Biological Diversity Organizaton
CONDOMS AND PARTNERSHIP COMING SOON!!!!!
Did YOU Know? Brought to YOU by Center for Biological Diversity
Human population growth and over consumption are at the root of our most pressing environmental issues, including the species extinction crisis, habitat loss and climate change. To save wildlife and wild places, we use creative media and public outreach to raise awareness about runaway human population growth and unsustainable consumption — and their close link to the endangerment of other species.
There are more than 7 billion people on the planet, and we're adding 227,000 more every day. The toll on wildlife is impossible to miss: Species are disappearing 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than the natural rate. It's clear that these issues need to be addressed before it's too late.
HOW DO I GET ENDANGERED SPECIES CONDOMS?
Endangered Species Condoms are distributed through a volunteer network nationwide around certain holidays and big events like Earth Day and World Population Day. If you’d like to become a volunteer distributor, sign up here. Learn tips and tricks forhosting your own event here.
Endangered Species Condoms are not for sale — we give them away free to our volunteer distributors. We’d love to give condoms to every sexually active person in the United States, because everyone should have access to the tools that let them choose when and how many kids they have. We’d also love to see everyone talking about the connection between human population and endangered species. But of course, the Center is a nonprofit organization and can’t always meet the demand for Endangered Species Condoms. (If you’d like to support this project to help us do more, you can donate here.)
Volunteer distributors are chosen based on random lottery for our targeted event distributions, like Earth Day — while also keeping in mind the places where our condoms will likely have the most impact. We also send out condoms throughout the year if there are special events or media opportunities to spread the word. So when you sign up, please let us know your ideas about where you plan to hand out the condoms. We want to see conversations about human population and Endangered Species Condoms happening in unexpected places and at cool events — be creative!
Send us your ideas to become a volunteer distributor.
The Condom Packages
FLORIDA PANTHER
A predator of enormous physical grace and power, the Florida panther is one of the most majestic large felines in the wild. But while Florida’s human population has nearly doubled over the past 30 years and the coasts have become more crowded, development has increasingly moved inland, coming into direct conflict with panthers and the habitat they need to survive and thrive.
Learn more about the Florida panther and the Center's work for this animal.You can also get a free Florida panther ringtone.
DWARF SEAHORSE
This inch-tall, curly-tailed fish occurs only in shallow seagrass areas in the Gulf of Mexico, along the Atlantic Coast of Florida and in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, as the Gulf gets more crowded and industrialized, this seahorse faces more threats to its existence. Widespread loss of seagrass habitat due to pollution, boat damage and global warming is pushing this minuscule creature to the brink.
HELLBENDER
Hellbenders may not be pretty, but at 2 feet long, they’re North America’s largest amphibian. Like many amphibians, the hellbender faces extinction from the strain that the effects of human population (including pollution) put on our freshwater streams in the southeastern United States.
WESTERN SNOWY PLOVER
The western snowy plover, a pocket-sized shorebird, is surviving against the odds. Its habitat of open, sandy beaches is prime target for increasingly destructive human activity. Being small doesn’t prevent plovers from playing a big role in beach ecosystems, but it does make them vulnerable to the unnatural disturbances that plague their home.
LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE
As ancient as the dinosaurs, the leatherback sea turtle is the heaviest reptile on Earth. Leatherback turtles are dependent on seashores for their lifecycle. With half the world’s human population living within 100 miles of the coastline, their nesting grounds are severely threatened by development.
POLAR BEAR
An international icon of global warming, the polar bear is going extinct as the Arctic sea ice melts beneath its feet because of the greenhouse gas emissions of 7 billion people — especially those in high-consumption nations like the United States. The bear was put on the U.S. endangered species list in 2008.
Learn more about the polar bear and the Center's work for this animal. You can also get a free polar bear ringtone.
Design by Lori Lieber. Artwork by Roger Peet. © 2012. All rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution of images must be accompanied by acknowledgement of the designer and artist.
Species photos: Florida panther courtesy USFWS; dwarf seahorse © Jeff Jeffords/divegallery.com; hellbender courtesy Mark Dodson; western snowy plover © Mike Baird; leatherback sea turtle courtesy NOAA; polar bear courtesy flickrfavorites/Flickr.
Banner photo collage: Condom image courtesy Flickr/AIDS/SIDA NB; Ocean background courtesy Flickr/JBYoder.