Population, Technology, and the Human Environment: A Thread through Time
Author(s)
Kates, Robert W.
Abstract
Thomas Malthus’s theories about exponential population growth have influenced all subsequent research on human environment. However, recent studies have focused on variables that Malthus did not take into account such as levels of affluence, birth control and the influence of education on birth rates. An examination of population through four temporal periods, ages, millennia, centuries and decades, reveals that we are in the midst of a final stage of a massive demographic transition. Most experts predict that world population will double in the next few decades reaching between 8-12 billion in the 21st century, then stabilizing late in the century.
