Journal ArticleDOI
Impact of Population Growth
Paul R. Ehrlich,John P. Holdren +1 more
TLDR
In this paper, the authors argue that population growth causes a disproportionate negative impact on the environment and that the control of population is necessary but not sufficient means of seeing us through the whole crisis of environmental deterioration.Abstract:
There have been some questionable assertions relating to population growth. The most serious of these is the notion that the size and growth rate of the U.S. population are only minor contributors to this countrys adverse impact on local and global environment. The discussion in this article centers around 5 theorems which demonstrate the following: 1) population growth causes a disproportionate negative impact on the environment 2) the control of population is necessary but not sufficient means of seeing us through the whole crisis of environmental deterioration 3) population density is a poor measure of population pressure 4) environment as a term must be broadly construed to include physical environment of urban ghettos as well as the human behavioral environment and 5) theoratical solutions to out problems are not operational and some times are not solutions. The paper concludes that population control the redirection of technology the transition from open to closed resouce cycles the equitable distribution of opportunity and the ingredients of prosperity must all be accomplished if there is to be a future worth living.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
The representative concentration pathways: an overview
Detlef P. van Vuuren,Detlef P. van Vuuren,Jae Edmonds,Mikiko Kainuma,Keywan Riahi,Allison M. Thomson,Kathy Hibbard,George C. Hurtt,George C. Hurtt,Tom Kram,Volker Krey,Jean-Francois Lamarque,Toshihiko Masui,Malte Meinshausen,Nebojsa Nakicenovic,Nebojsa Nakicenovic,Steven J. Smith,Steven K. Rose +17 more
TL;DR: The Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) as discussed by the authors is a set of four new pathways developed for the climate modeling community as a basis for long-term and near-term modeling experiments.
Journal ArticleDOI
The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths
Eric F. Lambin,Billie Turner,Helmut Geist,Samuel Babatunde Agbola,Arild Angelsen,John W. Bruce,Oliver T. Coomes,Rodolfo Dirzo,Günther Fischer,Carl Folke,P.S. George,Katherine Homewood,Jacques Imbernon,Rik Leemans,Xiubin Li,Emilio F. Moran,Michael Mortimore,P. S. Ramakrishnan,John F. Richards,Helle Skånes,Will Steffen,Glenn Davis Stone,Uno Svedin,Tom A. Veldkamp,Coleen Vogel,Jianchu Xu +25 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors track some of the major myths on driving forces of land cover change and propose alternative pathways of change that are better supported by case study evidence, concluding that neither population nor poverty alone constitute the sole and major underlying causes of land-cover change worldwide.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effects of population and affluence on CO2 emissions
Thomas Dietz,Eugene A. Rosa +1 more
TL;DR: The general value of the IPAT model is confirmed as a starting point for understanding the anthropogenic driving forces of global change and it is suggested that population and economic growth anticipated over the next decade will exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the theory and practice of sustainable development in the context of three criticisms (it is vague, attracts hypocrites and fosters delusions), and argue for an approach to sustainability that is integrative, is action-oriented, goes beyond technical fixes, incorporates a recognition of the social construction of sustainable Development, and engages local communities in new ways.
Journal ArticleDOI
Does urbanization lead to less energy use and lower CO2 emissions?A cross-country analysis
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effects of urbanization on energy use and CO2 emissions with consideration of the different development stages and found that urbanization decreases energy use in the low-income group, while it increases energy consumption in the middle and high-income groups.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Fluctuations of Animal Populations and a Measure of Community Stability
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Fatal human disease from vervet monkeys
TL;DR: The most striking pathological changes were found in guineapig livers where intracytoplasmic bodies resembling rickettsias or psittacosis-lymphogranuloma-group viruses were invariably present.