Blog – Utah Population & Environment Council

All the people: what happens if humanity’s ranks start to shrink?

Written by UPEC Staff on July 29, 2020.

A recent article in the Lancet medical journal has been getting a lot of press for predicting that the global population will decline sooner than most experts predict — at 9.7 billion in 2064. But a) that’s still way too many people for this roasting planet and b) the authors are more optimistic about improvements in women’s education and access to birth control than many other...

Indonesia’s New Coronavirus Concern: A Post-Pandemic Baby Boom

Written by UPEC Staff on June 25, 2020.

With restrictions in place, millions stopped visiting clinics for contraceptives, says the government, which promotes family planning as part of its fight against child malnutrition… Read the Full Article Here

The pandemic could lead to a ‘baby bust’ of almost half a million fewer births, a major think tank

Written by Gray Griffin on June 23, 2020.

projectsinsider@insider.com (Juliana Kaplan) Brookings Institute economists predict that the coronavirus pandemic will lead to what they call a “baby bust” — not a baby boom… Read the Full Article Here

Stephen C. Bannister: Our Faustian bargain with fossil fuels

Written by Gray Griffin on May 25, 2020.

By Stephen C. Bannister | Special to The Tribune · Published: 5 days agoUpdated: 5 days ago Most of us have enjoyed the much cleaner air since the great COVID-19 shutdown-caused economic collapse. Everything damaging that we normally dump into our common airshed is reduced — carbon dioxide that increases climate warming and the pollutant precursors that cause regional haze...

Losing Nature

Written by UPEC Staff on April 28, 2022.

Lately I have been consumed by loss, and by the notion of loss. Working as a physician for the last two years, my confidence in the durability of health, life, and even community, has eroded. Personally, I was lucky. None of my family or close friends died of our plague, but professionally I watched as countless people we cared for intensely progressed with illness, suffered, and ultimately died....

Trees Not a Crowd

Written by UPEC Staff on April 14, 2022.

I’m relatively new to UPEC, but I was very glad to learn that a local group is working on the intersection of people and nature. As a recent graduate of the University of Utah currently employed in the outdoor recreation industry, I tend to think about these issues through the prism of the West’s stressed wildernesses. I spent 6 months of last year working as an outdoor educator in Central Ore...

Increasing Housing Crisis in Utah

Written by UPEC Staff on April 2, 2022.

As young people, newly settling into our careers, my partner and I were excited to start the home buying process in Boise, Idaho, one of Salt Lake’s closest neighbors. Our excitement quickly turned to frustration as we confronted the lack of inventory of homes in our price range. When we finally started submitting offers, we were consistently outbid by investors offering thousands of dollars over...

housing in Utah

Population is Part of the Equation

Written by UPEC Staff on December 27, 2021.

Happy New Year from UPEC! First, a quick announcement, and then some more substantial thoughts. The latter are longer than usual, but we hope you will give them a decent read, and please always reach out to us with comments and questions. Also, please share this email with your friends!

Those Snowy Peaks Have Us Thinking…

Written by UPEC Staff on October 28, 2021.

If you visit the Wasatch Front for snow-related activities, or, if you have simply lived in Salt Lake for more than a minute, then you have almost certainly experienced the intense traffic that often occurs in our area’s iconic mountain canyons.