RUTH LEBRUN

'My life has been fortunate, varied and exciting. In addition to raising one child, I have been a dance teacher, performer and choreographer, event coordinator, farmer of a community supported agriculture farm, and then Registered Nurse at the age of 55. I was raised in a small Arizona town with a national forest as our backyard. It was there I became an environmentalist at a young age and found my greatest peace and personal sense of “religion”. Population concerns and female empowerment grabbed my attention in the 1970s and have stayed with me throughout life. These issues became strongly evident in nursing training by seeing so many teenage parents grappling with their own life changes and the added responsibility of a newborn. Sadly, many pregnancies are due to lack of education and taboos about discussing sexuality with young people. Spreading education regarding overpopulation, overconsumption and resultant environmental impact is immediately essential for all of us who have a platform from which to spread these messages. This is an urgent plea. For the Planet. For the Children. For Life on Earth.'