Environmental Science 1 (BI131) - Finding Information on Positive or Neutral Aspects of Population Growth

Introduction

It is easy to find literature predicting evil consequences to rapid population growth, but much more difficult to find literature supporting the opposite conclusion. Here are some ways to find "pro" arguments on the topic. There is also a list of sources, based on the BI131 handout.

Julian Simon

The person most associated with the positive position on population growth is Julian L. Simon. In addition to books in the library catalog, there are articles by and about Simon in EBSCOhost (see below), a page of full-text articles and books by Julian Simon on the Internet at http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/.

Searching for periodical Articles:

The Gale databases Academic OneFile and General OneFile many pertinent articles on population. There's more than one way to approach finding them. All methods will require you to do some sifting through the resulting list of citations to find the ones relevant to an optimistic assessment of population growth. Note: When you see the full text or PDF icons in the link beneath the article citation in EBSCOhost, you can view, print, download, or e-mail the article.

A keyword search for Julian Simon or Julian L. Simon will yield many articles discussing his theories and related ones.

Combining terms is another option for finding articles. You can combine terms such as those below on different lines of the search.

Key word	With key word:
Population	economic aspects, econometric models, environmental aspects
Demographic transition	none
Population forecasting	none
Population policy	demographic change

Picture of database advanced search screen

Whatever search strategy you choose, you will have to pick through the resulting list to find articles that support the "pro" position. Look for phrases like "defusing the population bomb," or "the more, the merrier," which suggest a less negative position; or look for words or phrases that suggest going against the general opinion, such as "misconceptions" or "reconsidered."

Here is an explanation of some words you may see in article titles:

Cairo: The United Nations' International Conference on Population and Development, 1994, held in Cairo, Egypt. There was also a followup conference to this original one held in July, 1999 in New York.
Cornucopian: A word used to describe the optimistic views of Julian Simon and others, chiefly by their detractors.
Demographic transition: A change from from high rates of birth and death to low ones, as societies become modern. Some demographers (population experts) believe this change will take place worldwide.
Malthusian: Pertaining to the theories of 18th-century economist Thomas Malthus, who believed that population will inevitably increase faster than food supplies, and that when this happens, starvation, war, and disease will kill off the suplus population.
Revisionist: See "Cornucopian."

Searching for books

Books may be found in the CCRLS library catalog. You may do a Subject search on Population, or you can use combinations of key words such as those shown above.

Resources For Population Debate: Positive Population Growth

This section is intended to supplement the instructional handout listing articles with a "pro" position on population growth. Many of the materials in this list appear on the BI131 class handout.

The list is in arranged sections by type of material. Magazine and journal articles are first, followed by books.

Periodical Articles

The following articles are available electronically on the library's databases, or in print at the Chemeketa library, or both. If you are on a computer connected to Chemeketa's network, clicking on a highlighted title will take you directly to the article.

If you are viewing this page on a computer not connected to Chemeketa's network, you will be prompted to enter your My Chemeketa username and password to access the article.

Abernethy, V. (1994, December). Optimism and overpopulation. 
      Atlantic Monthly, 274, 84 (5 p.). Retrieved November 9, 
      2009, from General OneFile.

Abernethy, V. (2004, September/October). Not tonight, sweetie; no energy. 
      World Watch, 17, 26-30. Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General 
      OneFile databases. N.B. 
      This article is listed under the title, "Population and its discontents" 
      in the BI131 handout.

Apocalypse not. (2005, March). Geographical, 77, 52-53. Retrieved 
      November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database

Ayres, R. (2004, September/October). The economic conundrum of an aging 
      population. World Watch, 17, 45-49. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from 
      General Onefile. N.B. This article is listed under the title, "Population 
      and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.

Barrett, G.W. & Odum, E.P. (2000). The twenty-first century: The world at 
      carrying capacity. Bioscience, 50, 363 (6 p.). Retrieved November 
      28, 2005, from General OneFile.

Bauer, P. T. (1998, Summer). Population growth: Disaster or blessing? 
      Independent Review, 3, 67 (10 p.). Retrieved November 9, 
      2009, from General OneFile.

Becker, G.S., Glasier, E.L., & Murphy, K.M. (1999, May). Population and Economic 
      Growth. American Economic Review, 89, 145 (5 p.).

Berreby, D. (1990, April). The numbers game. Discover 11, 42 (6 p.).

Bongaarts, J. (1998). Demographic consequences of declining fertility. Science 282, 419, 
      (2 p.) Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Cohen, J.E. (1996, April). Ten myths of population. Discover 17, 42. (5 p.).

Cohen, J.E. (2003). Human population: The next half century. Science 
      302, 1172-1175. Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General OneFile database.

Cohen, J.E. (2006, June). Why have children?. Commentary 121, 44-49. Retrieved 
      October 31, 2006, from General OneFile database

Does population matter? (2002, December 7). Does population matter? Economist 365, 74.  
      Retrieved September 24, 2003, from General OneFile database.

Easterbrook, G. (1999, October 11). Reproductivity. New Republic 221, 22 (4 p.).
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from LexisNexis Academic database.

Eberstadt, N. (2006, Winter). Doom and demography. Wilson Quarterly, 30, 
      27-31. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Eberstadt, N. (2005, Spring). Rethinking the population problem.  Public 
      Interest, Issue 159, 139-151. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General 
      OneFile database.

Eberstadt, N. (2000, December). We've Lots of Room for People. American Enterprise 
      11, 48 (2 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile
      database.

Eberstadt, N. (2000, First Quarter). World depopulation: Last one out, turn out 
      the lights. Milliken Institute Review, 36-48. Retrieved November 28, 2000, from
      the World Wide Web: 
      http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/review/2000_3/mir5_30_depop.pdf

Feeney, G. (1994, December 2). Fertility decline in East Asia. Science 266, 1518 (6 p.).
      Retrieved November 9, 2009 from General OneFile database.

Galor, O. & Weil, D.N. (1999). From Malthusian stagnation to modern growth. 
      American Economic Review, 89, 150-4.

Galor, O. & Weil, D.N. (September 2000). Population, technology, and 
      growth: From Malthusian stagnation to the demographic transition and 
      beyond. American Economic Review, 90,  806 (23 p.).

Horiuchi, S. (1992). Stagnation in the decline of the world population growth rate 
      during the 1980s. Science 257, 761 (5 p.).

Hyde, H. A.  (1997, June).  Slow death in the Great Plains. Atlantic Monthly,  279, 
      42 (3 p.). October 28, 2005, from General OneFile database

Lambert, T. (1995, January). What they missed in Cairo: Defusing the population bomb. 
       USA Today Magazine 123, 33.(3 p.) Retrieved November 21, 2000, from General 
       OneFile database

Landsburg, S. E. (1995, May 22). The more, the merrier. Forbes 155, 166.
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database

Lomborg, B. (2002, December 21). How healthy is the world? [Electronic version] 
      BMJ: British Medical Journal 32, 1461-1466. Also available
      on PubMed Central.

Longman, P. (2004, May 31). Everywhere, even in Africa, the world is running out of 
      children. New Statesman, 133, 27-29. Retrieved November 9, 2009, 
      from enral Onefile database

Longman, P. (2004, May). The Global Baby Bust. Foreign Affairs, 83, 64 (16 p.).  
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Longman, P. (2004, April 19). Which nations will go forth and multiply? Fortune 149, 
      60 (2 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from Academic OneFile database.

Mandel, M. (2004, September 13). Productivity trumps demographics. Business 
      Week Online. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from Academic 
      PneFile database.

Mandel, M.J. (2005, January 31). Productivity can make up the gap. Business Week, 48. 
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from Academic OneFile database.

McKibben, B. (1998, May). A special moment in history. Atlantic Monthly, 281, 55. 
      Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General OneFile database.

McKibben, B. (1999, November/December). Taking the pulse of the planet.
      Audubon 101, 104-110. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from
      General OneFile database.

McNeil Jr., Donald G. (2004, August 29). Demographic 'Bomb' May Only Go 'Pop!'. 
      New York Times 153, Section 4, p. 1. Retrieved from
      LexisNexis Academic database.

Moffett, G.  (1994, Summer). The population question revisited. Wilson Quarterly  18, 54 
      (24 p.) Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Moore, S. (1998, March 9). Julian Simon, RIP. National Review 50, 22. (2 p.).
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Moore, S. (1999, October 25). Body Count. National Review 51, 45 (5 p.).
	Retrieved November 22, 2000, from General Onefile database.

Moore, S. (2003, August). Julian the Great.  American Spectator 36, 53 (3 p.). 
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from LexisNexis Academic database.

Nierenberg, D. (2004, September/October). The population story ... so far. 
      World Watch 17, 14-17. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General 
      OneFile database. N.B. This is listed under the title, 
      "Population and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.

Olshansky, S. J. & Carnes, B. A. (1993, April). The aging of the human species. Scientific 
      American  268,  46 (7 p.).

Pearce, F. (1999, December). Counting Down. World Press Review 46, 13 2 p.).

Piel, G. (1994, March 21). Defusing the 'Population Bomb.' Nation 258, 376-380.
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General Onefile.

Population Problem Exaggerated, Critics Say. (2003, June 20). Issues &
      Controversies On File. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from 
      Issues & Controversies@FACTS.com.

Riche, M. (2004, September/October). Low fertility and sustainability. 
      World Watch 17, 45-49. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General 
      OneFile database. N.B. This is listed under the title, 
      "Population and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.

Robey, B. & Rutstein, S. O. (1993, December). The fertility decline in developing
      countries. Scientific American 269, 60, (8 p.).

Roney, S. (2001, December 17). Why (apart from self-interest) does the UN cry 
      alarm about 'overpopulation'?. Report/Newsmagazine 28 (Natl. Edition), 46.
      Retrieved September 29, 2004, from General OneFile database.

Rubenstein, E. (1990, December 17). The more the merrier.  National Review, 14.  Retrieved 
      November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Simon, J. (1994, April). More people, greater wealth, more resources, healthier 
      environment. Economic Affairs, (Article 3.
      While not available in its journal form, Simon's manuscript is available at: 
      http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Articles/POPENVI2.txt.

Articles by Julian Simon on the Julian 
     Simon site at http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Articles/.

Simon, J. (1995, December 24). Population growth is our greatest triumph. Popular 
      University  (4 p.)  
      This is available in the form of Simon's manuscript at 
      http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Articles/POPUNENV.txt

Simon, J. L. (1996, Febrauary). The state of humanity: Steadily improving. Current 380, p. 8-11.

Simon, J. L (1997, March/April). The global environment: 
       megaproblem or not?. Futurist, 31, 17 (2 p.) Retrieved November 
      21, 2000, from General OneFile database

Singer, M. (1999, August). The population surprise. Atlantic Monthly, 284 
      22 (3 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from

The following three articles are listed under the single title: "Are people the problem?" in the reading list:

Stafford, T. (1994, October 3).  The bet.  Christianity Today 38, 46-52.
      Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Stafford, T. (1994, October 3). India: A success story.  Christianity Today 38, 53-55.
     Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Stafford, T. (1994, October 3). Thus saith the Lord.  Christianity Today 38, 56-60.
     Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Trends Halting Population Growth. (2004, September). Futurist, 38, 15 (2 p.). Retrieved 
      November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

The truth about the environment. (2001, August 4).  Economist, 360.  
     Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.

Wattenberg, B. (2005, January/February). Never mind the population explosion.  
      American Enterprise, 16, 28-31. Retrieved February 22, 2006, from EBSCOhost 
      Academic Search Premier database (Article Number 16845740).

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Books

The following books are listed in the CCRLS catalog as being at Chemeketa or available for request from another CCRLS location. (See Requesting Materials for instructions on how to do this.) Some are available on the World Wide Web, as indicated:

Bloom, D.E., Canning, D. & Sevilla, J. (2003). The Demographic Dividend: A New 
      Perspective on the Economic Consequences of Population Change. Santa Monica:
      Rand. Retrieved September 24, 2003, from the World Wide Web at 
      http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1274/index.html

Cohen, J.E. (1995). How many people can the earth support? New York: Norton.

Easterlin, R.A. (1996). Growth triumphant: The twenty-first century 
      in historical perspective. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

Egendorf, L. (Ed.). (2005). The environment: Opposing viewpoints. 
      Detroit: Greenhaven.

Grant, L.  (1996). Juggernaut: Growth on a finite planet.  Santa Ana, CA: 
      Seven Locks Press.

Harrison, P. & Pearce, F. (2000). AAAS atlas of population & environment.  
      Berkeley, CA : University of California Press.

Hohm, C.F. & Jones, L.J. (Eds.). (2000). Population: Opposing viewpoints.
      San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

Kahn, H., Brown, W., & Martel, L. (1976). The next 200 years : a scenario 
      for America and the world.  New York: Morrow.

Lomborg, B. (2001). The skeptical environmentalist: measuring the real state
      of the world. New York: Cambridge.

Longman, P. (2004). The empty cradle: How falling birthrates threaten 
      world prosperity and what to do about it. New York: Basic Books, 2004.

Markley, O.W. & McCuan, W.R. (Eds.). (1996). 21st century Earth: Opposing
      viewpoints.  San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

Meyers, N. & Simon, J. (1994). Scarcity or abundance?. New York: Norton
      This book is available in manuscript form at 
      http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Norton/.

Simon, J.L. (1981). The ultimate resource. Princeton: Princeton University
      Press.

Simon, J.L. (1996). The ultimate resource 2. Princeton: Princeton University
      Press.
      This book is online in manuscript form at:
      http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Ultimate_Resource/

Simon, J.L. (Ed.). (1995). The state of humanity.. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell 
      in association with the Cato Institute.

Simon, J.L. & Kahn, H. (Eds.). (1984). The Resourceful earth: a response 
      to Global 2000. New York: B. Blackwell, 1984.

Weber, J.A. (1977). Grow or die!. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House.

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The following books are not available in the CCRLS system, but may be requested through Summit on interlibrary loan. (See About Summit for more information.)

Bailey, R. (1993).  Ecoscam: The false prophets of ecological Apocalpyse.  New York:
      St. Martin's Press.

Cassen, R., et al. (1994).  Population and development: Old debates, new conclusions.
      New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press.

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Address of this page: http://library.chemeketa.edu/instruction/handouts/BI131.htm

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