capacity is no more than 2-3 billion people. They say that governments must coordinate a plan to shrink the human population to this number in the next couple of centuries. They say that people who claim the earth can support a population of upwards of 10 billion are dangerously naive and they foresee catastrophe if human population continues to grow.