This week on Earth Beat... there are 6.8 billion people living on the planet, and more and more people are beginning to worry that the Earth is getting overcrowded. Most of us regard the birth of a baby as something special, but some see each newborn as an extra strain on the planet - one man’s bundle of joy is another’s potential polluter. So to mark recent world population day, we’re asking: Is procreation bad for the planet?

Listen to the whole show.

Is procreation bad for the planet?
Fred Pearce is an environmental writer and the author of Peoplequake. He joins Marnie throughout the show to answer the question: is procreation bad for the planet?
Hear what Fred has to say about population growth and the environment

To hear Fred's comments on the other stories in the program, listen to the whole show above.

Say no to kids
Stephanie Iris Weiss is a writer and passionate environmentalist. So much so that she began to question whether it was right to have kids at all. Marnie spoke to her and started out by asking whether maybe she just wasn’t really a “kid person”.
Hear Stephanie speak about her decision not to have children

Optimum Population Trust
When planning a family, couples often worry about the size of their home, the size of their budget, and the strain of sleepless nights… the future of the planet usually doesn’t register high on the list of priorities. But a green think tank – The Optimum Population Trust – says it should. They say that the world’s population needs to be halved – at least – in order for the planet to be sustainable. Marnie spoke to the chairman of the trust, Roger Martin.
Listen to the conversation

Thou shalt not steal
Population growth is also on the minds of the Anglican Church in Australia. They’ve written a paper saying the country should scrap incentives for having children and should limit the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country. Why? Because too many people are damaging the environment now and for future generations… and that goes against the 8th commandment “thou shall not steal”. Marnie spoke to John Langmore, Chairman of the public affairs commission for the Anglican church of Australia and asked him why they’ve come out with this now.
Listen to the conversation

Envirominute
A 60-second history of the contraceptive pill.
Listen to the envirominute

Fish on oestrogen?
If 100-million women are popping oestrogen pills everyday, it’s not surprising that scientists are finding traces of it in our water supplies. In fact it’s having a significant effect on the fish living downstream from wastewater treatment centers. This is the disturbing conclusion of a study by David Norris, a professor of physiology at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Hear from Professor David Norris

Going green between the sheets
If there’s angst about oestrogen pollution from the pill and we’re meant to be breeding less, how can we still have fun in the bedroom? Author Stefanie Iris Weiss has come up with imaginative and eco-friendly ways to still enjoy intimacy with your partner without making babies. Marnie spoke to her and got some tips from her book “Eco-Sex – Go green between the sheets and make your love life sustainable”.
Hear how to have good, green sex
Get more green sex tips on Stephanie's blog, eco-sex

Green love poem
We’ve done green sex. Ticked off environmental reproduction. But we just weren’t feeling the love. Luckily, writer Joel Stickley is. Here’s his sustainable love poem.
Listen to the love poem

NEXT WEEK ON EARTH BEAT

On next week’s edition of Earth Beat, we speak to musicians who source the material for their instruments… at the market.

The sound is definitely different if it comes from a traditional flute or a carrot flute. You can definitely hear a difference in the juiciness and the organic sound of a vegetable, of a carrot...

Discovering the musical potential of our garden veg, in the next edition of Earth Beat from Radio Netherlands Worldwide.