Fw: Update: Vermonters for Sustainable Population

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plumb....@gmail.com

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Apr 16, 2012, 9:34:45 AM4/16/12
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What an honor it is to have this email about VSP go out to over 1200 people all over the world.
Many thanks to each of you for supporting VSP with just your interest, maybe your time, and hopefully your donation.
If you don’t already subscribe to the PMC daily I hope you will.
 
Next week I will be speaking at a population symposium at Middlebury College. I have been working for weeks on a power point talk titled, How Large Should Vermont’s Population Be? For Sustainability? For Quality of Life? As far as I know this is the first time anyone in the history of the state has talked about this question and provided an answer. Not really being an experienced power point person I would love some feedback on the slides. There are about forty of them and if you have a few minutes to give them a critique I would really appreciate it and would send the talk to you as an attachment.
 
This is the time of year when we elect our board members. We really could use some new board members to help us in our planning and policy making. It is not a very demanding position. We exchange an occasional email, have an occasional conference call, and physically meet just once a year. If you are at all interested let me know.
 
The best,
 
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 10:30 AM
Subject: Update: Vermonters for Sustainable Population
 

Over the next few months, I intend to send out updates from various population advocacy groups in the United States and around the world. I am pleased to start off with an update from George Plumb, longtime force behind Vermonters for Sustainable Population. For additional information, here is their website: http://www.vspop.org/  

 

Vermonters for Sustainable Population (www.vspop.org)

April 10, 2012

 

Vermont, the countrie's second most rural state next to Wyoming, is one of only four states that has a state level population organization, and has had one since 1993.

 

Being a rural and quite progressive oriented state, dealing with population growth is a hard sell for this small all volunteer organization but it persists and has done some unique work. Just within the last year it has:

 

  • Published the ground breaking scientific report in 2011 titled the Vermont Environmental Trends: The Population Connection. This was a tremendous amount of work but we did it for only $1,200!
  • Produced the creative Replace Once travel mugs and gave them out to dozens of people from all over the world and to many people here Vermont.
  • Gained acknowledgement from fourteen Vermont organizations which have now put something on their web site about population be it a link to our web site, our badge about reducing carbon emissions by taking our pledge, a few sentences, or an entire page. VSP probably has more state organizations that have linked to a population site than any other state in the country including probably the only coop.
  • Gained the support of Endow-Bio, a national environmental fund raising organizations which has picked VSP as one of five organizations to be the beneficiary of the fund raising for this year.
  • Increased the number of people who have taken the strongest pledge to live more sustainably found on Google to several hundred. The pledge can only be taken by Vermonters but among the pledgers are people like Bill McKibben, political leaders, and some of the staff from the Population Media Center based in Shelburne, Vermont. The ten point pledge includes the bold "Replace only Once" action.
  • All of the above can be seen on our very creative website. These are in addition to the usual editorials, posts, and speaking to college classes.
  • Most recently George Plumb has developed a power point talk titled, How Large Should Vermont's Population Be? For Sustainability? For Quality of Life. He will be giving that talk at a Population Symposium being sponsored by Middlebury College and will be happy to make it available to others.

 

During the coming year it has set a goal of showing the new movie, Hooked on Growth, in at least ten communities and finding someone to do a YouTube video on population growth in Vermont.

 

Successes of the Population Movement

  • Some great movies and videos in the last year including Hooked on Growth, Caring for Seven Billion and Too Many People.
  • The free Save a Species Condom program and speaking out about population by the Center for Biological Diversity. Really wonderful and creative.
  • Several great new books on population including Man Swarm: The Killing of Wildlife by Dave Foreman.
  • Global Population Speak Out

 

Failures of the Population Movement

  • Still haven't gotten political leaders and most environmental leaders to speak out on population.
  • While the fertility rate of middle income people is probably at replacement level the fertility rate for lower income people seems high from my observation.

 

The priorities moving forward should be

  • Develop a world culture of replace only once.
  • Fund more grassroots efforts like VSP. That is where the difference can be made at least in the U.S.
  • Do a better job of getting the climate change movement to acknowledge the population growth factor.
  • Truly bring all of the population organizations together to develop a "common platform."

 

For further information contact the volunteer executive director George Plumb at plumb....@gmail.com 

 


 

Thank you,

 

Joe

---

Joseph J. Bish

Population Outreach Manager

Population Media Center

145 Pine Haven Shores Road, Suite 2011

P.O. Box 547

Shelburne, Vermont 05482-0547

U.S.A.

PMC Tel. 1-802-985-8156

PMC Fax 1-802-985-8119

Joe Bish Mobile: 1-607-354-4342

Email: mailto:rye...@populationmedia.org

PMC website: www.populationmedia.org

Follow us on Twitter 

Become a fan of PMC on Facebook

 

We want to hear from you!  Check out our blog,  www.populationmedia.org/pmc-blog, where you can read and comment on the articles distributed via PMC's daily population email listserv.  Please note that it may take up to 48 hours for this article to appear on the website.

 

This email was sent to plumb....@gmail.com by pop...@populationmedia.org |  
Population Media Center | P.O. Box 547 | Shelburne | VT | 05482


George
True sustainability will only be achieved with population stabilization.
www.vspop.org
http://groups.google.com/group/vermonters-for-sustainable-population

TOM MCKENNA

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Apr 16, 2012, 4:58:41 PM4/16/12
to vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
George,
 
It's time for me to drop off the board and give someone else the opportunity to participate at that level. So, as  General Sherman said after the Civil War when he was under pressure to run for president, "I will not run if nominated and will not serve if elected." (Although some claim he was actually saying he would not be on either the track team or the tennis team.)
 
If I've seen a dozen power point presentations, I have not seen one that went smoothly through all the pictures without a hitch. And that's after the speaker got the facilities tech geek, or a teenager from the audience, to get it turned on and apparently working. So I would strongly recommend having it set up and tested with a complete run through and then reset to the first picture before your audience arrives. Get it ready so all you need to do is push one button and slide #1 appears on the screen.
 
Another frequent problem is the speaker, with his or her back to the audience, reaching up to point out something on the screen to the audience. Spend c. $10 for one of those laser pointers that run on two AAA batteries---and charge it to VSP.
 
Tom

plumb....@gmail.com

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Apr 17, 2012, 8:10:20 AM4/17/12
to vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
You can’t drop off the board. You were elected for a two year term last year and you have a year to go!
 
And I would sorely miss you.

Phil Dodd

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Apr 17, 2012, 1:46:18 PM4/17/12
to vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
George -

I’d be interested in seeing your slides.

Phil



On 4/16/12 9:34 AM, "plumb....@gmail.com" <plumb....@gmail.com> wrote:

What an honor it is to have this email about VSP go out to over 1200 people all over the world.
Many thanks to each of you for supporting VSP with just your interest, maybe your time, and hopefully your donation.
If you don’t already subscribe to the PMC daily I hope you will.
Next week I will be speaking at a population symposium at Middlebury College. I have been working for weeks on a power point talk titled, How Large Should Vermont’s Population Be? For Sustainability? For Quality of Life? As far as I know this is the first time anyone in the history of the state has talked about this question and provided an answer. Not really being an experienced power point person I would love some feedback on the slides. There are about forty of them and if you have a few minutes to give them a critique I would really appreciate it and would send the talk to you as an attachment.
 
This is the time of year when we elect our board members. We really could use some new board members to help us in our planning and policy making. It is not a very demanding position. We exchange an occasional email, have an occasional conference call, and physically meet just once a year. If you are at all interested let me know.
The best,

From: PMC Daily Email <mailto:pop...@populationmedia.org>  
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 10:30 AM
To: plumb....@gmail.com
Subject: Update: Vermonters for Sustainable Population
 
 
    
    
   <http://s.rs6.net/t?e=XPpqY71qwrU&amp;c=1&amp;r=1>   <http://s.rs6.net/t?e=XPpqY71qwrU&amp;c=3&amp;r=1>   <http://s.rs6.net/t?e=XPpqY71qwrU&amp;c=4&amp;r=1>    <http://s.rs6.net/t?e=XPpqY71qwrU&amp;c=5&amp;r=1>    <http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Honduras--No-Jail-Time-for-Birth-Control-.html?soid=1103172936704&amp;aid=XPpqY71qwrU#fblike>

 
    
  
    
  
  
  
    
  Over the  next few months, I intend to send out updates from  various population advocacy groups in the United States  and around the world. I am pleased to start off with an  update from George Plumb, longtime force behind  Vermonters for Sustainable Population. For additional  information, here is their website: http://www.vspop.org/  <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I9oQkfxCkCLqJuUf2V-ki1Zr9HkSdH7KqTI_2rhkkaCdrN4OfiEUk6lUPl8WmBVHovSvuHCSAK0oUY2-nAJRfHXcxBLFX3RsB12FwmJ9C3M=>      Vermonters  for Sustainable Population (www.vspop.org) April  10, 2012   Vermont,  the countrie's second most rural state next to Wyoming,  is one of only four states that has a state level  population organization, and has had one since 1993.   Being a  rural and quite progressive oriented state, dealing with  population growth is a hard sell for this small all  volunteer organization but it persists and has done some  unique work. Just within the last year it has:   

  • Published the ground breaking scientific report in  2011 titled the Vermont Environmental Trends: The  Population Connection. This was a tremendous amount of  work but we did it for only $1,200!  

  • Produced the creative Replace Once travel mugs and  gave them out to dozens of people from all over the  world and to many people here Vermont.  

  • Gained acknowledgement from fourteen Vermont  organizations which have now put something on their  web site about population be it a link to our web  site, our badge about reducing carbon emissions by  taking our pledge, a few sentences, or an entire page.  VSP probably has more state organizations that have  linked to a population site than any other state in  the country including probably the only coop.  

  • Gained the support of Endow-Bio, a national  environmental fund raising organizations which has  picked VSP as one of five organizations to be the  beneficiary of the fund raising for this year.  

  • Increased the number of people who have taken the  strongest pledge to live more sustainably found on  Google to several hundred. The pledge can only be  taken by Vermonters but among the pledgers are people  like Bill McKibben, political leaders, and some of the  staff from the Population Media Center based in  Shelburne, Vermont. The ten point pledge includes the  bold "Replace only Once" action.  

  • All of the above can be seen on our very creative  website. These are in addition to the usual  editorials, posts, and speaking to college classes.  

  • Most recently George Plumb has developed a power  point talk titled, How Large Should Vermont's  Population Be? For Sustainability? For Quality of  Life. He will be giving that talk at a Population  Symposium being sponsored by Middlebury College and  will be happy to make it available to others.

  During  the coming year it has set a goal of showing the new  movie, Hooked on Growth, in at least ten communities and  finding someone to do a YouTube video on population  growth in Vermont.    Successes  of the Population Movement

  • Some great movies and videos in the last year  including Hooked on Growth, Caring for Seven Billion  and Too Many People.  

  • The free Save a Species Condom program and  speaking out about population by the Center for  Biological Diversity. Really wonderful and creative.  

  • Several great new books on population including  Man Swarm: The Killing of Wildlife by Dave Foreman.  

  • Global Population Speak Out

  Failures  of the Population Movement

  • Still haven't gotten political leaders and most  environmental leaders to speak out on population.  

  • While the fertility rate of middle income people  is probably at replacement level the fertility rate  for lower income people seems high from my  observation.

  The  priorities moving forward should be

  • Develop a world culture of replace only once.  

  • Fund more grassroots efforts like VSP. That is  where the difference can be made at least in the U.S.  

  • Do a better job of getting the climate change  movement to acknowledge the population growth factor.  

  • Truly bring all of the population organizations  together to develop a "common platform."

  For  further information contact the volunteer executive  director George Plumb at plumb....@gmail.com   
     

  Thank  you,   Joe   --- Joseph  J. Bish  Population  Outreach Manager Population  Media Center  145  Pine Haven Shores Road, Suite 2011 P.O.  Box 547 Shelburne,  Vermont 05482-0547 U.S.A. PMC  Tel. 1-802-985-8156 PMC  Fax 1-802-985-8119 Joe  Bish Mobile: 1-607-354-4342  Email:  mailto:rye...@populationmedia.org PMC  website: www.populationmedia.org <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I9oQkfxCkCI4eCfXTSJI0gvbllbZUBn0a5VybRRsVxl-0kGNRf8QI05YNOzelXsDn0GzhghEDGIm9nJNUPmF6WZycuuD9BjzOLbZ189rHrJariEUXtLNww8S1u1UD3kZ>  Follow  us on Twitter <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I9oQkfxCkCKES_wuoyBIUyf0zq0gfK00G50vOoLz_QWs0O_d4FW3jX0ZVPHV620u6l7Nun6o2iQFiJ_ZXfVjFvd9-uUhZaKL0nJvkZejxmO7MHwQpofdRqkPwbdr9MdZ>    Become  a fan of PMC on Facebook <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I9oQkfxCkCIkBkYpIAxPvB8W5SIQvTiAkOVy1bL3UeydFcXqjHaRgiLxpwCjclYTUEIxtbKuZb_2VHcvtfIgraDcXbevui0RfZGCFckoPPVmlgRKpwQWW2AbXdnILG5PedQ2eR8txWIK_UP0jgTSAXHLD36203Y5uC1nn02UuWM7UtMWz4hv4tKLXTu-y43MnMW8AB7n_F9_rChIDm-Ct17A-l2sz73S>    We  want to hear from you!  Check out our blog, www.populationmedia.org/pmc-blog <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I9oQkfxCkCJOa8N9b7bw76ZujNaM3WEfPoVER5h8YKJmq_VWk4T-0vshMvfoplf2Nv7jQKjjctM8zzdm9wQd99YKmRZKMhQTpM42FdXbJ8bKecJlUCjOHqIk7ZCs1QsJQ3rmQdx9hnI=> ,  where you can read and comment on the articles  distributed via PMC's daily population email  listserv.  Please note that it may take up to 48  hours for this article to appear on the website.    
 
  

 Forward email <http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=aajwdndab&amp;m=1103172936704&amp;ea=plumb.george%40gmail.com&amp;a=1109773471989>

  
    
  <http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&amp;mse=001Vb7ChI2QdfBkEwbijIfq_SBBGcVR_FlZ&amp;t=001D31PAjXED4DU4n0f9Jcukw%3D%3D&amp;llr=aajwdndab>     <http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?pn=albertkaufman&amp;cc=TEM_Basic_206>    

This email was sent to plumb....@gmail.com by pop...@populationmedia.org |  

Population Media Center | P.O. Box 547  | Shelburne | VT | 05482

plumb....@gmail.com

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Apr 17, 2012, 1:52:18 PM4/17/12
to vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
Thanks Phil,
 
I am giving a trial run at Toastmasters tonight at 5:30 at BC/BS-downstairs conference room.
come if you can.
 
Otherwise I will take their comments, work on it some more, and then send you the next version.
 
Really appreciate it.
 
From: Phil Dodd
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 1:46 PM

TOM MCKENNA

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Apr 17, 2012, 7:48:06 PM4/17/12
to vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
OK, I'll serve another year but not run for reelection.

plumb....@gmail.com

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Apr 17, 2012, 8:10:08 PM4/17/12
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Great!  Thanks much Tom.

Phil Dodd

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Apr 18, 2012, 5:42:14 PM4/18/12
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George -

Couldn’t make it last night. Hope it went well.

Here are a couple of quotes I ran across recently that may have relevance to your efforts:


“Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”

    - Nelson Mandela

“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.”

   - Jerry Garcia


Best,

Phil

Education is the most powerful weapon,
which you can use to change the world.
—NELSON MANDELA Education is the most powerful weapon,
which you can use to change the world.
—NELSON MANDELAHope


On 4/17/12 1:52 PM, "plumb....@gmail.com" <plumb....@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Phil,
I am giving a trial run at Toastmasters tonight at 5:30 at BC/BS-downstairs conference room.
come if you can.
Otherwise I will take their comments, work on it some more, and then send you the next version.
Really appreciate it.

plumb....@gmail.com

unread,
Apr 19, 2012, 9:08:02 AM4/19/12
to vermonters-for-sus...@googlegroups.com
Thanks Phil,
 
The group was quite impressed. I will do some fine tuning today and send it on to you later.
 
Those quotes help. I need all the inspiration I can get these days.
 
I have been communicating with Frosty Woolridge and just bought his book.
What an amazing guy he is.
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