Thomas Robert Malthus – Nullius in Verba

The Bet

The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development‘s Brundtland Report (1987), Our Common Future, defined sustainable development‘s path as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It sounds simple. But how do we judge “the ability of future generationsContinue reading “The Bet”

As we gallop toward 7 billion people, what can yeast teach us about population?

Love in the key of fermentation This was written during February, the month with Valentine’s Day, which leads our thoughts to yeasts. Okay well, love. But love can lead to sex, and that leads to reproduction. Yeasts may not know about love, but they do know reproduction. So do we humans: our population here onContinue reading “As we gallop toward 7 billion people, what can yeast teach us about population?”

Gaming Malthus with “Fate of the World”

I have submitted this to the Record-Bee for my December Green Chain column. “I have observed that not the man who hopes when others despair, but the man who despairs when others hope, is admired by a large class of persons as a sage.” – John Stuart Mill In 1901, while searching for giant clamsContinue reading “Gaming Malthus with “Fate of the World””

Should there be a new way of living for the top one billion? – iPat edition redux

Steven Earl Salmony of the AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population, commented on Dot Earth’s, “Do the Top Billion Need New Goals?” Dear Timberati, Do you think there is any chance at all that Paul Ehrlich, despite his poor showing as prognosticator and gambler, will be shown to be one of the greatest scientists ofContinue reading “Should there be a new way of living for the top one billion? – iPat edition redux”

Should there be a new way of living for the top one billion? – The iPat edition

Andrew Revkin asks on his blog, Dot Earth, ‘Would the world benefit from a set of millennium development goals for the “top billion”?’ Michael Schesinger, a climatologist at the University of Illinois, among other things, wrote, “Perhaps humanity and the Earth can survive with 9 billion people in 2050, but what type of world willContinue reading “Should there be a new way of living for the top one billion? – The iPat edition”