Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 4.djvu/542

 106 STAT. 3278 PUBLIC LAW 102-505—OCT. 24, 1992 Public Law 102-505 102d Congress Joint Resolution Oct. 24, 1992 Designating the week beginning October 25, 1992, as "World Population Awareness [H.J. Res. 458] Week". Whereas in 1992 the population of the world exceeds 5,000,000,000 persons and is growing at an unprecedented rate of approximately 90,000,000 persons per year; Whereas virtually all of this growth is occurring in the poorest countries, those countries least able to provide even basic services for their current citizens; Whereas the demands of growing populations have contributed substantially to enormous environmental devastation and pose threats of even greater harm to the world; Whereas one-half of the 10,000,000 infant deaths and one-quarter of the 500,000 maternal deaths that occiir each year in the developing world could be prevented if volimtary child spacing and maternal health programs could be substantially expanded; Whereas research reveals that one-half of the women of reproductive age in the developing world want to limit the size of their families but lack the means or ability to gain access to family planning; Whereas for more than 20 years the global community has recognized that it is a fundamental human right for people to volimtarily and responsibly determine the number and spacing of their children and the United States has been a leading advocate of this right; Whereas the demands of growing populations force many countries to borrow heavily and sell off their natural resources to cover the interest on their debt; Whereas selling off natural resources in these circumstances often causes irretrievable losses, such as the destruction of the tropical rain forests at a rate of 50,000 acres per day; Whereas the reliance of a rapidly growing world population on burning fuels is a critical factor in the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which many scientists believe has already catalyzed a warming of the Earth's climate; Whereas pollution is damaging the ozone layer to such an extent that within 40 years the ultraviolet light reaching our planet is expected to be up to 20 percent greater than it is today; and Whereas in 1990 and 1991 the Congress designated and President Bush proclaimed "World Population Awareness Week" nationally, and in 1991 37 State Governors proclaimed such week in their States, to call attention to the consequences of rapid population growth: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the week

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