“Natural selection deals ruthlessly with any population, bird or beaver, which fails to solve the problems of its environment with all those resources, learned or unlearned, which may be at its disposal.” MayProblemNaturalDealsEnvironmentFailingEvolutionBirdResourcesPopulationSolveSelectionNatural SelectionBeavers Book:THE TERRITORIAL IMPERATIVE Source: THE TERRITORIAL IMPERATIVE
“The money economy thus leaves a large ecological footprint, defined as the amount of land and resources required to meet a typical consumer's needs. For example, with only about 4% of the world's population, the United States, the largest money economy, consumes in excess of one-quarter of the world's energy and materials and generates in excess of 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.” WorldNeedsStatesEnergyUnitedUnited StatesEconomyLandExampleMaterialsAmountPercentResourcesPopulationDefinedConsumersGasQuartersExcessConsumerismTypicalEmissionsEcologicalFootprintOverconsumptionGreenhousesGreenhouse GasesEcological Footprints Author:Stuart L. Hart
“The gap between the rich and poor is growing among and within most nations. The political and social effects of unequal location of energy and other mineral resources are acute. Population numbers continue to climb. The global environment shows signs of widespread deterioration. Both natural and social environments are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic disturbances... There may, however, be a cheering challenge in the possibility that out of its struggle with these realities the human race may move a bit nearer to behaving as if it were indeed one family.” IfsHumansMayShowsRealityMovingPoliticalEnergyNationsSocialBitsNaturalChallengesPoorNumbersRaceStruggleRichEnvironmentGrowingEffectsPossibilityResourcesEnvironmentalPopulationVulnerableHuman RaceClimbsGapsCheerLocationRich And PoorDisturbanceMineralsDeteriorationSocial EnvironmentMineral Resources Author:Gilbert F. White
“You have to save the habitat, you have to save the population - not individual animals. What you want to save is the foundation, the basic infrastructure from which resources are produced. You can't save Fifi and Boo-Boo and Thumper.” WantIndividualAnimalResourcesFoundationPopulationWhat You WantInfrastructureHabitatBoo Boo Author:Ted Nugent
“The function of our Government is to insure to all its citizens, now and hereafter, their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we of this generation destroy the resources from which our children would otherwise derive their livelihood, we reduce the capacity of our land to support a population, and so either degrade the standard of living or deprive the coming generations of their fight to life on this continent.” IfsChildrenGovernmentFightingLibertySupportRightsGenerationsLandCitizensStandardsResourcesCapacityFunctionOur ChildrenPopulationPursuitContinentsPursuit Of HappinessHereafterLivelihoodDegradeStandards Of LivingThis GenerationLife Liberty And The Pursuit Of HappinessRights To Life Author:Theodore Roosevelt
“The hungry world cannot be fed until and unless the growth of its resources and the growth of its population come into balance. Each man and woman-and each nation-must make decisions of conscience and policy in the face of this great problem.” MenWorldProblemFacesNationsGrowthDecisionEnvironmentPolicyBalanceConscienceMen And WomenResourcesPopulationHungryFedsPopulation GrowthOverpopulationWorld PovertyEnvironmental ProblemsWorld PopulationReproductive HealthEnvironmental StewardshipPopulation Problem Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966 Source: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
“You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now we’ll look back at the first decade of the 21st century — when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all — and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that we’d crossed some growth/climate/natural resource/population redlines all at once?” ThinkingWorldYearsFirstsLooksGovernmentAsksEnergyGrowthNaturalCitiesWonderRecordsCenturyEvidenceResourcesClimatePopulationObviousDecadesPanicFlood21st CenturyThreatenedNatural ResourcesDroughtWorld PopulationConfluence Author:Thomas Friedman
“Population growth is straining the Earth's resources to the breaking point, and educating girls is the single most important factor in stabilizing that. That, plus helping women gain political and economic power and safeguarding their reproductive rights.” ImportantHelpingEarthPoliticalGirlGrowthRightsEconomicGainsResourcesPopulationFactorsPlusGorePopulation GrowthEconomic PowerWorld PopulationReproductive RightsPoint BreakSafeguarding Author:Al Gore
“With the growth of the world population, the global climate change and the need for a greater healthy environment, access to water resources has become a crucial condition for the realization of an equitable international order, where the needs of the peoples are effectively addressed. In this regard, the need for international cooperation, including in joint effort with relevant non-state actors, is paramount to ensure water is made available to all without discrimination. Water is a human right, an enabling right, not a mere commodity.” WorldNeedsHumansMadeStatesOrderActorsGrowthWaterEffortEnvironmentGreaterConditionsHealthyResourcesRegardMereClimateClimate ChangeIncludingInternationalPopulationAvailableAccessDiscriminationRealizationCooperationCrucialRelevantCommodityJointsEnablingParamountEquitableWater ResourcesWorld PopulationInternational CooperationHealthy EnvironmentJoint EffortsAccess To Water Author:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
“The main implication is a remapping of the world in line with American policy and American interests. Natural resources are limited, and the United States wants to make sure that its own population is kept supplied. The principle effect of this will be for the United States to control large parts of the oil which the world possesses.” WorldWantStatesInterestNaturalLinesUnitedPrinciplesUnited StatesEffectsPolicyResourcesPopulationOilImplicationsNatural Resources Author:Tariq Ali
“I am arguing that it is a mistake for trans activists to focus our resources and attention on winning inclusion in legal equality frameworks, such as anti-discrimination laws and hate crimes laws, that will not provide relief from the life-shortening conditions trans populations are facing. Winning legal equality - getting the law to cast us as victims of discrimination who the state will protect - will not support our survival.” StatesLawHateWinningAttentionMistakeSupportFocusConditionsCrimeProtectSurvivalResourcesVictimCastsPopulationArguingDiscriminationReliefActivistInclusionFrameworkTransHate CrimeAnti Discrimination Author:Dean Spade
“The favorite statistic is that the U.S. contains 6 to 7% of the world population but consumes more than half the world's resources and is responsible for that fraction of the total environmental pollution. But this statistic hides another vital fact: that not everyone in the U.S. is so affluent.” WorldFactsHalfResourcesResponsibleEnvironmentalPopulationPollutionFractionsAffluenceAffluentWorld PopulationEnvironmental Pollution Author:Barry Commoner
“This Constitutional Republic called America is an historic aberration. Any honest student of history will note that the prevailing socio-economic system is feudalism, where a tiny minority control the vast majority of wealth, power, and resources. In doing so, they have absolute control over the 99% of the population. Power equals control.” AmericaWealthEconomicHonestStudentsResourcesAbsolutesMajorityNotesPopulationTinyMinoritiesRepublicHistoricPrevailingEconomic SystemsAberrationFeudalism Author:Howard Nemerov
“Take crack cocaine. Particularly in the early days of the policy, ninety percent of the people being arrested were black, even though they didn't use the drug at higher rates and even though their numbers in the general population are so low. How could that be? The thing is, you place all your resources in communities of color. And if you do that, you're going to arrest black people.” PeopleIfsUseBlackCommunityNumbersPolicyColorHigherDrugLowsPercentResourcesRatePopulationCracksBlack PeopleNinetyArrestedCocaine Author:Carl Hart
“The fastest-growing population in the United States is the older people, because we are living much longer, healthier lives. The problem is, individuals often don't have the resources to take care of older people as they age. This is something that is happening, and we have to deal with it. It was happening also in my life.” PeopleStatesProblemCareAgeIndividualUnitedDealsUnited StatesGrowingHappeningsResourcesPopulationTake CareOlder PeopleHealthier Life Author:Isabel Allende
“The people who see the population explosion in the Malthusian way - as a geometric progression - forget that population growth is not a biological issue. People are not increasing in numbers out of stupidity and ignorance. Population growth is an ecological phenomenon linked very intimately to other issues, such as the usurpation of the resources which allow people to live.” PeopleWayGrowthForgetNumbersIssuesIgnoranceResourcesPopulationStupidityPhenomenonLinkedExplosionsProgressionEcologicalPopulation GrowthGeometricStupidity And IgnoranceUsurpationPopulation Explosion Author:Vandana Shiva
“Human population growth is a problem in that most humans consume more than they need. The Earth's resources are now strained to sustain the needs and wants of the human population, which continues to escalate.” WantNeedsHumansProblemEarthGrowthResourcesPopulationPopulation GrowthNeeds And WantsHuman Population Author:Sharon Gannon
“Many scientists would argue that we are now in what is called Extinction, and it's caused by this perfect extinction storm: climate change, habitat loss, pollution, unsustainable exploitation of species and habitat resources, and of course, human population explosion. All of these factors work together and conspire to drive a species to extinction on our planet, every half an hour.” HumansTogetherCoursesHoursLossPerfectHalfPlanetsResourcesScientistClimateSpeciesClimate ChangePopulationStormArguingFactorsWorking TogetherPollutionExploitationExtinctionOur PlanetExplosionsHabitatHuman PopulationPopulation Explosion Author:Jeff Corwin
“Everybody is always talking about droughts and sea level rise, but when human civilization, with more crowding and greater resource depletion, is under that much stress, it translates into wars and huge displaced populations. The Syrian refugee crisis is just a first taste of what it's going to be like. I don't want my kids growing up in that kind of world.” WorldWantFirstsHumansKindWarKidsLevelsTalkingGrowing UpGreaterGrowingSeaHugeCivilizationTasteResourcesStressCrisisPopulationTranslateRefugeeDroughtKids Growing UpRefugee CrisisHuman CivilizationSyrian RefugeesSea Level RiseResource Depletion Author:James Cameron
“The StarTalks - while kids can watch them, they're actually targeted at adults. Because adults outnumber kids five to one, and adults vote, and adults wield resources, and adults are heads of agencies. So if we're going to affect policy, or affect attitudes, for me, the adults have always been the target population.” IfsKidsAttitudeWatchesFivePolicyAdultsResourcesVotePopulationAgencyTarget Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“What are the prospects for an Arab state serving a leading role comparable to the role that other states place in other regions? There is no obvious candidate. Saudi Arabia has the money but a relatively small population. Iraq was a great potential leader, as a sizable country with great oil resources and a highly educated population, but it went off in the wrong direction.” CountryStatesLeaderRolesResourcesIraqPopulationObviousOilEducatedCandidatesRegionsServingArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisProspectsWrong Direction Author:Samuel P. Huntington
“They [ the government of Puerto Rico] are asking to be given the right to declare bankruptcy, which I think should be an option, as a last resort, if there is no other resource. But there also need to be measures, changes within the government of Puerto Rico, in the ways that the island's funds are administered, not just to deal with this budget issue, but also to have, to attract the economic growth that is necessary for Puerto Rico to begin to grow economically. They are losing population, and they are losing economically.” IfsThinkingWayNeedsShouldGovernmentLastsGivenGrowsGrowthDealsIssuesEconomicLosingResourcesAskingPopulationBudgetsIslandsFundResortsEconomic GrowthBankruptcyPuerto RicoRico Author:Marco Rubio
“Colombia is potentially a very wealthy country. It has tremendous resources, but its wealth is highly concentrated. Most of the population lives in misery, which has led to violent confrontation throughout the century.” CountryWealthCenturyResourcesMiseryPopulationViolentWealthyConfrontationColombia Author:Noam Chomsky
“Many flagship state universities have wonderful digital libraries that are accessed by people around the world. In future, if not current, budget crises, trustees, board members, and administrators may wonder why these state institutions - with an articulated primary clientele of students, faculty, and staff members and a secondary clientele of all citizens of the state - should be spending resources on a digital library that is used by many people beyond the primary and secondary service populations.” PeopleIfsWorldShouldMayStatesUsedWonderWonderfulStudentsCitizensMembersResourcesCrisisInstitutionsLibraryUniversityPopulationCurrentsSpendingAround The WorldPrimariesBudgetsBoardsDigitalFacultyStaffAdministratorsTrusteesBoard MembersStaff Members Author:Tom Peters
“As a practical matter, it is hard to think of any society in human history in which a majority population has said that as a consequence of historic wrongs, we are now going to take a big chunk of the nation's resources over a long period of time to make that right.” ThinkingHumansLongSaidMatterHardBigsNationsPeriodsConsequenceResourcesMajorityPopulationPracticalsHistoricHuman HistoryChunksLong Periods Of Time Author:Barack Obama
“Dictatorial regimes often manage to keep themselves in power because they are recognized by foreigners as representing the state and its people, and therefore as entitled to sell the country's natural resources and to borrow money in its people's name. These privileges conferred by foreigners keep autocrats in power despite the fact that they were not elected and do not rule in the interest of the population.” PeopleCountryStatesFactsNamesInterestNaturalResourcesSellsPrivilegePopulationDespiteManageRegimesEntitledForeignersRepresentingNatural Resources Author:Thomas Pogge
“I generally avoid over-population arguments. But there's no question we're in population overshoot. The catch is we're not going to do anything about it. There will be no policy. The usual suspects: starvation, war, disease, will drive the population down. There's little more to say about that really, and it's certainly an unappetizing discussion, but it's probably the truth. In any case, we're in overshoot and we face vast resource scarcities.” LittlesWarFacesCasesPolicyDiseaseResourcesArgumentPopulationDiscussionSuspectsUsualStarvationScarcity Author:James Howard Kunstler
“There's going to be competition because there are not enough resources. Resources grow arithmetically, populations grow exponentially. You can't ever have enough resources and that's the foundation of this idea of competition.” IdeasEnoughGrowsResourcesFoundationCompetitionPopulation Author:Greg Graffin
“There is enough for everyone to have what they need without exploitation. Adequate distribution of resources, including education, without violence can lead to a sustainable system that doesn't stress the ecosphere. Alternately, continued violence feeds population surges and hoarding the products of exploitative extraction, which endanger the survival of our species. In short, if we want a future with humans on Earth, we've got to stop war.” IfsWantNeedsHumansWarEnoughEarthViolenceProductsSurvivalResourcesStressSpeciesIncludingPopulationExploitationDistributionAdequateHoardingExtractionStop War Author:Vern Huffman
“The next decade will perhaps raise us a step above despair to a cleaner, clearer wisdom and biology cannot fail to help in this. As we become increasingly aware of the ethical problems raised by science and technology, the frontiers between the biological and social sciences are clearly of critical importance-in population density and problems of hunger, psychological stress, pollution of the air and water and exhaustion of irreplaceable resources.” HelpingProblemScienceNextSocialWaterStepsTechnologyPsychologyEnvironmentFailingAirDespairResourcesImportanceStressRaisesRaisedEnvironmentalHungerPopulationCriticalDecadesPsychologicalBiologyEthicalPollutionFrontiersExhaustionCleanersScience And TechnologySocial ScienceIrreplaceableDensityAir And WaterPopulation Density Author:H. Bentley Glass
“As agonizing a disease as cancer is, I do not think it can be said that our civilization is threatened by it. ... But a very plausible case can be made that our civilization is fundamentally threatened by the lack of adequate fertility control. Exponential increases of population will dominate any arithmetic increases, even those brought about by heroic technological initiatives, in the availability of food and resources, as Malthus long ago realized.” ThinkingLongMadeSaidScienceCasesCivilizationDiseaseResourcesIncreasePopulationCancerRealizationHeroicInitiativeLong AgoTechnologicalThreatenedAdequateArithmeticPlausibleFertilityAvailabilityAgonizingMalthus Author:Carl Sagan
“It is evident that the fortunes of the world's human population, for better or for worse, are inextricably interrelated with the use that is made of energy resources.” WorldHumansMadeUseEnergyResourcesFortunePopulationEvidentRenewable EnergyHuman Population Author:M. King Hubbert
“What will use more finite resources? That 3rd or 4th child you have or driving a large car? We all need to think about the choices we make” ThinkingNeedsChildrenUseChoicesCarResourcesPopulationDrivingFinite Author:Phil Harding
“Everybody talks about population growth and its disastrous effect on climate change, food security and resource depletion, but nobody does anything about it” DoeGrowthEffectsSecurityResourcesClimateClimate ChangePopulationPopulation GrowthFood SecurityResource Depletion Author:Phil Harding
“Low carbon, resource efficient solutions and halting then reversing population growth are two sides of the same coin” TwoSidesGrowthSolutionsLowsResourcesPopulationEfficientCarbonCoinsTwo SidesPopulation Growth Author:Phil Harding
“It is environmental illiteracy and a complete lack of forward thinking to ignore the need to halt and then reverse population growth in the context of climate change, travel congestion, unaffordable housing, and resource depletion” ThinkingNeedsGrowthResourcesClimateEnvironmentalClimate ChangePopulationReverseHousingHaltIlliteracyPopulation GrowthForward ThinkingCongestionResource Depletion Author:Phil Harding
“The first law of sustainability: population growth and/or growth in the rate of consumption of resources cannot be sustained” FirstsLawGrowthResourcesRatePopulationSustainabilityConsumptionPopulation Growth Author:Albert Allen Bartlett
“Consider the problem of over-population. Rapidly mounting human numbers are pressing ever more heavily on natural resources. What is to be done?... The annual increase of numbers should be reduced. But how? We are given two choices -- famine, pestilence and war on the one hand, birth control on the other. Most of us choose birth control.” ShouldHumansTwoWarDoneProblemHandsChoicesGivenNaturalNumbersBirthResourcesIncreasePopulationFamineNatural ResourcesAnnualsBirth ControlPestilenceTwo Choices Author:Aldous Huxley
“The more people there are, the more food we need, the more space we occupy, the more resources and consumer goods we wish to have and the more development has to take place” PeopleNeedsWishSpaceDevelopmentResourcesPopulationConsumersGoods Author:Prince Philip