David Paxson, president of World Population Balance, will speak at First Congregational Church of Austin on Tuesday.

Malcolm W. McDonald, of Austin, says "Austin had better listen."

Apparently, overcrowding is that serious of a problem.

"There are four times as many people on our planet now as there were 100 years ago," Paxson said, "and we're still growing by more than 140 every minute or 75 million a year. That's in spite of AIDS, wars, hunger and all the other causes of death."

Paxson said the negative impacts of population growth can be seen all around in the decline of natural resources. "More than half a billion people don't have enough water to meet their daily needs. Two billion don't have enough food. Meanwhile, we're cutting down forests, burning fossil fuels, allowing topsoil to wash or blow away and polluting our air and water in an attempt to sustain 6.2 billion people in the world today," Paxson said. "How can we hope to sustain more people tomorrow?"

Paxson is a national leader on the issue of population growth and stabilization. He retired in 1991 from the financial field and founded the Minneapolis-based World Population Balance. Some members are strongly Pro-Life and others are equally strong about Pro-Choice beliefs.

According to Paxson, the members have agreed to disagree on the abortion issue and instead focus their energies on what they regard as the

"critical" issue

of stabilizing human numbers.

The first step for the organization is population education and that is the focus of a whirlwind visit to the area by Paxson.

He will speak before the Albert Lea noon Kiwanis club meeting Monday, Sept. 9.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Paxson will speak at a public informational meeting at First Congregational Church in Austin, beginning at 7 p.m.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Paxson will address the Austin Early Risers Kiwanis Club at 7 a.m., the Albert Lea Morning Kiwanis Club at

9:30 a.m., the Austin Noon Kiwanis Club, Mower County Public Health at 3:35 p.m. and First United Methodist Church of Austin at 6 p.m.

He will conclude his visit Thursday, Sept. 12, with a 7 a.m. visit to St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin.

McDonald, the retired Austin Public Schools special education director, is coordinating Paxson's visit to Albert Lea and Austin for speaking engagements.

The issue of world population growth has been on McDonald's mind, he said, for many years. "It's a matter of how we use our resources," he said. "In the United States, we use 25 to 30 times what other cultures use. Everybody is going to have to get real serious about this issue soon, because those natural resources aren't being replaced."

"When you hear what David Paxson has to say, thinking people can't help but be affected," McDonald said. "We have to ask our selves 'What's going to happen to future generations?'"

For more information about the World Population Balance programs, call McDonald at 437-6223.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com