44,000 Endangered Species Condoms Given Away to Celebrate 44th Earth Day

In honor of the 44th Earth Day celebration, the Center for Biological Diversity is distributing 44,000 free Endangered Species Condoms across the country. The condoms will be given away next week by more than 500 volunteers in all 50 states and at dozens of Earth Day events on college campuses nationwide and in major cities like New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Miami, Atlanta and New Orleans. Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22.

"Earth Day was originally about the impact of our growing human population on the planet and other species," said Taralynn Reynolds, population and sustainability organizer at the Center. "Since the first Earth Day in 1970, we've nearly doubled our population and are pushing other species to extinction at unprecedented rates. We can't wait another 44 years to start talking about population again."

Endangered Species Condoms are wrapped in colorful packages featuring six different endangered species and information to help volunteers start the conversation about the impact of runaway human population growth on polar bears, panthers and other imperiled wildlife.

More than a half-million Endangered Species Condoms have been given away since 2009.

"The Center's condoms are a fun way to get people talking about how our growing human population -- which now tops 7 billion -- isn't leaving much room for other species," said Reynolds. "And that's a conversation that needs to happen, especially on Earth Day, when people are thinking about the future of our planet."

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

In 2013 the Center expanded its population program to encompass overconsumption and sustainability -- including the recently released Earth-friendly Diet campaign, which urges people to "take extinction off their plates" and save wildlife by eating less meat. 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.

Here is a list of some of the cities Endangered Species Condoms are coming to: New York; New Orleans; Dallas; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Miami; Chicago; Milwaukee; Seattle; San Antonio, Sioux Falls, S.D.; Silver City, N.M; Wichita, Kansas; and Atlanta.

College students from around the country will be distributing Endangered Species Condoms at schools such as Vermont Law School, UC Santa Barbara, University of Kansas, Westminster College in Salt Lake City, and Mission College in Santa Clara.

If you want to know if Endangered Species Condoms are being given away in your coverage area please contact Taralynn Reynolds at treynolds@biologicaldiversity.org.