Welcome

The GAIA Initiative for Earth–Human Balance is a non-profit environmental charity that focuses on the present and future impacts of human population on global warming/ climate change.

The startling rise in planetary human population over the last 100 years is reflected in our collective carbon footprint: from 2 billion humans in 1920 to nearly 8 billion humans in 2020 – plus each year 82 million additional humans. We have created an unsustainable imbalance – our cumulative human needs now exceed the carrying capacity of our planet.

The Evolving Impact of Global Human Population on Greenhouse Gas: There is a relationship – one both complicated and stark – between rising human population, increased supportive economic activity, and their combined cumulative impact on planetary levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. It is important to acknowledge that many societies experienced birth rate decline in the 19th century before modern contraceptives; decline in societal fertility depends on a transition in cultural and personal values – not just availability of contraceptives. The interaction of these factors is more fully explored in the Grant Priority webpage.

Population Concerns for GAIA Grants: The issues related to population which are most crucial in a particular location are significantly influenced by the economic developmental stage of regions and their accompanying Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GGE). GAIA’s Grant Priorities recognize two dissimilar cultural/societal concerns for present and future impact on global climate.

• Global South Priorities: High population growth rates are the primary concern in the developing nations of the Global South. Even though current per capita GGE are low, the doubling of populations and the ongoing economic growth bodes a frightening ecological future.
• Global North Priorities: While nations in the Global North have very low population growth – most below replacement level birth rates – their highly developed economies create very high per capita GGE. Future ecological sustainability requires both maintaining low birth rates and significant shifts in the economic model of traditional industrial and consumer practices that drive high GGE.

GAIA’s Grant Program: The program’s goal is to seek innovative projects that address the set of general and regional GAIA sustainability priorities. There are 32 grant awards each year – divided equally for South and North – of not greater than $10,000 USD. For an understanding of the entire grant process – from first application through the grant award and then the final completion of your project with your report on “lessons learned” – see Grant Life Cycle.

These project grants are intended – even though at a modest scale – to focus on population issues that contribute toward the long-term goal of creating better earth-human balance. The GAIA Initiative is one small part of the worldwide effort to bring human population into better balance with our planet’s capacity to support humans and all the other diverse forms of life.

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