[ExI] Underpopulation, not Overpopulation (was Re: To Arms!)

Sun Apr 5 11:03:12 UTC 2009

>
> The decline demographic numbers is a prime cause of the
> economic malaise affecting the west.
> Lee
>

And I call that counter-productive if not completely dangerous bunk. I say
that
if one person uses x material resources, energy at a certain standard of
living,
100 persons will use far more than 100x in resources. My assertion is that
overpopulation is a MAJOR drain on efficiency, resources, energy, not even
considering the cheapening of human value, the stress caused by increased
societal pressure, exploitation, collapse of individual meaning and worth,
bastards playing members of society against each other and insurmountable
congestion in nearly every bit of infrastructure you can imagine at peak use
and the same gathering dust when they are not used.

I say that overpopulation is the single most biggest tragedy humanity
suffers
right now, and the only people benefiting from this are the remorseless
bastards
who exploit their fellow humans, by gaming this tragedy like sharks.

Unfortunately, all this cant be solved.

   - A Bicentennial Malthusian
Essay<http://www.tscpress.com/catalog/czbicent.htm>,
   John F. Rohe; Rhodes & Easton, Traverse City, MI 49684, ISBN 1-890394-00-9,
   (192p, $19). Also available from
Amazon.com<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890394009/ecoftm>.
   Malthus suggested there might be an inverse relationship between the
   quantity and the quality of human life. Approximately one billion people now
   go to bed hungry every night. Rohe revisits principles found controversial
   in 1798 in identifying a root cause of our unrest.

   - A Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great
   Civilizations <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140176608/ecoftm>,
   Clive Pointing; St. Martins Press, ISBN 0-312-06987-1 (432p, $24), Penguin
   USA (Paper) ISBN: 0-140-17660-8 ($15), (EGJ
review<http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>).

   - An Essay on Principle of
Population<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573922552/ecoftm>,
   Thomas Robert Malthus; Prometheus, ISBN 1573922552 (paperback), ($9). The
   original 1798 essay on population.

   - [image: Excellent] Beyond Malthus: Nineteen Dimensions of the
   Population Challenge <http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/ea/bmp.html>, Lester
   R. Brown, Gary Gardner, and Brian Halweil; W.W. Norton, 1999, Worldwatch
   Institute <http://www.worldwatch.org/>, ISBN 0393319067, ($13). Also
   available from
Amazon.com<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393319067/ecoftm>.
   Examines the stakes involved in potentially adding another 3.3 billion
   people to the world population over the next fifty years.

   - Beyond Malthus: Population and
Power<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0130760420/ecoftm>,
   Neil W. Chamberlain; (out of print), (1970).

   - Beyond Malthus: Sixteen Dimensions of the Population
Problem<http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/143.html>,
   1998, Worldwatch Institute <http://www.worldwatch.org/> ($5). An
   excellent and easily-read introductory paperback.

   - [image: Excellent] Beyond the Limits, Confronting Global Collapse,
   Envisioning a Sustainable
Future<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0930031628/ecoftm>,
   Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers; 1992, Chelsea Green, ISBN
   0-930031-55-5 (hard cover) (300p, $19.95), ISBN 0930031628(paperback) ($15),
   (EGJ review <http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>).
   The authors contend that the global industrial system has already overshot
   some of the earth's vital ecological limits, and could collapse by the
   mid-21st century unless we commit to sweeping changes now. The first two
   chapters present an excellent discussion on *exponential growth*.

   - Cheerfully Childless <http://www.cheerfullychildless.com/> - The Humor
   Book for Those Who Hesitate to Procreate, Eller Metter & Loretta Gomez;
   Baker & Taylor and Quality Books, 2002, ISBN 0-9711627-0-0

   - Curbing Population Growth, An Insider's Perspective on the Population
   Movement <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/030645050X/ecoftm>,
   Oscar Harkavy; Plenum Press, 1995, ISBN 0-306-45050-X, (249p). An excellent
   reference book, describing the history of population-oriented organizations
   and their funders.

   - Dynamics of Values in Fertility
Change<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198294395/ecoftm>,
   Richard Leete (Ed.); Oxford Univ Press, 1999, ISBN 0198294395, (360p, $85).

   - Earth: Our Crowded
Spaceship<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0381996255/ecoftm>,
   Isaac Asimov, (out of print).

   - [image: Excellent] Ending the Explosion: Population Policies and Ethics
   for a Humane
Future<http://www.thesocialcontract.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi?thesociaSTORE:home>,
   W. Hollingsworth; 1996, Seven Locks Press, 800.354.5348, ISBN
   0-929-765-42-7, ($17.95),
(review<http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/revs/nf_gen.html#EndExpl>).
   Also available from
Amazon.com<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0929765427/ecoftm>.
   Unlike most books, it rightly sees overpopulation as a threat to the human
   spirit as well as to our physical well-being.

   - *Extinction or Survival*, M.J. Turner; 1996, Ardmore Publishing, 875
   Ardmore Dr., RR2, Sidney BC, Canada, V8L 5G2, ISBN 0-9680850-0-8, ($24.95).
   Carefully researched, this book deals with the real problems of
   overpopulation and the resulting excessive environmental exploitation,
   showing how the carrying capacity of Planet Earth is being seriously eroded.

   - *How Does Congress Approach Population and Family Planning Issues:
   Results of Qualitative Interviews with Legislative Directors*, Sally
   Patterson, David M. Adamson; Rand Corporation <http://www.rand.org/>,
   1999, ISBN 0833027042, (49p, $8). Congressional opinions on population
   issues are highly polarized. About 90% of Congress consistently votes either
   for or against population-related legislation. Thus the remaining 10 percent
   is likely to determine the fate of such issues. Researchers interviewed a
   sample of legislative directors in this category. Most felt that the U.S.
   should continue to play a leading role internationally, but several noted
   that their bosses favor more multilateral approaches. A majority felt that
   world population growth is a problem but is not urgent. Nearly unanimous
   support was expressed for U.S. support of voluntary family planning if it
   excludes abortion. Congress would benefit from more factual information on
   population issues.

   - Intended Consequences : Birth Control, Abortion, and the Federal
   Government in Modern
America<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195046579/ecoftm>,
   Donald T. Critchlow; Oxford Univ Press, 1999, ISBN 0195046579, (320p, $9).
   Contains 13 essays by well-known feminist scholars and activists on the
   major global issues relevant to the environment, development, and
   population. The authors discuss issues of racism, paternalism, and
   scapegoating. Also discussed are reproductive technology, the impact of
   population growth on the environment, effects of militarism and consumption,
   and social justice movements.

    - [image: Excellent] How Many People Can the World
Support?<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393314952/ecoftm>,
   Joel E. Cohen; Norton, New York, 1995, ISBN 0393314952, ($13). A
   well-documented and referenced book on the history of human population
   growth, and past and current attempt to project human carrying capacity of
   the planet. A definitive work on the population problem.

   - [image: Excellent] Juggernaut, Growth on a Finite
Planet<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0929765516/ecoftm>,
   Lindsey Grant; 1996, Seven Locks Press, ISBN 0-929765-51-6 (paperback)
   (363p). An informative and fascinating book which compellingly presents the
   social, political, and economic implications of continued population growth.
   One of the best synopsis of the population problem.

   - [image: Excellent] Living Within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and
   Population Taboos<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/019507811X/ecoftm>,
   Garrett Hardin. Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-507811-X. (339p,
   $25), (EGJ review<http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>).
   Wonderfully rich in clear logic, original ideas and insights.

   - Malthusian Worlds: Us Leadership and the Governing of the Population
   Crisis <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813390737/ecoftm>, Ronald
   Walter Greene; Harpercollins, 1999, ISBN 0813390737, ($65).

    - Maybe One : A Personal and Environmental Argument for Single-Child
   Families <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684852810/ecoftm>, Bill
   McKibben; Simon & Schuster, 1998, ISBN 0684852810, (256p, $17). The growing
   population of the U.S. is a significant threat to world sustainability
   because of high U.S. consumption levels. McKibben discusses the concept of
   having only one child, on a personal level and from the perspective of
   impact on the ecosphere.

   - Our Crowded
Planet<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0313226393/ecoftm>,
   Fairfield Osborn; Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983, ISBN 0313226393, (240p,
   $60). A splendid document of contemporary civilization not because it solves
   the problem of overpopulation but because it brings into focus the immediacy
   of the problem as an individual, national, and international concern. This
   book includes essays by major figures in the arts and sciences, including
   Marston Bates, Henry Steele Commager, F. Fraser Darling, Charles G. Darwin
   (grandson of *The Origin of Species* Darwin), Julian Huxley, Joseph Wood
   Krutch, Arnold Toynbee, Solly Zuckerman, and Paul B. Sears.

   - Our Plundered
Planet<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316666084/ecoftm>,
   Fairfield Osborn; Little Brown, 1948, (out of print). The author calculates
   Earth's carrying capacity at less than 2 billion (p. 37). An early warning
   on the population/resource/environment crisis. This book focused on
   renewable resources but added overpopulation to the equation. Osborn saw the
   nation's forests, grasslands, and water resources as threatened. "The tide
   of the earth's population is rising, the reservoir of the earth's living
   resources is falling," the author wrote. "There is only one solution: Man
   must recognize the necessity of cooperating with nature." Fairfield Osborn
   was a distinguished author, naturalist, and conservationist. He was
   president of the New York Zoological Society and chairman of the
   Conservation Foundation.

    - [image: Excellent] Overshoot, The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary
   Change <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0252008189/ecoftm>,
   William R. Catton, Jr.; University of Illinois Press, 1980, ISBN
   0-252-00818-9 (hard cover), (270p, $30), ISBN 0-252-00988-6 (paperback). An
   important book - well written with a rich bibliography.

   - Planetary Overload: Global Environmental Change and the Health of the
   Human Species <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521558719/ecoftm>,
   A. McMichael; Cambridge Univ. Press,1993, ISBN 0521558719 ($12). This
   eloquent and alarming book examines the likely impact on human health of the
   ongoing degradation of the planet's ecosystems.

   - Population and Politics Since
1750<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813912571/ecoftm>,
   William H. McNeill, University Press of Virginia, 1990, ISBN 0-8139-1257-1,
   (71p). In this brief discussion, the author ponders the question: is
   demography the engine that drives history?

   - Population, Environment and
Development<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9211512654%20/ecoftm>:
   Proceedings of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Population,
   Environment and Development, U.N., United Nations Publications, 1994, ISBN
   9211512654, ($30). Reports on the Expert Group meeting in 1992, recommending
   integrating environmental and population issues into planning and policy
   making.

   - Population, Evolution, and Birth Control, A Collage of Controversial
   Ideas <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0716706709/ecoftm>, Ed.
   Garret Hardin; W.H. Freeman, 1964, ISBN 0716706709, (381p). An engrossing
   collection of articles, reviews, and criticisms reflecting all shades of
   opinion on what is perhaps the most important social problem facing mankind.

   - Population
Fallacies<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0301740313/ecoftm>,
   Jack Parsons; Elek/Pemberton, London, 1977, ISBN 0301740313 (286p, out of
   print), (review <http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/revs/nf_gen.html#PopFall>).
   Under the three basic categories of Common Sense, Scientific, and Economic
   Fallacies, the discussion ranges over such topics as the use of statistics,
   foretelling the future, military power, migration, manpower, economic
   development, space travel, the myth of the large happy family and the limits
   to growth. Each fallacy is clearly stated, solidly documented, thoroughly
   analyzed and finally dismissed.

   - Population Geography: Problems, Concepts, and
Prospects<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0787256722/ecoftm>,
   Gary L. Peters, Robert P. Larkin; Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1999, ISBN
   0787256722, ($47). This textbook is an introduction to population geography,
   and covers theories of population growth, demographic data and processes,
   population distribution and composition, and the environment and food
   supply. Tables, maps, and data are provided.

   - Population Growth, Resource Consumption, and the
Environment<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1550580647/ecoftm>:
   Seeking a Common Vision for a Troubled World, D. Richard Searle, Rick
   Searle; Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1995, ISBN 1550580647, ($14).

   - Population Handbook - A Quick Guide for Journalists, Teachers,
etc<http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/books_pop.html>.,
   70-page booklet, ISBN 0-917136-09-8. It contains definitions and features
   "Calculating the TFR", "How Life TablesWork", etc.

   - Population, A Lively
Introduction<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9992437618/ecoftm>,
   McFalls; Population Reference Bureau <http://www.prb.org/prb/>, 1991,
   ISBN 9992437618, ($9).

   - [image: Excellent] Population: an Introduction to Concepts and
Issues<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0534553052/ecoftm>,
   John R. Weeks; Wadsworth, 1992, ISBN 0534553052 (hardcover) ISBN
   0-534-17346-2. (579p, $88.00), (EGJ
review<http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>).
   A college textbook and a good introduction to population issues, including
   terms and definitions.

   - *Population and Environment: a Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies*,
   Human Sciences Press, 212.620.8000. This journal deals with both issues in a
   comprehensive and integrated manner.

   - Population and the World Bank: Adapting to
Change<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0821344404/ecoftm>,
   World Bank, 1999, ISBN 0821344404, ($22),
(abstract<http://www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/abshtml/14430.htm>).
   The global demographic situation has changed dramatically since the World
   Bank started population work three decades ago. This publication discusses
   how to apply the Bank's Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) Sector
   Strategy of 1997 to the Bank's work on population and reproductive health.

    - Population Politics: the Choices that Shape our
Future<http://www.thesocialcontract.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi?thesociaSTORE:home>,
   Virginia Abernethy; 1993, Plenum Publishing, ISBN 0-306-44461-5, (350p,
   $27). Also available from
Amazon.com<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0306444615/ecoftm>.
   (Review, titled Why Do Women Have Babies <http://dieoff.org/page56.htm>,
   Robert A. McConnell). A provocative book that raises disturbing questions
   about demographic and immigration policies and their implications for the
   future of the world. A splendid critique of how U.S. foreign aid and liberal
   immigration policy result in population growth in the U.S. and abroad.

   - *Population, Resources and the Environment: The Critical Challenges*,
   United Nations Population Fund, 1991, ISBN 0-89714-101-6. (154p, $25), (EGJ
   review <http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>).

   - *Road to Survival*, William Vogt; Sloane, 1948,
(review<http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/revs/nf_gen.html#RoadSurv>).
   Another of the classic "early warnings," like Osborn's book, but much
   starker - in Vogt's view, the United States in 1948 at 147 million was
   already overpopulated, and its self-indulgent materialism doomed it to
   eventual extinction.

    - The American Dream: Can It Survive the 21st Century?
   <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/157392265X/ecoftm>, Joseph L.
   Daleiden; Prometheus Books, 1999, ISBN 157392265X. (550 p., $25). An
   ambitious and comprehensive book, offering well though-out solutions to
   complex problems. Ed Levy states in a review that: "Daleiden's basic
   message, then, is that today's acts are destroying tomorrow, and that we are
   stealing, not just borrowing, from the future and that we must accept the
   possibility of disasters if we are to prevent them. ...An additional value
   of the book is the validity of its arguments: e.g., the deft debunking of
   the 'demographic transition' theory (with the addition that even if it were
   true, it would be too late, because of doubling time, to matter when it
   kicked in)."

   - The Challenge of Man's
Future<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813300339/ecoftm>,
   Harrison Scott Brown; Viking, 1953, ISBN 0813300339. A classic early warning
   on impending population and resource problems.

   - The Fear of Population
Decline<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0126851905/ecoftm>,
   Micheal S. Teitelbaum; ISBN 0126851905, (out of print).

   - The Future of Population:
Predictions<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0297819232/ecoftm>,
   John I. Clarke; Orion, 1999, ISBN 0297819232, ($4).

    - The Ostrich Factor: Our Population
Myopia<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195122747/ecoftm>,
   Garrett Hardin; Oxford University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-19-512274-7, (153p,
   $16). (excerpts and
review<http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/revs/nf_ostrich_factor.html>).
   With clear logic and imaginative insight, Garret Hardin has again given us a
   strong helping hand in the unending task of overcoming denial of the tough
   issues in population, economics, and ethics.

    - The Population
Bomb<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0891908617/ecoftm>,
   Paul Ehrlich; ISBN 0891908617, ($22). (PBS
review<http://www.pbs.org/population_bomb/>),
   (excerpts <http://www.pbs.org/kqed/population_bomb/quotes.html>). This
   book looks at the ideas of one scientist whose theories link overpopulation
   to a broad range of global problems (somewhat outdated - instead see *The
   Population Explosion* below).

   - [image: Excellent] The Population
Explosion<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671732943/ecoftm>,
   Paul R. and Anne H. Ehrlich; Simon and Schuster, 1990, ISBN 0-671-68984-3.
   (320p, $19), (EGJ
review<http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>additional
   review <http://dieoff.org/page27.htm>), and
(excerpts<http://www.pbs.org/kqed/population_bomb/quotes.html>).
   A classic work, this superb, closely reasoned, and fact-filled book should
   do much to clear the way for badly needed political action.

   - The Stork and the
Plow<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300071248/ecoftm>,
   Paul and Anne Ehrlich; Putnam, 1995, ISBN 0-399-14074-3, (384p, $15), (
   excerpts <http://www.pbs.org/kqed/population_bomb/quotes.html>). Humanity
   and agricultural fertility are on a collision course; the stork is
   threatening to overtake the plow. Yet the very existence of this dilemma is
   largely unappreciated by the general public as well as politically- and
   ecologically-oriented pundits.

   - The Third Revolution: Environment, Population and a Sustainable
World<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140146598/ecoftm>,
   Paul Harrison, I.B. Tauris; in association with the World Wide Fund for
   Nature, Penguin, 1993, ISBN 0140146598. (359 p, $12.00). An excellent
   introduction; (EGJ
review<http://drseuss.lib.uidaho.edu:70/docs/egj02/groat01.html>).

   - [image: Excellent] World
Population<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0929765664%20/ecoftm>,
   Leon F. Bouvier, Jane T. Bertrand; Seven Locks Press, 1999, ISBN:
   0929765664, (203 p, $13).
   "Readable, insightful, scholarly, and objective. Whatever your view on
   population growth, few disagree that it presents the future with some major
   challenges. An important book about a fast developing, worldwide problem."
   -- Richard D. Lamm.
   "Bouvier and Bertrand's new book offers a measured and informed appraisal
   - for those who would prefer to actually understand." -- Michael S.
   Teitelbaum.

   - [image: Excellent] World Population
Growth<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0897165527/ecoftm>,
   George E. Immerwahr; Peanut Butter Publishing, 226 2nd Ave. West, Seattle,
   WA 98119, 206.281.5965, ISBN 0-89716-552-7 (184p, $12). This excellent book
   explains population growth in clear, concise terms and contains an excellent
   demographic appendix. The author, a demographer with extensive overseas
   exposure to the population issue, states that population problems are
   colossal but not hopeless and is chiefly concerned for the world's children.
   *If you have trouble finding this book, contact Suggestions and
EcoFuture<http://www.ecofuture.org/forms/pop_commentform.html>
   .*

Books on Overpopulation
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