Whatever Happened to the Teeming Millions? (An NPG Internet Forum Paper)
Once it was the word on everyone’s lips, now “population” is the environmental issue that dares not speak its name. David Nicholson-Lord raises the flag for an unfashionable concern. Are you worried about population growth? Then you’re in the minority. Mention it as an issue to any gathering of environmentalists these days, and the reactions will range from a thinly …
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SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE FEAR OF AGING
Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version. SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE FEAR OF AGING An NPG Forum Paper by Lindsey Grant August 2005 For a decade or so, we have been besieged by stories about impending population decline in Europe and Japan, the prospect of a worsening dependency ratio and too few workers to support the aged. To this …
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Minerals Move People (An NPG Internet Forum Paper)
Minerals Move People As resources are discovered or depleted, populations migrate An NPG Internet Forum Paper by Walter Youngquist Spring 2005 Along with the influence of mineral supply on the rise and progress of civilization, is a parallel story of how the search for, and discovery of minerals from salt to gold and silver has caused mass migrations of people. …
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Encircling the Peak of World Oil Production (An NPG Internet Forum Paper)
Encircling the Peak of World Oil Production An NPG Internet Forum Paper by Richard C. Duncan and Walter Youngquist Spring 2005 The peak of world oil production, followed by an irreversible decline, will be a watershed in human history. The goal of this paper is to predict the world peak. Production data from 42 countries representing 98 percent of world …
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Peak Oil: A turning point for humankind (An NPG Internet Forum Paper)
Peak Oil: A turning point for humankind An NPG Internet Forum Paper by Colin J. Campbell Spring 2005 The fundamental driver of the 20th century’s economic prosperity has been an abundant supply of cheap oil. At first, it came largely from the United States as it opened up its extensive territories with dynamic capitalism and technological prowess. But U.S. discovery …
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The Steady-State Economy: What It Is, Why We Need It
Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version Viewed superficially, humanity’s material condition and prospects have never looked better. Modernization and affluence are unprecedentedly democratized. A more penetrating examination, however, reveals that humanity is hideously vulnerable, that its present course cannot long endure, and that a radically different type of economy is urgently needed. I. Our Growth Economy is Unsustainable …
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AWAKENING? (An NPG Internet Forum Paper)
Some major oil companies seem to be trying to persuade Washington that the energy transition is real and imminent and that it must be addressed. The tone of the academic debate is changing, and the imminence of the peak in oil production is now acknowledged by groups that have rejected the possibility in the past. However, most commentators don’t recognize …
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COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (NPG Bootnote)
Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version Dr. Diamond’s new study of “how societies choose to fail or succeed” has received considerable attention, and deservedly so. He describes eight threats to traditional societies and twelve among modern societies. He details the process by which various well-known collapses occurred in Easter Island, Pitcairn and Henderson Islands, the Anasazi, Mayan civilization, …
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Land, Water and Energy Versus the Ideal U.S. Population
Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version Scientific evidence is mounting concerning rapid population growth in the United States that is causing the deterioration of life supporting environmental resources (Bartlett and Lytwak, 1995; Grant, 2000, 2003; Pimentel and Pimentel, 2003; Sachs, 2004). Genuine concerns are expressed about future food security, prosperity, quality of human life, and maintaining the personal …
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The End of Fossil Fuels: Part 2. Twilight or Dawn?
Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version Part 1 addressed the period of decline of fossil fuels, lasting perhaps through much of this century,and concluded that the fossil fuel era has been a brief spike that generated an unsustainable growth in population and, in the industrial world, consumption. We are entering an age of overshoot. Humankind may have time …
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