Human carrying capacity . . .

The following link is to a brief article that discusses Cohen's book and some of the problems with the concept of "carrying capacity" as applied to human population. Here's a brief excerpt:

One of the central debates in population literature centers on what the maximum carrying capacity of the Earth is and whether we’re below or above that level (or are likely to be in the future). Doomsayers like Paul Ehrlich and Garrett Hardin seem to think the Earth has already exceeded its carrying capacity while their critics such as Julian Simon seem to believe the carrying capacity of the planet is infinite. But as demographer Joel Cohen points out in How Many People Can the Earth Support?, the real problem is with the concept of carrying capacity itself -- "on examination, none of the existing concepts of carrying capacity in basic or applied ecology turns out to be adequate for the human population" (Cohen 1995, p.237).

fyi. Use the blog to pass along items of interest, commentary, discussion, disagreement and argument (keep it polite of course!), but have fun with it. Pictures too.

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone.
Jim