Optimum Population Trust

The Optimum Population Trust is the leading think tank in the UK concerned with the impact of population growth on the environment.

OPT research covers population in relation to climate change, energy, resources, biodiversity, development impacts, ageing and employment and other environmental and economic issues. It campaigns for stabilisation and gradual population decrease globally and in the UK.

OPT is a registered charity and is financed by its members. It receives funding neither from the government nor from any political or business interests, and is not affiliated to any other organisation*.

(*Except as a partner in the Global Footprint Network.)

MAIN AIMS

• To advance the education of the public in issues relating to human population worldwide and its impact on environmental sustainability;
• To advance, promote and encourage research to determine optimum and ecologically sustainable human population levels in all or any part or parts of the world and to publicise the results of such research;
• To advance environmental protection by promoting policies in the United Kingdom or any other part or parts of the world which will lead or contribute to the achievement of stable human population levels which allow environmental sustainability.

SUBSIDIARY AIMS:

• To encourage UK governments to act on the strong recommendations of the Government Population Panel in 1973, so as to fully integrate population policy into all decision-making.
• To oppose the view held by many politicians and economists and those in the commercial world, that perpetual population growth is desirable and possible.
• To make it widely understood that failure to reduce population is likely to lead to a population crash when fossil fuels, fresh water and other resources become scarce. OPT’s overall task is to enable people to recognise the links between the quality of life and environmental destruction and (a) high population levels; (b) wasteful consumption; and (c) poor technology. OPT concentrates on (a) because other environmental organisations dangerously neglect this component. In addition it is a subject which until recently has been shunned by the media. Seeking to reshape people’s reproductive behaviour, however democratically, involves the intimate decisions of individuals and is seen as an infringement of human rights. OPT believes that all other human rights and needs will suffer if this issue continues to be ignored.

First Life

Get a First Life: A One Page Satire of Second Life.

The Power of Community

With the loss of Soviet oil in 1990, Cuba was forced to undergo an artificial “Peak Oil.” This documentary explores how the island nation, through its focus on community, managed not only to survive but to transform their entire society to a sustainable, low-energy-use system.

The Community Solution

The Community Solution

Vision and Mission
The Community Solution is a program of Community Service, Inc. Community Service is dedicated to the development, growth and enhancement of small local communities. We envision a country where the population is distributed in small communities that are sustainable, diverse and culturally sophisticated.

Our History
Community Service was founded in 1940 as an educational institution focused on the ideas and practices of small community and the appraisal, development and circulation of these ideas and practices.

Our Founder
Community Service was founded by Arthur E. Morgan, educator, businessman and executive. He was the first president of the TVA and the president of Antioch University.

Our Own Small Local Community
Community Service is located in the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio and has actively been involved in the practices of community in the village. Yellow Springs is also the home of Antioch College and represents many of the positive elements of the small community as we define it.

Our Intentional Community
Located on the edge of Yellow Springs is the Vale, an intentional community founded by Griscom Morgan, the son of Arthur Morgan, and Jane Morgan, his wife and President Emeritus of Community Service. The Vale practices the principles of the small community as well as owning all land in common and a focus on sharing by and caring of the members.

Vision and Mission
The Community Solution is a program of Community Service, Inc. Community Service is dedicated to the development, growth and enhancement of small local communities. We envision a country where the population is distributed in small communities that are sustainable, diverse and culturally sophisticated.

Our History
Community Service was founded in 1940 as an educational institution focused on the ideas and practices of small community and the appraisal, development and circulation of these ideas and practices.

Our Founder
Community Service was founded by Arthur E. Morgan, educator, businessman and executive. He was the first president of the TVA and the president of Antioch University.

Our Own Small Local Community
Community Service is located in the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio and has actively been involved in the practices of community in the village. Yellow Springs is also the home of Antioch College and represents many of the positive elements of the small community as we define it.

Our Intentional Community
Located on the edge of Yellow Springs is the Vale, an intentional community founded by Griscom Morgan, the son of Arthur Morgan, and Jane Morgan, his wife and President Emeritus of Community Service. The Vale practices the principles of the small community as well as owning all land in common and a focus on sharing by and caring of the members.

Joining and Contributing
We invite you to join Community Service and participate in the upcoming re-evolution of our country. We also request you contribute to our activities and hasten the day when small communities are again dominant in our culture.

Tan Dun

The conceptual and multifaceted composer/conductor Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical, multimedia, Eastern and Western musical traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honours: the Grawemeyer Award for classical composition, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Musical America’s ‘Composer of The Year’. Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by the leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. His latest work, Secret Land for Orchestra and Twelve Violoncelli for the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle premièred in June 2004 in Berlin. Tan Dun’s current commissions include a new opera for the Metropolitan Opera to première in December 2006, and a new work for pianist Lang Lang to première in 2008.

Sunyata Retreat Centre

Sunyata is a Buddhist inspired Retreat Centre offering a variety of Meditation, Yoga, Chi-Kung and Self-Development workshops on its programme. It is set on a beautiful 10-acre property amidst the rolling hills of E. Clare (West Ireland)- a spacious haven outside the bustle of modern life, perfectly situated for relaxation and contemplation. This unique workshop venue is also available for hire to outside groups to run their workshops. There is deluxe self-catering accommodation available at times for personal retreats [outside of the scheduled programme].
Our main connection is with the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism (the word ‘Sunyata’ is from the ancient Pali language, meaning ‘the spaciousness behind all form’). We welcome people of all traditions and beliefs, (or none).

Appeal: “…For the past two years, since the departure of Stan and Clare de Freitas in the autumn of 2004, Sunyata has been run successfully as a financially viable retreat centre with a full programme of retreats, workshops and meetings, all offering the opportunity for precisely this necessary shift in consciousness. Stan and Clare now intend to put the centre on the market from 1st July 2007 . We have an opportunity to purchase the centre and we are taking the necessary steps to approach potential larger donors. But in times like these, every little bit helps. Two years ago, many of you generously supported the transition of Sunyata to its current viable financial state. We are now asking you to do what you can to help us again and secure the centre for posterity. Both Sunyata and Ireland – with its unique and not so distant experience of ecological disaster, famine and depopulation – have a special role to play in the unfolding human tragedy which is now upon us. Let us wake up to the opportunity we have before us and seize it with both hands. …” More details here.