Welcome to Friends of Retha
Friends of Retha is a unique forum welcoming discussion around the critical but frequently overlooked topic of human overpopulation.
Inspired by Yan Vana's groundbreaking novel, The Message, the Friends of Retha are committed to making overpopulation a mainstream topic of discussion. The importance of talking about overpopulation, its consequences and possible solutions, has never been greater. Join with the Friends of Retha today. Click the button below to get involved!
Overpopulation... be a part of the discussion
Yan Vana’s The Message has been described as “a lightbulb moment” and “a novel of huge importance”. It has inspired fans to create this forum in order to provide a rare platform for open discussion on the critical issue of human overpopulation.
WORLD POPULATION
Have your say
It’s time for overpopulation to become a mainstream topic, a topic that society, as a whole, is no longer afraid to talk about and discuss solutions for. And your opinion matters to us.
When you click the button below, it will take you to the Blog, where you will find a number of short articles, facts and opinions relating to overpopulation. Join any one and let us know what you think. Your thoughts and opinions matter to us, so please get involved. You can even start your own discussion thread!
“This book [The Message] should be compulsory text for schools. Frighteningly accurate and highly relevant. Perhaps copies should have been left on the COP27 delegate seats and homework set!”
“Inspired by Yan Vana’s breakthrough novel The Message, this site offers a unique opportunity for open discussion on overpopulation. Friends of Retha is an important platform in troubled times and one that needs to be heard.”
“The Message is more than a brilliant piece of standalone fiction, it is also a lightbulb moment. Friends of Retha provides a platform for those of us that wish to be heard on the critically important issue of human overpopulation.”
Get Involved
According to United Nations reports, Earth’s human population reached and surpassed 8 billion on November 15 2022. As mankind now hurtles towards the next billion, the importance of discussing human overpopulation, and taking action, has never been greater.
Climate change, animal extinction, pandemics and the global tussle for energy resources are all either caused or exacerbated by the demands of an ever-increasing human population. Let your voice be heard and together we can make overpopulation a mainstream topic of discussion. Join the Friends of Retha community today and be a part of the conversation.
Click the button below to find out what is currently being discussed!
Human overpopulation
In just the last two hundred years, Earth’s human population has doubled, and doubled again, and then nearly doubled yet again, increasing from 1 billion to over 8 billion people. This huge and rapid increase is generally accepted to be the direct cause of most of our planet’s environmental problems, including climate change, widespread pollution and mass species extinction.
Privately, there are few people who will disagree that all of the major threats faced by our planet today are anthropogenic (either influenced or directly caused by humans). Whether through greed or stupidity, mankind has changed Earth in ways that may prove irreversible. Ways that may, ultimately, result in man’s own demise. It’s difficult to image any other other species on our planet acting with such wilful disregard for its own future survival.
Publicly, however, the subject of human overpopulation is treated very differently. Despite there now being over 8 billion of us consuming increasingly more of Earth’s finite resources, it is a subject that still fails to be a part of mainstream conversation. Uncomfortable for many and generally avoided by governments and policy makers, the topic of overpopulation remains very much the elephant in the room.
“All of our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people, and harder – and ultimately impossible – to solve with ever more people.”
Sir David Attenborough
Friends Of Retha
Friends of Retha is a unique forum dedicated to creating conversation around the topic of human overpopulation. The forum encourages anyone with a view on this important and often overlooked issue to contribute their thoughts and ideas. The hope is that, through discussion, overpopulation will become a more mainstream topic and that limiting human numbers will be recognised as essential to the future health and wellbeing of our planet and the species that inhabit it.
The title ‘Friends of Retha’ is inspired by the The Message, the groundbreaking debut novel by author Yan Vana. Acclaimed by both science fiction fans and environmentalists alike, The Message is the novel that Jonathan Porritt, the former Director of Friends of the Earth, described as “… a bold concept” with “… an increasingly compelling narrative”.
“Amazing story containing so much truth about life on this planet. I hope all young people get to read this book and take action. This book can open the eyes of future generations. Splendid reading, highly recommended.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️