Transcript The Population Bomb

The Problem: Too Many People
•
Food production falling behind
pop. Growth
– “Starvation doesn’t kill starving
people”
– Half of the people in the world are
undernourished (1971)
•
Doubling time = Really fast in
UDC’s
– Kenya = 23 years
– U.S. = 70 Years
•
Social + Environmental problems
accelerate faster than population
“No growth rate can be
sustained in the long run”
Two options: Control population via
birth rate, or nature will control it via
death rate.
3 Scenarios
• Nuclear Holocaust
• Pandemic
• Cooperation
between nations
– Survivor tax on GDP
– Many people still
starve
What is being done
• Planned parenthood
• Empowering women
• Environmental
Protection
• Education
• 2 bills:
– Tax deductions for no
more than 2
children/family
– Legalize abortion
Who to Target
• Politicians
• Extreme
Conservatives and
Liberals
• Catholics
• People with children
• People without
children
• [Everyone]
My Take on The Population Bomb
Pros
• Discusses the most
important issue of our
time
• Many of the topics vitally
important today
• “What can you do?”
section
• Prominent influence in
the history of
Environmentalism
Cons
• Outdated
– A lot has happened since
1971
– Nuclear Holocaust?
Leaded gasoline?
Supersonic jets?
– Now: 7 billion
– No current figures or
projections (obviously)
…And So
• Worth reading
– Took me 4 hours
– Entertaining
• I would suggest
Thomas Friedman’s
Hot, Flat, and
Crowded
– Many similar themes
– Much more relevant
today