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Summer 2009

Population
volume 24 no. 2

Journal

cover, spring 2009 thumbnail

From the Editor

At least since the days of Malthus, people have wondered when the planet will be too full of people. During the last several generations – as the number of humans has grown exponentially and our use of resources has skyrocketed – the question has taken on particular force. This place can feel intolerably crowded, and it seems only reasonable to ask: How many more souls can we possibly fit?

But I think that to wonder in 2009 when Earth will be overpopulated misses the point. It seems obvious to me at least that we are already well past full. The clearest proof of that are the 1.1 billion people who live without …more

Contents

Features
Border War
Immigration Is a Political Minefield. Can Environmentalists Have a Reasoned Debate on the Issue?
by Kari Lydersen
Features
Hold Steady
If the Population Were to Shrink, What Would That Mean for an Economy Based on Growth?
by Deborah Rich and Jason Mark
Features
The Vindication of a Public Scholar
Forty Years After The Population Bomb Ignited Controversy, Paul Ehrlich Continues to Stir Debate
by Tom Turner
From the Editor: A Numbers Game
Letters & E-mails: Feedback
Around the World: Local News from All Over
Temperature Gauge: Notes from a warming world
Spyhopping: Planet Girth
by Gar Smith
Earth Island News: Projects
Earth Island News: Energy Action
Victory by Degrees
Earth Island News: Women’s Earth Alliance
When Women Thrive, Communities Thrive
Earth Island News: Restoration Initiatives
Economic Crisis Whacks CA Programs
Reports: Sex Sells
A Tiny Nonprofit Uses Mass Media to Encourage Family Planning
by Jason Mark
Reports: A Population Bomb
Too Many People and Too Few Resources Lead to Bloodshed in the Philippines
by Brad Miller
1,000 Words: Trash Compactor
Eco-artist Tim Gaudreau
Reports: The Division Over Multiplication
by Audrey Webb
Conversation: Lester Brown
Reports: Last Stand in the Kunuku
One Woman’s Battle to Save Her Island’s Plants and Culture
by Patrick Holian
In Review: Fuel
Directed by Josh Tickell; Josh Tickell Productions
89 minutes
In Review: Going Green
Edited by Laura Pritchett, 209 pages, University of Oklahoma Press, 2009
In Review: Deeply Rooted
by Lisa Hamilton
306 pages, Counterpoint Press, 2009
In Review: More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want
by Robert Engelman
303 pages, Island Press, 2008
Voices: The Kindest Cut
by Matt Leonard

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