04.22.09
Overpopulation
mxmail
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090418075752.htm
Worst Environmental Problem? Overpopulation, Experts Say
ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2009) — Overpopulation is the world’s top
environmental issue, followed closely by climate change and the need to
develop renewable energy resources to replace fossil fuels, according to
a survey of the faculty at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and
Forestry (ESF).
Just in time for Earth Day (April 22) the faculty at the college, at
which environmental issues are the sole focus, was asked to help
prioritize the planet’s most pressing environmental problems.
Overpopulation came out on top, with several professors pointing out its
ties to other problems that rank high on the list.
Pete Murphy said,
April 24, 2009 at 6:58 am
The biggest obstacle we face in changing attitudes toward overpopulation is economists. Since the field of economics was branded “the dismal science” after Malthus’ theory, economists have been adamant that they would never again consider the subject of overpopulation and continue to insist that man is ingenious enough to overcome any obstacle to further growth. This is why world leaders continue to ignore population growth in the face of mounting challenges like peak oil, global warming and a whole host of other environmental and resource issues. They believe we’ll always find technological solutions that allow more growth.
But because they are blind to population growth, there’s one obstacle they haven’t considered: the finiteness of space available on earth. The very act of using space more efficiently creates a problem for which there is no solution: it inevitably begins to drive down per capita consumption and, consequently, per capita employment, leading to rising unemployment and poverty.
If you‘re interested in learning more about this important new economic theory, then I invite you to visit either of my web sites at OpenWindowPublishingCo.com or PeteMurphy.wordpress.com where you can read the preface, join in the blog discussion and, of course, buy the book if you like.
Please forgive the somewhat spammish nature of the previous paragraph, but I don’t know how else to inject this new theory into the debate about overpopulation without drawing attention to the book that explains the theory.
Pete Murphy
Author, “Five Short Blasts”