TUCSON, Arizona, September 23, 2011 (ENS) - Extinction rates for plants and animals around the world have been accelerating while the human footprint grows, consuming land and water that could have provided habitat for threatened and endangered species.
Concerned about this imbalance, the Center for Biological Diversity this week began shipping out 100,000 Endangered Species Condoms from its Tucson headquarters to a network of 1,200 volunteer distributors in all 50 states.
The free condoms will be given away as part of the Center's 7 Billion and Counting campaign to highlight the world population hitting seven billion in late October. The idea is to prevent unwanted pregnancies, limiting human population growth and leaving more suitable habitat for imperiled species.
The human population has doubled since 1970, and is expected to hit seven billion by October 31 and at least nine billion by 2050.
"As the world population closes in on seven billion, there's never been a better time to talk about overpopulation and the species extinction crisis, and our Endangered Species Condoms are one of the best conversation starters out there," said Amy Harwood, the Center's overpopulation campaign coordinator.
"Since we launched this project in 2010, we've heard from thousands of people that these simple but surprising packages drive the issue home in a funny, thought-provoking way," Harwood said.
The condoms come in six different packages with original artwork and edgy slogans featuring the polar bear, jaguar, snail darter, spotted owl, coqui guajon rock frog and American burying beetle, whose slogan is, "Cover your tweedle, save the burying beetle."
All six species are listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Over the next few weeks, the Endangered Species Condoms will be distributed at events across the country hosted by college students, grandmothers, healthcare providers, religious leaders, musicians and activists.
"Without universal access to free birth control and engaging public education about the serious consequences of overpopulation, the global population could reach 15 billion by mid-century," said Harwood. "The Earth simply can't sustain that many people and provide a high-quality life for all species, including humans."
The Center's condom website, www.EndangeredSpeciesCondoms.com, has images of the six colorful condom packages, information on how overpopulation is affecting climate change, global fisheries collapse, public lands and the species extinction crisis.
It enables people to sign up to become Endangered Species Condom distributors where they live.
As part of the new campaign, the Center has launched a new website, www.7BillionAndCounting.org, which includes background information, activist toolkits, updates on efforts to highlight the impact of overpopulation on species extinction and links to a new Facebook page.