Valorie M. Allen has published her new book ‘8 Billion Reasons Population Matters.’ Allen lived in the Fort Macleod area and now calls the Crowsnest Pass home.
A former Fort Macleod resident takes a deep dive into issues surrounding the world’s growing population in her new book.
Valorie M. Allen examines the threat posed by overpopulation while offering some solutions in 8 Billion Reasons Population Matters: The Defining Issue of the 21st Century.
“I became interested in the population issue around 1970, shortly after Paul Ehrlich released his book The Population Bomb,” said Allen, who lived in the Fort Macleod area from 2008-’13 but now resides at Bellevue.
“That was a lightbulb moment for me, and suddenly everything started to make sense, like all the critical world issues and how our growing population was the root cause of these issues.”
8 Billion Reasons examines how the world’s population is draining Earth’s resources and contributing to climate change.
Allen spent eight years researching and four years writing the 358-page book published by Friesen Press.
“Although I attended college and university, all of the information I used in my book came from my volunteer work with environmental, population, and animal rights groups, as well as my own research,” Allen said. “Because population impacts almost every aspect of society, it involved doing research on numerous issues from climate change to politics and human trafficking. It kind of snowballed, and that is why it took so long to write.”
8 Billion Reasons explores how the work done over decades by environmental and world aid groups is undermined as the population continues to climb toward eight billion.
Allen details the environmental, social, political, and economic crises that are caused by overpopulation, a subject that is largely misunderstood and ignored.
Allen’s interest in the topic has its roots in her childhood in the Crowsnest Pass and home town of Bellevue.
“It all started with my love for animals, as we always had animals around the house when I was a child,” Allen said. “We also had a nearby pond where I would marvel at the frogs, salamanders, and beautiful butterflies I would see there. As a result, I have spent over 35 years working as a volunteer with environmental, population, and animal rights groups.”
“Eventually this love for animals brought me to the writing of this book, for I believe that the greatest threat to our wildlife is overpopulation.”
Allen did not plan to become an author but had a moment of realization when she received the Canadian Volunteer Award in the 1990s
“This made me look back at my decades of work and take stock of what I had actually accomplished,” Allen explained. “I was extremely disappointed to find that all of the issues I had been working on had gotten worse instead of better. The growing population had undermined all my hard work, and that of millions of other volunteers.”
“This was true of all the critical world issues that are threatening our planet, like climate change, water shortages, human trafficking, and extinction of species.”
Allen, who worked in education for years, realized there was little information about population available to students.
“I thought that if only students could connect those very few dots between population and all of our critical world issues, like climate-change, they would be motivated to work for positive change. That inspired me to write about overpopulation, which has become a passion of mine.”
8 Billion Reasons is written for a large audience, including the public and for use in education.
Unlike most population books in the past, 8 Billion Reasons is written from a woman’s perspective.
Each critical world issue chapter is designed to stand alone, as many educators are now assigning chapters rather than whole books.
“I am hoping that it appeals to the younger audience, since I believe that it is our youth, like Greta Thunberg, that will really make the biggest impact and the most positive changes,” Allen said.
Rather than simply focusing on gloom and doom, Allen offers solutions to overpopulation.
8 Billion Reasons has been well-received.
“Valorie Allen’s research and writing are essential to understanding how human society can settle down into a sustainable path,” said Rex Weyler, a founding member of Greenpeace International. “Allen’s new book . . . clearly articulates the importance of addressing population. It is also part of another important focus: public education.”
Allen plans to give readings at libraries in southern Alberta this fall, including Fort Macleod Library.
8 Billion Reasons is available at Chapters, Amazon and Friesen Press.
Valorie M. Allen has published her new book ‘8 Billion Reasons Population Matters.’ Allen lived in the Fort Macleod area and now calls the Crowsnest Pass home.
