[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WORLD POPULATION AWARENESS WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 21, 1997

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to recognize 
October 26 through November 1, 1997, as ``World Population Awareness 
Week''. The purpose of this week is to educate the public about the 
impact of overpopulation on our resources and environment. Many 
communities have issued proclamations and I want to commend the Santa 
Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the mayor of the city of Santa 
Cruz for their recognition of this important week.
  Family planning programs are critical in our efforts to reduce 
population growth, protect the environment, assist in the sustainable 
development of poorer countries, and improve the health of women and 
children. Without such programs, the population of the Earth will 
double within our children's lifetimes--and many scientists believe our 
present world population of 5.8 billion may already be reaching the 
limit that our planet can sustain.
  World Population Awareness Week will teach and inform the global 
community of the need to bring the world's population into balance with 
the Earth's resources and environment. The world's population continues 
to grow by almost 90 million a year, mostly in underdeveloped nations, 
but population growth concerns developed nations as well. A citizen of 
the United States uses far more resources and energy than a citizen 
from an undeveloped nation. In order to ease the pressures human 
development puts on our fragile environment, we need to adopt 
sustainable development practices. The World Commission on Environment 
and Development, The Brundtland Commission, in 1987 defined sustainable 
development as the ability ``* * * to meet the needs of the present 
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their 
own needs.''
  I think sustainable development can be expanded to include preserving 
the integrity and beauty of the natural environment for enjoyment of 
current and future generations, economic vitality, human health and 
well-being, and community prosperity and social justice. As we 
recognize World Population Awareness Week, we must be mindful of the 
need to adopt sustainable development initiatives to balance our 
planet's dwindling natural resources with our population growth so that 
future generations can prosper.

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