The Population Institute Honors GrowthBusters as Best Film at 33rd Annual Global Media Awards

As Global Population Reaches Seven Billion, Groundbreaking Documentary Spotlights Overpopulation Taboo, and the Environmental Damage in Its Wake

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The Population Institute on January 15 will honor the film GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth in the 33^rd Annual Global Media Awards. GrowthBusters not only dares to break the taboo on discussing overpopulation, it shines a light on the taboo and the environmental damage it has done.

The Global Media Awards are bestowed in seven categories for significant contribution to public discussion and understanding of issues related to population growth. GrowthBusters was selected Best Film or Miniseries. "The Population Institute is proud to recognize these individuals and news outlets for their journalistic excellence and the valuable insights that they provided," according to the awards announcement. The announcement also noted, "This past year world population reached the 7 billion mark. This major milestone generated a renewed focus on population and population-related issues."

GrowthBusters is a critique of a culture addicted to unsustainable economic and population growth. Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, wrote, "This could be the most important film ever made." It boldly questions the most ubiquitous and fundamental assumptions of modern culture – that growth is necessary for prosperity, and perpetual growth is possible even on a finite planet.

"It's a potentially dark subject," admits the film's director, Dave Gardner, "so we approached it with a sense of humor," explaining the similarities between GrowthBusters and the popular film Ghostbusters. "You could also say it's Al Gore meets Michael Moore." Much like Moore, Gardner's consciousness-raising antics, such as accosting strangers on the street to give them condoms, are featured in the film.

Ecological footprint pioneer William Rees, who appears in the film, said, "We need to reach the 'tipping point' in public consciousness on the hazards of growth before we reach the tipping point of global systems collapse. GrowthBusters gives us a great lever in the consciousness-raising department." The film features interviews with such notable experts as environmental writer Bill McKibben, former World Bank Senior Economist Herman Daly, Sociologist Juliet Schor, former White House environmental advisor Gus Speth, and physicist Al Bartlett.

GrowthBusters explores the critical question, "How do we become a sustainable civilization?" The film has been seen in hundreds of locations around the world since initial release late in 2011 – at conferences, film festivals and community screenings. A new, "Final Cut" of the film was released late in 2012. GrowthBusters is available for sale to the public at www.growthbusters.org. More than just a film, GrowthBusters is also a non-profit, public education project of Citizen-Powered Media.

Dave Gardner is available for interviews in person, via telephone or Skype. In-person interviews in Washington, D.C. on January 15 can also be arranged. Interviews with experts from the film are also possible. Online or DVD media screeners are available.

GrowthBusters Film Website: http://www.growthbusters.org
GrowthBusters Trailer:http://youtu.be/KLWxWOcUrVc
Media Resources:http://www.growthbusters.org/media/
Population Institute Announcement:http://www.populationinstitute.org/newsroom/news/view/53/