Questions and Answers about Ben's Bike Ride

 Questions and Answers about Ben's Bike Ride for Population Balance, May-June, 2002.

 

(Photo by Kelly Crutchlow of Algona Publishing Co.

 

Questions and Answers

What do you have to say about population?
 

Just a few basic points. The world's population is too large (over 6.2 billion in 2002) to be sustained in the long term, which is why many natural resources are in decline worldwide. The population is still growing rapidly (more than 144 every minute, net growth). We can reverse these trends ethically and humanely and secure a healthier world for future generations, but only if we work together now.

What does a bicycle tour have to do with population stabilization?

Three things. First, population pressure here in the U.S. is due as much to resource consumption as reproduction. Americans use more resources than anyone else in the world by far, and the two most wasteful goods we consume are shelter and transportation. So I want my lifstyle during the trip to make a point about conserving resources and hence about reducing U.S. population pressure.

Second, the fact that it's possible to bike comfortably from town to town says something about population density. Even in the vastness of the Great Plains, towns are only a few miles apart. Yet many of these towns are bypassed by most traveling speakers because they aren't on the main highways.

Finally, the only reason I'm available to do something as crazy as biking around for three weeks is that I don't yet have children. Postponing parenthood is an important part of slowing population growth in every country of the world, and I hope I can show the next generation one of the millions of fun things they can do before having kids of their own.
What are your credentials?

I've been speaking in public for over a decade, and I've taught a variety of community education classes. I'm also a lifelong environmentalist with a deep concern for the future of humanity. World Population Balance speakers personally reach about 15,000 people each year in the Upper Midwest. Many of our members are strongly pro-life while others are pro-choice, and they respectfully agree to disagree about abortion in order to promote fair and humane population stabilization.

Why should people who live in such wide-open places believe that the world is too crowded?
 

The only way a Hong Kong or a Minneapolis can support millions of people is because there are thousands of acres of land and other resources somewhere else in the world that are supporting these people. Also, since farmers' livelihood depends on the health of the land, water, and climate, many farmers are more in touch with environmental conditions than a lot of city dwellers.

What can we do about this? What's the solution?

The humane solution is to lower the birth rate so that it balances with the declining death rate. (Abortion is not an acceptable way to accomplish this.) There are plenty of methods of family planning, and none of them is right for everybody. So the first step is to educate people about the problem of increasing numbers and decreasing resources. Then they can choose a solution for themselves.

This seems discouraging. Are you pessimistic?
 

Not at all! The fact that we're having such an impact on the planet demonstrates that people can change things when we work together! All we have to do now is work together to reduce our impact. All we need is a change of public opinion. And that's what I'm working for. 

 

Media Interviews on Ben's Population Bike Ride

Media Interviews on Ben's Population Bike Ride include:

  * KCHK-FM 95.5, New Prague, MN
  * KEYC-TV 12, North Mankato, MN
  * KMSU-FM 89.7, Mankato State University
  * KBEW-AM 1560, Blue Earth, MN
  * KIOW-FM 107.3, Forest City, IA
  * Algona, IA Upper Des Moines
  * KBHT-FM 97.7, Humboldt, IA
  * KWMT-AM 540, Fort Dodge, IA
  * KCCQ-FM 105.1, Ames, IA
  * Marshalltown, IA Times-Republican  
  * Newton, IA Daily News  
  * KRTI-FM 106.7, Newton, IA
  * KGRN-AM 1410, Grinnell, IA
  * Grinnell, IA Herald-Register
  * Grinnell Magazine
  * KCJJ-AM 630, Iowa City, IA
  * Iowa City, IA Press-Citizen  
  * KGAN-TV 2, Cedar Rapids, IA
  * KCRG-TV 9, Cedar Rapids, IA
  * WMT-FM 96.5, Cedar Rapids, IA
  * KWLO-AM 1330, Waterloo, IA
  * Waterloo, IA Courier
  * Charles City, IA Press
  * KAUS-FM 99.9, Austin, MN
  * KAAL-TV 6, Austin, MN
  * Rochester, MN Post-Bulletin  
  * KTTC-TV 12, Rochester, MN
  * Red Wing, MN Republican Eagle  
  * Radio Iowa syndicated news (60 affiliate stations)
  * KDWA-AM 1460, Hastings, MN

Total: 15 radio, 5 TV, and 10 newspaper interviews.

 

Article: Bike rider raising awareness about overpopulation

Bike rider raising awareness about overpopulation

By KEN BLACK
T-R Staff Writer
Reprinted with permission from the Marshalltown, IA Times-Republican, May 29, 2002.

Ben Stallings, chief operating officer of World Population Balance, made a stop in Marshalltown on a 700-mile bike tour through Minnesota and Iowa to raise awareness for the cause.

According to Stallings, the world's population, which is currently at 6.2 billion, is too large to sustain. The past century saw an unprecedented growth in the world's population, more than doubling in approximately half a century.

"We don't expect it to double again, but we're having trouble sustaining what we have today," Stallings said.
 

Ben Stallings rides his bike through Marshalltown on a 700-mile tour to raise awareness of overpopulation. Stallings is talking with local media in various cities and visiting with people about the issue. Staff Photo by Ken Black

While most of the problem with uncontrolled growth is happening in Third World countries, Stallings said the United States also bears some blame for the current state of the matter. The United States itself has a growing population, but most of that is due to immigration. Without that, Stallings said the nation's population would remain relatively stable.

But the United States contributes to the problem in another way.

"Population in itself is not a problem. The problem is people do consume resources and produce waste," he said. "We are a huge problem because of how much we consume."

As an example, Stallings said a woman in India would need to have 25 children before reaching the consumption and waste impact of one child in the United States.

Stallings also mentioned that to keep the population at a constant, women would need to bear an average of 2.1 children in her lifetime.

He also said some progress has been made, noting that some European countries have stemmed population growth and even reduced somewhat.

"Some people say that's bad. For example, they fear Italy will run out of people. I don't think that's a problem. We know how to increase the population. We're very good at it," Stallings said.

 

Ben's Bike Ride article: Man rides to change the world

Man rides to change the world

By JOHN JENNINGS
Reprinted with permission from the Newton, IA Daily News, May 29, 2002.
 

 

Motorists who happen to see Ben Stallings riding his recumbent bicycle on the highways of Iowa may think of him as just another tourist out on a ride. But the mild-mannered biker is the chief operating officer of World Population Balance, and he has been using his bicycle to spread the message that the world has just too many people.

Stallings' stop in Newton on Tuesday marked the halfway point of his ride throughout much of Iowa and southern Minnesota. He has been bringing his message to radio, newspapers and television stations along the way.

The world's population is currently more than six billion people, too large to be sustained in the long term, Stallings believes, and that is why natural resources are in decline worldwide. The net population of the earth is growing by more than 144 each minute. Stallings believes that those trends can be reversed ethically and humanely, but only if the countries of the world work together now.

World Population Balance, based in Minneapolis, Minn., a group of Protestant clergy members and missionaries [among many others -Ed], believes that population pressure in the United States is due as much to resource consumption as reproduction. Americans use more resources by far than any other country in the world, Stallings says, and the two most wasteful goods we consume are shelter and transportation.

"That's where the bike comes in," Stallings said. "Transportation is an issue we need to be more conscious of." He wants his lifestyle during the trip to make a point about conserving resources, thus reducing U.S. population pressure.

"The only reason I'm available to do something as crazy as biking around for three weeks is that I don't yet have children," he said. Postponing parenthood is an important part of slowing population growth in every country in the world, he added.

Stallings said many people look to the third world countries as the cause of the world's overpopulation, but he said that is incorrect. The impact of Americans on natural resources is 10 to 50 times that of third world countries.

"An Indian woman, for example, would have to have 25 children before they reached the impact on natural resources of one American child," he said.

The solution to the world's population problem, Stallings believes, is to lower the birth rate so that it balances with the declining death rate; however, he does not believe abortion is an acceptable way to accomplish that goal.

"There are plenty of methods of family planning, and none of them is right for everybody," he said. "So the first step is to educate people about the problem of increasing numbers and decreasing resources. They can then choose a solution for themselves."

Yet Stallings says he is optimistic in the face of rather discouraging statistics.

"All we need is a change of public opinion. And that's what I'm working for," he said.

 

Ben's Bike Ride: article: Biker puts spotlight on world population

Biker puts spotlight on world population 

Reprinted from the Red Wing, MN Republican Eagle
Wednesday 12 June, 2002
 

 

He rode his bicycle into Red Wing Monday night nearing the end of a 780-mile trip, but Ben Stallings wasn't on vacation. In fact, his bicycle is his main form of transportation where he lives in Minneapolis.

The former computer professional left home three weeks ago and headed to Iowa for a trip through Mankato, Minn., and Iowa City, Iowa, before returning to Minneapolis.

Stallings, chief operating officer of Minneapolis-based World Population Balance, is hoping to promote awareness about slowing population growth by illustrating a lifestyle he said is at least as fulfilling as any other. The only differences are that he doesn't own a car and has not yet had children.

According to Stallings, population pressure here is due as much to resource consumption as to reproduction.

He said he hoped to point out that it is possible to avoid overusing resources such as shelter and transportation.

Stallings also advocates postponing parenthood to keep population growth down.

While uncontrolled population growth is the major problem in Third World countries, U.S. citizens are to blame for using too many natural resources, he said.

"I'm concerned that world population growth is one of the biggest news stories in the history of the world," he said before leaving this morning. He expected to arrive in Minneapolis by 5 p.m. today.

Despite what he called "incredible growth" to a population of 6.2 billion, many people don't notice the change. "It's been happening our whole lives," he said.

 

Ben's Bike Ride: article: Cyclist cites population problem

Cyclist cites population problem

Monday, June 10, 2002
By Joshua Lynch
The Post-Bulletin
 

 

Ben Stallings said his 780-mile journey through Minnesota and Iowa is laden with symbolism.

He travels alone because he advocates population management. He sleeps in a tent because he wants to encourage reuse. And he's riding a bike because it's the environmentally friendly thing to do.

"I realize that not everyone can bicycle where they need to go," Stallings said with a laugh. "I just want to bring the message that we use less resources."

For the last three weeks, Stallings has been biking dozens of miles each day to draw attention to the world's growing population problem. With 6.2 billion people alive today -- and another 144 [net gain] each minute -- Stallings said Earth is nearly exceeding its capacity.

"It doesn't matter how much you recycle, it doesn't matter how mindful of the environment you are," he said. "If the population continues to grow, the climate change will undo everything that's been done."

And as chief operating officer of the Minneapolis-based World Population Balance, Stallings said Sunday in Rochester it's time people realize the world's precarious situation.

"In the U.S., we tend to think that we're not part of the problem -- or that there isn't a problem," he said. "But we're really the worst offender in terms of environmental problems."

Stallings said the birth rate, especially in un- and under-developed countries, must be lowered so it balances with the death rate. Education is key, he said, so individuals can decide which method of family planning is best for them.

Although his position counters the societal, married-with-children norm, Stallings said people must address the population problem before it reaches crisis levels.

"I hope that by being eccentric, I can get more people to talk about it," he said. "There needs to be a lot of work done. This is a start."

 

Ben's Bike Ride: article: Population growth concerns bicyclist

Road trip promotes cause - Population growth concerns bicyclist

Reprinted from the Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 6, 2002

 

Ben Stallings is on a mission.

Stallings has been on the road since May 20, riding his recumbent bicycle around the Midwest, from Minnesota to Iowa and back again, to spread the word about over population.
 

Stallings, 26, of Minneapolis, chief operating officer of World Population Balance, pedaled his way [out of] Iowa City through a thunderstorm Tuesday. He wore a poncho over navy blue slacks and a short-sleeved button shirt, which made him look as if he had just stepped away from a desk. Only his stretchy nylon shoes would have been out of place in an office.

"The shoes dry quickly and have no laces," explained Stallings, who is about 450 miles into his 700-mile tour.

Stallings said education is the key to providing the public with solutions to over population and over-consumption. He said the United States has the highest standard of living in the world, which translates to a bigger problem with over-consumption.

Although the United States ranks third in the world behind China and India in population, Stallings said people in this country consume more than the total of four out of the five most populated countries.

Stallings, who doesn't have a car, said he is riding a bike to make a point about over consumption.

"The No. 1 way we could cut down on energy consumption is by driving less," he said.

Population in the United States has increased by 3 million a year since the mid-1970s.

"It's driven by immigration," Stallings said. Although the group hasn't taken a stand on immigration, it does feel population growth in the U.S. is a problem, he said.

Stallings said so far the trip has been a success despite predictions from acquaintances that Iowans wouldn't relate to his message.

"Some people in Minnesota thought I was crazy for trying to spread the word in Iowa, when there is so much empty space here," he said.

For the most part, though, Iowans have been supportive and aware, Stallings said - even in north central Iowa's Algona.

"Some guy, who looked like he walked off the set of 'The Dukes of Hazzard,' walked up to me in a parking lot," Stallings said, referring to the popular 1970s television series. "He was very encouraging and said, 'I'm with you.'"

A 1998 graduate of Grinnell College, Stallings said he attended his four-year reunion along the way. Former classmates were intrigued by his mission.

"The values at the school are such that everybody is always supportive of anything crazy like this," he said with a laugh.

Stallings is paying for the trip out-of-pocket and expects it to cost more than $3,000. The bike and trailer, on which he hauls about 100 pounds of gear, make up a large portion of that, accounting for about $1,000 of the cost, he said.

Stallings said he mostly camps at night, although he occasionally stays in a hotel or private home.

World Population Balance, a non-profit group based in Minneapolis, is funded by the Minneapolis Foundation. An anonymous donor stipulated that the gift be used for education about population growth.