Population, resources, environment; issues in human ecology 2. ed

Contents 1 The crisis I 2 Numbers of people 5 Birth and death rates 8 Growth rate 8 History of population growth 9 3 Population structure and projection 27 Age composition 27 Age-specific vital rates and the potential for population growth 36 NRR, ZPG, and NPG 37 Distribution 39 Urbanization 43 Demographic projections 47 North America 51 Latin America 52 Europe 52 Africa 53 Asia 53 Projected changes in density and distribution 54 X CONTENTS 4 The limits of the Earth 59 Outer space 60 Heat 61 Energy 61 Nonrenewable mineral resources 69 Water 75 Forests 78 Food and nutrition 80 A hungry world 82 Common deficiency diseases 89 Implications of severe malnutrition and hunger 92 The picture in America 93 5 Food production lo1 Solar energy and food 101 Recent history of agricultural production 109 Amount of land under cultivation 1 13 Improving yields on land 119 Food from the sea 125 Novel sources of food 134 Reduction of food losses 137 Should we be pessimistic? 13 8 6 Environmental threats to man 14s Air pollution 146 Air pollution and population growth 152 Water pollution 156 Solid wastes 159 Pesticides and related compounds 160 Pollution by heavy metals 165 Lead 165 Mercury 167 Cadmium, arsenic, and other heavy metals 169 Fluoride pollution 170 Radiation 17 1 Chemical mutagens 174 Geological hazards 175 Noise pollution 176 The environment of modern cities 177 Aesthetic considerations 180 The epidemiological environment 1 8 1 7 Ecosystems in jeopardy 193 Food webs 194 Concentration of toxic substances in ecosystems 195 Biogeochemical cycles 197 Carbon cycle 197 Nitrogen cycle 199 Phosphorus cycle 200 Modifying ecosystems 202 Insecticides and ecosystems 204 Side-effects of insecticides 208 Agriculture, ecology, and insect control 2 12 Alternatives to present patterns of insect control 218 Pollutants, plankton, and marine food chains 219 Pollutants and soils 222 Herbicides and ecosystems 224 Nitrogen, phosphates, and ecosystems 229 Pollutants and the atmosphere 233 Thermal pollution and local climates 234 Global climate and human influences 237 Ecological accounting 242 Unrecognized costs of overpopulation 242 Thermonuclear warfare 243 8 Optimum population and human biology 255 People versus Earth 256 Optima and environment 256 Population growth and environmental deterioration 259 Evolution and human reproduction 266 The natural environment of man 268 Determining an optimum 272 xii CONTENTS 9 Birthcontrol 277 History 277 Conventional methods 279 The condom 280 The diaphragm 280 The cervical cap 28 1 Spermicidal agents 28 1 Rhythm 281 The pill 282 The IUD 284 Sterilization 286 Abortion 289 Possibilities for the future 295 Progestins 295 The morning-after pill 297 Prostaglandins 297 Other chemical methods 298 Methods for men 298 Research and development 299 10 Family planning and population control 305 Family planning in the DCs 305 Family planning in the UDCs 3 10 Attitudes and birth rates 3 18 Population growth in the United States 320 Changes in age composition 325 Distribution and the new cities 326 U.S. population policies 327 Population control 329 Measures for population control 334 Socioeconomic measures 335 Involuntary fertility control 33 8 Population control and attitudes 340 11 Social, political, and economic changes 347 Religion 348 Science and technology 353 The conservation movement 356 Education 357 The legal system 363 Pollution : Nuisance 3 64 Pollution: Trespass 365 Pollution: Legislation and administrative agencies 366 Population: The power of government 368 Population: Individual rights 369 Population: A program for legal reform 372 Business, industry, and advertising 373 Medicine 376 Transportation and communications 377 Economic and political change 379 Gross national product and economic growthmanship 3 80 Population, overproduction, and employment 3 84 Personal freedom and the quality of life 386 Economics and the politics of the environment 3 88 12 The international scene 403 Development, exploitation, and aid 405 Latin America and the United States 406 Development and the environment 408 The soft state 410 Development: A new approach 4 11 Foreign aid 414 Semi-development 4 1 5 De-development 4 19 International politics 421 War 425 Population, resources, and war 425 International conflict in the nuclear age 427 Conventional arms 432 International controls 432 13 Conclusions 441 Summary 441 Recommendations: A positive program 442 xiv CONTENTS About this book 445 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 447 APPENDIXES 449 1. World demographic data 449 2. Population estimates 1960-2000 455 3. The essential nutrients 464 4. The fire ant program : An ecological case study 470 5. Some important pesticides 474 6. Reproductive anatomy and physiology 479 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 483 INDEX 489