Take a position on any of these alternative views regarding overpopulation (use any relevant source).

1. Is the high birthrates in less-developed countries the cause of poverty or is it the poverty that causes high birthrates in these countries?
Read Sarre and Blunden, 1995

2. Do you think the best way to improve the condition of women in lesser-developed countries is to improve their general economies, or that economies will not improve until the status of women improves.
Read Ornstein and Ehrlich, 1989.

3. Do you think that any form of birth control is morally correct (is it really a moral issue?), and do you think that governments should be involved in any way, either mandating, supporting, or preventing the practice of birth control by individuals?

4. Do you think that industrial countries should provide aid to lesser-developed countries if those countries do not make efforts to control their own population growth?
Read: Ornstein and Ehrlich, 1989, Hardin, 1993, and Sarre and Blunden, 1995.

5. What are the pros and cons of the limited open-door immigration policy of the United States as a way of international resource sharing and wealth distribution?

6. The low birthrates and increased life expectancy in the more-developed countries result in a high proportion of old people. In contrast, the less-developed countries have a large proportion of young people. Suggest ways to mitigate the potential socioeconomic problems related to these demographic conditions.

7. A growing imbalance beween population size and available water supplies is eliminating the option of food self-sufficiency in more and more countires.
Read: Water for Food Production, By: Sandra Postel, 1998, Bioscience, v. 48, no. 8, p. 629-637.
Alternative view: Countries wothout such problems should not care about these inefficient countries!

8. An increasing population, more advanced technology, and rising pollution levels are all contributing factors to changes in the Earth's atmosphere.
Read: The Verdict (Almost) In, by: Carl Zimmer, .1996, Discover Magazine.
Alternative view: The changes in the atmosphere are real;y figments of imagination; they don't exist

References:
Harper, C.L., 1996. Environment and Society: Human perspectives on environmental issues. Prentice Hall.
McConnell, R.L., & Abel, D.C., 1999. Environmental Issues: Measuring, Analyzing, and Evaluating. Prentice Hall.
Rogers J.J.W., & Feiss, P.G., 1998. People and The Earth - Basic issues in the sustainability of resources and environment. Cambridge Univ. Press
Boucher D.H., 1999. The Paradox of Plenty. Food First Books.

1. Given the current state of fossil fuel reserves, politics, prices, and environmental drawbacks, is it better for us to:

• Seriously consider transferring to alternative energy resources (i.e., put extra effort to legislate as well as making them marketable), or
• Continue with the same resources but improve our energy efficiency over the next 30 years.

2. You live in an oil-importing country. What do you think should be done?
· Nothing. Your countries economy is strong enough that you can continue to import.
· Reduce the use of oil by developing alternative energy sources, particularly for automobiles and other forms of transportation.
· Invade a country that has abundant reserves. We are not suggesting this, however, this has been done (invasion of Iran and Kuwait by Iraq), or suggested by Rand Corporation to the US to invade Saudi Arabaia
Read Hunt (1979), and Shell Oil Co., 1983; American Petroleum Institute (annual) coal - Gordon (1987).

3. Are you opposed to nuclear energy because reactors are dangerous and produce dangerous waste?
Are you in favor of nuclear energy because it releases us from dependence on oil and coal, and much of the industrial world already depends on it? Read Rhodes (1986) and Mounfield, 1991.

4. If the industrial countries can maintain their present standard of living only by producing toxic waste and/or by distributing hazardous pesticides, then which of the following attitudes is closest to yours?

a. We should continue our present industrial economy because pollution from hazardous chemicals is not high enough to be serious.

b. We should continue our present industrial economy because new technologies will soon enable us to reduce emission of toxic chemicals without affecting economic productivity.

c. We should reduce emission as much as possible even if it means a decline in our standard of living.

5. How much energy, and what type of energy sources, do you expect to use 25 years from now?

1. Which of the following policies on groundwater extraction would you prefer?
Read: Shaw (1983), Mather (1984), Smith (1989), Kromm and White (1992), Price (1996).

a. Ignore environmental degradation and continue groundwater extraction until there is nothing left to pump.

b. Let the price of groundwater rise, thus presumably reducing water use, and use some of the money to restore the environment and to do research on methods of water conservation.

c. Require action by local and national governments to restrict groundwater use and, hopefully, begin to replenish aquifers.

2. Do you or your community use more water than you should? If so, how might you or the community reduce this use?

3. If water resources are scarce, should they be allocated by the free market, with people and businesses who have the most money getting the water that they want, or by government allocation (rationing)?

4. What should people do if they discover that their community, state or province, or country is using more river water than is really available?

5. Do you know of any water-allocation laws affecting you, your community, or your country that you think should be changed?