population

The United Nations released an alarming report recently about population, a topic that will be the focus of Mountainfilm in Telluride's 2012 Moving Mountains Symposium. According to the report, nearly 3 billion people could end up impoverished by 2050. The U.N. argues that "The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required." Ironically, the number of people on the planet living in "absolute poverty" has reduced to 27 percent from 46 percent in 1990, but with natural resources rapidly diminishing, these numbers are predicted to head in the wrong direction in the future.

Each year, the Fund for Peace publishes a list of "failing states" that they catalog according to "their vulnerability to violent conflict and societal deterioration." They use twelve social, economic and political indicators - ranked 0-10 - so a combined score of 120 would mean a state is failing on every level. For instance, the top failed state in the world is Somalia with a score of 113.4, while Finland has the lowest score of only 19.7 (with the U.S. coming in at 34.8). What is particularly compelling, given the Mountainfilm focus on population is how much demographics impacts these scores. Almost all of the failing states have about 70% of their population under the age of thirty, compared to 35% or so for the stable countries.

Mountain Lodge Telluride is running a terrific photo competition based on the theme of Mountainfilm's 2012 Moving Mountains Symposium: "Population". Enter the photo contest for a chance to win great prizes, including lodging and passes for Mountainfilm 2012! World renowned photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum is one of the esteemed judges...

With the total population on the planet exceeding 7 Billion there have been a lot of articles on the issue, which works out well for us at Mountainfilm in Telluride since we are focusing our 2012 Moving Mountains Symposium on the subject. The NY Times produced a terrific reader-generated photo essay on population, and this website has a breakdown of some of the basic numbers such as the youngest and oldest countries on earth (Uganda's Median Age is 15, while Monaco's is 50).

With our symposium theme of population, we are paying particular attention to articles about the subject and both National Geographic and Grist are offering up extensive series on population that are worth checking out.

From National Geographic:

Population is a complicated topic. With the worldwide population slated to top 7 billion in 2011, we decided it was one we needed to tackle. But we wanted to do it in a way that gives readers room to think. We spread out our coverage over a year, with articles that take deep dives into specific issues—demographics, food security, climate change, fertility trends, managing biodiversity—
that relate to global population.

Read More

Guests include Paul Ehrlich and Dave Foreman

Telluride, Colorado (September 13, 2011) – The total number of people on the planet is expected to cross the 7 Billion mark on October 31, 2011 according to the U.N. and with that milestone, Mountainfilm’s Moving Mountains Symposium will focus on the key issue of population in 2012. “We think this is the right theme for our next symposium because it synthesizes so much of what the festival has covered the last several years with energy, water, food and extinction,” said Festival Director David Holbrooke. “The simple numbers are staggering – especially when you realize we were at 4 Billion in 1974 and the U.N. believes that by 2050, the population will most likely double to 9 Billion with some estimates as high as 11 Billion. That’s a huge jump in 75 years and we want to understand what this will mean for this planet, its people and other living creatures.”