Demographic Change and Intergenerational Justice, 2008
ABSTRACT The common perception when considering the link between demography and sustainable devel... more ABSTRACT The common perception when considering the link between demography and sustainable development is that an increase in human population aggravates environmental problems. Long before the term “ecology” was coined, there were concerns about the earth’s capacity to provide food for the growing number of human beings. At the turn of the 18th century, the English parson and economist Thomas Robert Malthus became a pioneer of this discussion. Although his static way of modelling the development of population and food supply failed to provide adequate predictions, and despite the fact that there are good reasons to denounce his proposed remedies as blatantly inhumane, the basic problem he pointed out remains relevant: an ever-growing human population may at some point exceed the earth’s carrying capacity.
Demographic Change and Intergenerational Justice, 2008
ABSTRACT The common perception when considering the link between demography and sustainable devel... more ABSTRACT The common perception when considering the link between demography and sustainable development is that an increase in human population aggravates environmental problems. Long before the term “ecology” was coined, there were concerns about the earth’s capacity to provide food for the growing number of human beings. At the turn of the 18th century, the English parson and economist Thomas Robert Malthus became a pioneer of this discussion. Although his static way of modelling the development of population and food supply failed to provide adequate predictions, and despite the fact that there are good reasons to denounce his proposed remedies as blatantly inhumane, the basic problem he pointed out remains relevant: an ever-growing human population may at some point exceed the earth’s carrying capacity.
Uploads
Papers by Daniel Blobel