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Title: Beyond Malthus: Nineteen Dimensions of the Population Challenge by Lester R. Brown, Gary Gardner, Brian Halweil ISBN: 0-393-31906-7 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (9 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Review on "Beyond Malthus"
Comment: This book is a great book that brings to light some of the problems the world currently faces. During the last half century the world population has more then doubled, climbing from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 5.9 billion in 1998. Malthus foresaw food shortages and famine because of the massive increase in population growth. The rise in the worldwide population accompanied with consumption is pushing the planets beyond its natural limits.
Throughout this book nineteen main environmental issues are addressed. I decided to focus on three main topics, that I feel are the most important; they are fresh water, biodiversity, and waste. Evidence of water stress is seen all over the world. According to Brown there will be scarcely one fourth as much fresh water per person in 2050 as there was in 1950. Worldwide, some 70 percent of the water pumped from underground wells or diverted from rivers is used for irragation, 20 percent is used for industrial purposes, and 10 percent for residental use. As population keeps growing more water is being diverted to urban areas, this is the same water that is usually used for irrigation. The main point being addressed is that the shortage of water means the decrease in food being produced.
The next topic covered in the book is biodiversity. As human populations keep growing other species are affected, some to the point of extinction. According to Brown the major source of species loss is habitat alteration, invasion by exotic species, pollution, and over hunting. As populations keep growing more people are forced into undeveloped areas that our host to many different species. This is where over hunting comes into play. People have to eat, or make a living selling skins or other animal parts. This problem is the greatest in underdeveloped countries where there are little or no conservation laws.
The last topic addressed is waste control. With a constant increase in population, the flow of waste products into landfills and waterways is increasing. Municipal waste is a major source of this problem. On average 824 million tons of waste are produced in developing countries each year. With an increase in population growth this number will rise to 1.4 billion in 2050. It is suggested that government agencies have to step in order to regulate this problem. Finding new ways to dispose of waste have to be discovered in order for the world to live with less disease.
Overall I felt this book was very informative about some of the problems of the world. I wish there were more solutions for what needs to be done in order to solve these problems. I think more education needs to be conducted in developing countries to reduce birth rates. According to Brown the current fertility rate in Pakistan is six children per woman and nearly seven in Ethiopia. These numbers have to be lowered in order for these countries to sustain a reasonable standard of living.
Rating: 3
Summary: A Critique of Beyond Malthus
Comment: Recently, the U.N. predicted that another three billion people will be added to our already existing population by the year 2050. We have to wonder if our earth has the resources to support this many people and if it does, what problems will result from increased population. These questions among others are answered in the book Beyond Malthus: Nineteen Dimensions of the Population Challenge, by Lester R. Brown atal. In this book, Brown evaluates 19 different problems with the environment and society that are the result of overpopulation. The book describes how our growing population affects our natural resources as well as our economic stability. Things such as fish, grain, water, forest, and fossil fuels are being consumed in greater amounts per person and their rate of production and availability are diminishing. Brown illustrates how so many of our world's problems are the result of our growing population and he presents a solution that will require an all out effort by every country.
In one chapter, Brown explains how farmers struggle with the lack of cropland and decreasing amounts of irrigation water to help reverse the decline of grain production. This illustrates how many problems are linked to one another. It takes water to produce grain; therefore if there is a water scarcity, there is a food scarcity. The diminishing cropland, lack of water, and lack of grain production can all be traced back to overpopulation and over consumption.
Not only are our natural resources depleting due to overpopulation, but our social and economical needs are also at risk. As the population grows, the need for education, housing, and jobs grows. In many countries there are not enough jobs to support everyone in society, leaving many homeless and unemployed. Poverty is therefore linked to population growth. In many overpopulated countries, farmland was once a key source for jobs, but the decline in farmland has virtually eliminated this solution.
In his conclusion, Brown says that the problems from population growth are showing up right now. Problems that used to be routinely managed by the government are now considered crises. He goes on to describe three stages of demographic transition. Stage one is when the birth and death rates of a country cancel each other out. Stage two is when death rates go down as countries become more industrialized and birth rates stay high. Stage three is when birth rates and death rates balance, but at low levels. Brown claims that most countries are in stages two or three; Stage three being demographic stability. Brown suggests that countries in stage two take efforts to lower fertility rates so that they can reach stage three. If no, they will fall back into stage one and have to face many environmental and economical problems. In order to do this there are two things that must be done. First, national carrying capacities must be assessed to show governments the magnitude of the problem. Governments then need to emphasize the empowerment of women, strengthening of health care, and importance of family planning. Government must also take to account the carrying capacity of their natural resources. Secondly, we must form a backbone of a national population policy by offering the means to reduce fertility rates and stabilize population. This means working to increase availability and awareness of contraception and improve the literacy rates among other things.
I think that Brown's solution to the problem of increasing population is very good. People need to understand that if they cannot afford to have children then they shouldn't be having them. People in poor countries often have children simply so they can work and raise more money for the family. This should not be the reason that women are having children. I think that improved education would help this situation and ultimately help the family as a whole by increasing quality of life. I also believe that contraception should be heavily emphasized by not only the government, but also in existing households. This would reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies thus decreasing the population. Brown's book opened my eyes to the connection between many of our world's problems and made me realize that our increasing population is to blame for most of them. It made me second-guess my intensions of having more than one child in the future.
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting
Comment: Lester Brown, Gary Gardner and Brian Halweil team up in their book, Beyond Malthus: Nineteen Dimensions of the Population Challenge, to present some of the problematic issues involved with the rate of global population growth. The book analyzes and argues that growing economies will use up our planet's resources by 2050 if we keep reproducing and consuming at the current levels.
With the world population more than doubling in the past 50 years, Brown et al. explain how population growth can lead to shortages of resources, negative ecological impacts, reduction of food production and social and health disasters. The authors base their ideas from 1950 data, establishing projections up to 2050.
According to their projections, the main problem caused by population growth will be the scarcity of natural resources. Fresh water, energy outages, material consumption and diminishing cropland space will be important concerns in the future, since smaller amounts of these resources will be available per capita. This situation could lead to major problems related to global food production. Even with an exhausted cropland, grain production must increase dramatically by 2050, in order to support the new incoming population and rising affluence. Similarly, the oceanic fish catch of 97 million tons annually, is already being pushed to the limits and must be monitored in order to insure that future generations can enjoy seafood consumption.
According to the authors, the use of natural resources to support not only population, but also economic growth, could lead to many ecological disasters. Aquifers will eventually be depleted, posing grave risks for food production. Forests and protected natural areas are being destroyed in order to get more cropland, threatening biodiversity. Urban sprawl provokes awkward conditions that affect the natural process of draining and favors land erosion. Furthermore, the disposal of waste over the land and seas is contaminating water supplies. Likewise, the emission of toxic gases that pollute the air and provoke climate changes affects the ecology.
Population growth aggravated by less available resources and an exhausted environment causes social conflicts, including job and housing shortages. In many parts of the world, the unemployment rate is increasingly high, which leads to homelessness and poverty. In these environments, infectious diseases such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic flourish rapidly.
Brown et al., state in their conclusion that education will play a key factor in helping to curb the crisis of overpopulation. Efforts to increase literacy rates and international family planning can help control the global birth rate.
This book was definitively an eye opener to me. In my opinion, the idea of promoting child limits seems quite harsh, but maybe it will have to become a reality (even in the U.S. and Europe, often known as free countries) in order to help ease the effects of overpopulation. Yet, I think that this could be categorized as a reference book, vs. a leisure-reading book, since the dimensions are presented without correlations or transitions among them.
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Title: How Many People Can the Earth Support? by Joel E. Cohen ISBN: 0393314952 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 1995 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Who Will Feed China?: Wake-Up Call for a Small Planet (The Worldwatch Environmental Alert) by Lester R. Brown ISBN: 039331409X Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 1995 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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