Condom Campaign: Invite a Polar Bear Into Your Bedroom This New Year's Eve

On the busiest night of the year for getting busy, the Center for Biological Diversity is asking people to think twice before hopping in the sack -- once about human population growth and again about endangered species. To get the message out, more than 25,000 free Endangered Species Condoms are being given away by volunteers in time for New Year's Eve.

The condoms -- wrapped in colorful packages featuring six different endangered species -- are being distributed by hundreds of volunteers across all 50 states. More than half a million Endangered Species Condoms have been given away since 2009.

"Wildlife extinction shouldn't have any part in New Year's celebrations, so we're asking people to think about polar bears and play it safe in the bedroom," said Taralynn Reynolds, population and sustainability organizer at the Center. "Endangered Species Condoms not only help endangered species like polar bears, but also help avoid unintended pregnancies."

Each year, nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. More than 200,000 people are added to the planet every day, and, according to the United Nations, global human population could reach nearly 10 billion by 2050. As the human population grows, wildlife pays the price as habitat is developed, air and water are polluted and the climate crisis deepens.

The Endangered Species Condoms packages feature a sampling of wildlife threatened by population and accompanying slogans like "Wrap with care...save the polar bear," "In the sack? Save the leatherback" and "Be a savvy lover...protect the snowy plover." Among the places the condoms are being given away this holiday season are parties, churches, health clinics and yoga studios.

"The Center's condoms are a great way to protect yourself and the planet this New Year's," said Reynolds. "They're also a fun way to start a conversation about how our growing human population -- which now tops 7 billion -- hurts wildlife around the globe."

The Center's campaign promotes a range of solutions, including universal access to birth control and family planning and education and empowerment of women and girls.

In 2013 the Center expanded its population program to encompass overconsumption and sustainability, since these issues are intricately tied to the impact of human population size on endangered species. The Center is the only environmental organization with a full-time campaign dedicated to addressing rampant human population growth and overconsumption and their link to the current extinction crisis.