Why it is high time for the Graham Sustainability Institute to include Population stabilization on its (policy, research) agenda Katta G. Murty IOE Emeritus Professor http:www-personal.umich.edu/ ~ murty/

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Why it is high time for the GrahamSustainability
Institute to include Population stabilization on
its (policy,research) agendaKatta G. MurtyIOE
Emeritus Professorhttpwww-personal.umich.edu/
murty/
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• Did God create this vast Mother Earth
• all these marvelous living creatures on it
• for humans to make other creatures extinct
• and fill the earth to the brim with humans????

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What is Sustainability

• Sustainability science of using natural
  resources so they last, remain available, for a
  long time.
• Refers to life style using sustainable methods,
  making sure we will have Water, materials,
  resources for present future generations.
• Requires responsible decision making, meeting
  needs of present, not compromising ability of
  future generations meeting their needs. To ensure
  desirable planet for all species now, into
  future.

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The role of GHG (Green House Gas)emissions

• IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
  concluded from 3 massive studies, that GHG
  emissions from human activities causing climate
  change conditions difficult for society to cope.
• Sustainability requires meeting present needs
  without degrading natural environment. New threat
  to this from Human greenhouse effect, from forest
  clearing, GHG emissions from burning of fossil
  fuels.

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Role of population

• Let I environmental impact (in some units)
  caused by humans
• P population size
• A Units of environmental impact by average
  human.
• Then I P x A (1)
• A depends on lifestyle and technology used for
  that lifestyle, can be reduced by improving
  technology in use.
• All research effort today focused only on
  reducing A, totally ignoring P.

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Effects on ecosystems from presentpopulation

• Making food for current 7 billion population
  heavy toll on earth's resources, uses 40 land
  surface, moving many sea creatures closer to
  extinction.
• Edward Osborne Wilson, Harvard entomologist
  Pulitzer Prize Winner (natural heir to Darwin)
  breaks ground for construction of a big castle in
  England, to pay tribute to species made extinct
  by humans.

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• Millennium ecosystems assessment by International
  panel of 1000 biologists says Of 24 ecosystems,
  only 4 stable, 15 in serious decline, 5 in
  precarious condition. Present human activities
  having significant negative impact on
  biodiversity of world ecosystems. Major cause
  habitat loss from human appropriation of land.
• Indicates humans already living beyond carrying
  capacity of Mother Earth.

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Situation Analysis, Population projections

• Already water shortages in many countries. Even
  Brazil, containing world's largest river, Amazon,
  has severe water shortages.
• Entire Middle East survives on desalinated water,
  making which leads to enormous GHG emissions.
  Even USA has desalination plants, so does India.
• Projections by UN Population division say even
  with stringent actions by world govts.,
  population will reach 9 billion by 2050, between
  10 to 12 billion by 2100 (Science 10 Oct 14 PP
  234-237) .

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Consequences

• High correlation bet. population growth
  environmental degradation. As population , to
  provide basic essentials for these people local
  ecosystems .
• From eq. (1), we see that GHG emissions control
  not possible by making technology super efficient
  alone because reductions from efficient
  technology not enough to offset increases
  necessary to serve growing population.

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Population growth global problem

• US birth rate presently below replacement level,
  but US population from illegal immigration
  from south of border. Given human ingenuity, Very
  hard to stop illegal immigration.
• So population growth global problem, has to be
  tackled globally.
• Most countries look to US for leadership. So if
  US adopts population stabilization as our
  national policy, good chance other countries will
  follow. China already had this.

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Population stabilization in missionstatement

• Name sustainability concerns specification of
  actions by present generation, making sure to not
  diminish prospects of future generations enjoying
  comfortable lifestyle.
• For all these reasons, with your name Graham
  Sustainability Institute, it is high time to
  include population stabilization in your mission,
  planning and research agenda.

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What can we do?

• Need your help in contacting key people in US
  Govt. to get Population Stabilization as our
  National policy

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Great New Research Opportunities

• So far, we have always had Economic growth, and
  consequent job growth. We became accustomed to
  economic growth, and always envy countries with
  high economic growth.
• Part of the present economic growth comes from
  population growth.
• As population stabilizes, we cannot take economic
  growth, job growth, for granted. A new research
  topic is the study of how world can adopt to the
  conditions under a stable population.