The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 15 rector of the Central Intelligence Agency, warned that the sheer size of the projected increase in population could fuel instability and extremism, exacerbate climate change and make food and fuel even scarcer. Similarly, the December 2009 edi- tion of Scientific American includes a commentary by Jeffrey D. Sachs titled “Can We Feed and Save the Planet?”, in which he contends that the chal- lenges of population control and food production need to be tackled in tan- dem. And Live Science recently posted a story titled: “Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids.” Op-eds have also ap- peared in various publications arguing for more funding for family planning. Given that population growth is the essential multiplier for any number of human ills, I call on my fellow profes- sionals in development and diplomacy not just to monitor and report on the debate, but to lead the discussion. A 1969 quote from Richard Nixon reminds us that we’ve remained too silent for far too long: “One of the most serious challenges to human destiny in the last third of this century will be the growth of population. Whether man’s response to that challenge will be a cause for pride or for despair in the year 2000 will depend very much on what we do today.” ■ Michael Fritz, a Senior Foreign Serv- ice officer, joined USAID in 1988. He has served in Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Ukraine, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Bul- garia and Washington, D.C., and is currently mission director in Macedo- nia. S P E A K I N G O U T If we care about the future of our children, then we need to be concerned about the effects of population growth.