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Valentine’s Day endangered-species condoms?
February 4th, 2010, 12:08 pm · 14 Comments · posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor
Environmental activists worried about overpopulation say they’ll have a Valentine’s Day gift for the nation: free endangered-species condoms.
The Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, says it will distribute the condoms in Orange County and elsewhere around the country. Images of six endangered species will appear on the condom packages.
For now, they are saying little else, keeping details — including which species they’ve chosen — under wraps until the big launch next week.
“Now we’re trying to stuff tons of these things into boxes, trying to get them all out by Monday,” said Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate at the Center. “We’ll see if that actually happens.”
The activist group is best known for filing lawsuits and taking other action to stop development of habitat for threatened and endangered species. But it has struck a chord with the public in recent years with innovative publicity efforts, such as offering downloadable endangered-species ring tones.
And the point of distributing condoms? Increasing human population is threatening many species, both by erasing their habitat and, with rising greenhouse gas emissions, driving climate change, which could further shrink native ecosystems, Serraglio said.
“It’s really a problem that can easily be addressed,” he said. “Nearly half of all the pregnancies in the United States are unintended. A lot of people don’t realize, that’s a lot of irresponsible reproduction.
“The condoms are there to highlight the consequences of personal choices. These little things go a long way toward protecting whatever endangered species lives in your neighborhood.”
The Center has been involved over the years in fights over many species, from the jaguar to the threatened California gnatcatcher, once the subject of bitter disputes over development in Orange County.
The condoms could be distributed at public events, on campuses, perhaps even in shopping malls; Serraglio told the group’s members to use their imaginations.
But he says we’ll have to wait till next week to learn which species, gnatcatchers, jaguars or otherwise, will be on the packages.
(Photo of gnatcatcher from Register files. Photo of crowded beach courtesy Center for Biological Diversity.)
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“Increasing human population is threatening many species”
I think these activists are threatening many humans.
Great article Pat. Hope you didn’t spend more than 10 minutes writing this garbage up. I can’t believe I spent 10 seconds reading the first 2 paragraphs.
Second That.OVERPOPULATED ALREADY………………………..
Oh for the Love of God these people are just NUTS!
Wait a sec, so you can enact the disappearance of an endangered species in your own bedroom? How fun.
Ummm OKAY then. I say put pictures of aids patients and teenage mothers….
lol i agree with Marley!!! that’ll scare the crap out of them! they will actually listen
You people need to chill out. Be happy they are giving out condoms for free. These things can be expensive if you go out to buy em yourself and girls will use them up fast.
But will they have larger size ones?
LGT: ROFL!!!!!!!!!!! I’m dyin’!!!!!
As to the article: “Nearly half of all the pregnancies in the United States are unintended.”
Oh yeah? Just where do you get your facts? What website did you pull that off of, or did you just make that up?
Maybe they should be donating all their funds to Planned Parenthood?
Methods: Data from the 1982, 1988 and 1995 cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth, supplemented by data from other sources, are used to estimate 1994 rates and percentages of unintended birth and pregnancy and the proportion of women who have experienced an unintended birth, an abortion or both. In addition, estimates are made of the proportion of women who will have had an abortion by age 45.
Results: Excluding miscarriages, 49% of the pregnancies concluding in 1994 were unintended; 54% of these ended in abortion. Forty-eight percent of women aged 15-44 in 1994 had had at least one unplanned pregnancy sometime in their lives; 28% had had one or more unplanned births, 30% had had one or more abortions and 11% had had both. At 1994 rates, women can expect to have 1.42 unintended pregnancies by the time they are 45, and at 1992 rates, 43% of women will have had an abortion. Between 1987 and 1994, the unintended pregnancy rate declined by 16%, from 54 to 45 per 1,000 women of reproductive age. The proportion of unplanned pregnancies that ended in abortion increased among women aged 20 and older, but decreased among teenagers, who are now more likely than older women to continue their unplanned pregnancies. The unintended pregnancy rate was highest among women who were aged 18-24, unmarried, low-income, black or Hispanic.
How many of these environmental whack jobs are whining for less people but actually already have kids themselves?
“Now we’re trying to stuff tons of these things into boxes…”
Isn’t that the problem they are trying to avoid?
just for that I am going to catch and eat a bald eagle for v-day!
My uncle had a saying: as long as sex is more fun than dying, we’ll have population growth. “Oops” pregnancies are a problem, regardless of the actual percentages. Generally, those kids growth up with less opportunities for education and good employment options. While I don’t agree with their activist positions, for the most part, a lower birth rate is a long term solution to many problems.