Our Mission:

To empower people to discuss and determine how many people can best live in their region and on the planet, and then to help implement steps towards reaching and maintaining those levels. High among these is education in it's many forms.

While there are many viewpoints about Earth's maximum sustainable population, they all revolve around the question, in what manner shall the Earth's people live? Do we want to live packed in high-rise buildings, with many constraints on our freedoms? Do we want to live a subsistance life style? Do we want everyone to have a "American" standard of living? By asking how many people should the Earth support, we can choose our own future, but by avoiding it, we will be pushed by biological and economic forces into some dismal places.

Part of our role at HowMany.org is to help remove the obstacles that keep the question, how many, from being seriously and rationally discussed, and to help develop the steps necessary to move toward those goals.

HowMany.org raises public awareness by:

• Exploring the links between population growth and environmental stories such as global warming, suburban sprawl, water rights, species extinction, and energy consumption
• Channeling funding toward education and research about population and the environment
• Encouraging and facilitating popular discussion of how population and the environment interract

Who we are:

Searle Whitney
HowMany.org founder Searle Whitney graduated cum laude from Yale University and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University in psychology. He has worked in diverse fields including landscaping, software development, and publishing. He has a longtime interest in nature, the environment, and social justice. His current passions include oldtime and bluegrass music.

Andrew Gaines
Andrew Gaines is a communications and development consultant supporting nonprofit organizations addressing imperative social issues. He is a recent – and happy – bay area transplant.

Mary Garvey
Mary Garvey is a freelance administrative specialist who has worked with Howmany.org since it's inception. She is committed to the idea that population studies can lead to meaningful solutions to global problems.