POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT

United States of America (New York) 91

JULY 1997 - VOLUME 18, NUMBER 6

98.91.10 - English - Herschel ELLIOTT, University of Florida, Chateauguay Road, Barnard, VT 05031-0175 (U.S.A.)

A general statement of the Tragedy of the Commons (p. 515-531)

Although "The Tragedy of the Commons" is widely acclaimed, activists in environmental causes as well as professionals in ethics continue to act as if the essay had never been written. They ignore the central thesis that traditional, a priori thinking in ethics is mistaken and must be discarded. Hence the need remains to give the tragedy of the commons a more general statement - one which can convince a wide public of the correctness of its method and principles. In essence Hardin's essay is a thought experiment. Its purpose is not to make a historical statement but rather to demonstrate that tragic consequences can follow from practicing mistaken moral theories. Then it proposes a system-sensitive ethics that can prevent tragedy. The general statement of the tragedy of the commons demonstrates that an a priori ethics constructed on human-centered, moral principles and a definition of equal justice cannot prevent and indeed always supports growth in population and consumption. Such growth, though not inevitable, is a constant threat. If continual growth should ever occur, it eventually causes the breakdown of the ecosystems which support civilization. Henceforth, any viable ethics must satisfy these related requirements: (1) An acceptable system of ethics is contingent on its ability to preserve the ecosystems which sustain it. (2) Biological necessity has a veto over the behavior which any set of moral beliefs can allow or require. (3) Biological success is a necessary (though not a sufficient) condition for any acceptable ethical theory. In summary, no ethics can be grounded in biological impossibility; no ethics can require ethical behavior that ends all further ethical behavior. Clearly any ethics which tries to do so is mistaken; it is wrong. (ETHICS, THEORY, POPULATION GROWTH, CONSUMPTION)

98.91.11 - English - Jack MARTIN and Scipio GARLING, Federation of American Immigration Reform, 1666 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009 (U.S.A.)

Behind the curtain: Julian Simon's manipulation of immigration studies (p. 533-559)

The Cato Institute-published study by Julian Simon, Immigration: The Demographic and Economic Facts (1995), is a fifty page amalgam of Simon's analysis, extracts from studies by other immigration researchers, and tables and charts that might intimidate some readers into believing that it is a work of original scholarship and represents new academic research findings on the effects of immigration. Rather it is a repackaging of arguments and selective earlier data, often out of date or meaningless because of the way that it is selected and manipulated. (IMMIGRATION, RESEARCH)

98.91.12 - English - League of Women Voters Population Coalition, 1476 N. Indian Hill Blvd., Claremont, CA 91711 (U.S.A.)

Why population matters (p. 561-563)

Population growth around the world affects Americans through its impact on the economy, the environment, and the world our children will inherit. This explains why population growth is important and why the U.S. government provides assistance (roughly $500 million annually, or $2 per American) for population programs in developing countries. These programs help couples to use family planning when they want to, thereby reducing birthrates, protecting the health of women, and strengthening families. (UNITED STATES, WORLD POPULATION, POPULATION GROWTH, AID PROGRAMMES)

98.91.13 - English - J. Kenneth SMAIL, Department of Anthropology, Olof Palme House, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022-9623 (U.S.A.)

Averting the 21st century's demographic crisis: Can human numbers be reduced by 75%? (p. 565-580)

My position is simply stated. Within the next half-century, it will be essential for the human species to have fully operational a flexibly designed, essentially voluntary, broadly equitable and internationally coordinated set of initiatives focussed on reducing the then-current world population by at least 75%. Given that even with the best of intentions it will take considerable time, exceptional patience and consummate diplomatic skill to develop and implement such an undertaking, probably on the order of 25 to 50 years, it is important that this process of voluntary consensus building - local, national and global - begin now. (POPULATION PROJECTIONS, POPULATION DYNAMICS, POPULATION SIZE)

SEPTEMBER 1997 - VOLUME 19, NUMBER 1

98.91.14 - English - David PIMENTEL, Xuewen HUANG, Ana CORDOVA and Marcia PIMENTEL, Cornell University, 5126 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-0901 (U.S.A.)

Impact of population growth on food supplies and environment (p. 9-14)

The authors try to measure the importance of the food problem in the world, which will become increasingly severe the next decades. (WORLD POPULATION, ENVIRONMENT, FOOD SUPPLY)

98.91.15 - English - B. Meredith BURKE, The Hoover Institution, 443 Tennessee Lane, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (U.S.A.)

Trends and compositional changes in fertility: California circa 1970-1990 (p. 15-51)

Since 1970 California has been the prime destination of the high numbers of both legal and illegal U.S. entrants. Fertility consequences have been dramatic. Births to U.S.-born women, after the decline in the 1970s and mild rebound in the 1980s, neared the 1970 level of 325,000. Yet total births rose from 360,000 to 600,000 in 1992. White non-Hispanic women bore nearly 70% of births in 1970 but 38% in 1992. In the same period the proportion of births to U.S. natives fell from 89% to 56%. The author describes these trends in detail and makes a distinction between the various origins of the immigrant mothers. In 1992 California's TFR was 2.42 - 18% above the U.S. average. It presages a sharp increase in births beginning in 2000. (UNITED STATES, STATE, IMMIGRANTS, DIFFERENTIAL FERTILITY, FERTILITY TRENDS)

98.91.16 - English - William H. FREY, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, 1225 South University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2590 (U.S.A.)

Immigration, welfare magnets and the geography of child poverty in the United States (p. 53-86)

This study presents a detailed look at the immigration and internal migration dynamics of child poverty for US States based on the 1990 US census. It assesses the impact of two policy-relevant factors on the migration of poor children across States: (1) the role of high immigration levels as a potential 'push' for native-born and longer-term resident poor children whose parents may be reacting to the economic competition or social costs in high immigration States; and (2) the role of State AFDC benefits as a potential 'pull' for poor children who migrate with their parents to States with higher benefit levels. The results make plain that the interstate migration patterns of poverty children differ from those of nonpoverty children, especially among whites and blacks. Female-headed households show different inter-state migration patterns than those in married-couple households. However, a multivariate analysis which includes standard state-level economic attributes provides more support for an 'immigration push' than for a 'welfare magnet pull' in affecting the inter-state migration of poor children. The findings also show a demographic displacement of poor children occurring in high immigration States where the net out-migration of poor children is more than compensated by larger numbers of new immigrant children in poor families with different demographic attributes. Because of these migration dynamics, the demographic profile of the child poverty population will differ across States, suggesting the need for different strategies toward reducing child poverty at the State level. (UNITED STATES, CHILDREN, POVERTY, INTERNAL MIGRATION, IMMIGRATION, SOCIAL SECURITY)

NOVEMBER 1997 - VOLUME 19, NUMBER 2

98.91.17 - English - Linda H. THOM, 1236 Camino Palomera, Santa Barbara, CA 93111 (U.S.A.)

The cuckoo's egg: How the U.S. Department of Education is misleading America about immigration's impact on our nation's schools (p. 119-127)

The continual rise in the education rates in the US has outstripped all forecasts. It can easily be demonstrated that the main determinant of this phenomenon is immigration, but the US Government is attempting to deny the significance of its role. (UNITED STATES, IMMIGRATION, SCHOOL POPULATION, GOVERNMENT POLICY)

98.91.18 - English - David SIMCOX, Migration Demographics, 9835 Timberwood Circle, Louisville, KY 40223 (U.S.A.)

Major predictors of immigration restrictionism: Operationalizing "nativism" (p. 129-143)

Over the last thirty or so years, American public opinion has become more and more favourable towards a restrictive immigration policy. During the 1980s and 1990s, various reforms have reinforced this trend, whether at a federal level or a State level. The author attempts to identify the main determinants associated with this trend in public opinion. (UNITED STATES, IMMIGRATION POLICY, PUBLIC OPINION)

98.91.19 - English - Thomas T. POLEMAN, Department of Agricultural, Resource, and Managerial Economics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7801 (U.S.A.)

Recent trends in food availability and nutritional wellbeing (p. 145-165)

This paper notes that, despite a doubling of the world's population, the past half century has witnessed marked improvements in per capita food availabilities and nutritional wellbeing in most parts of the globe. Aggregate diet quality has gone up in most developing countries and the incidence of child malnourishment and infant mortality has declined sharply. For the two groups falling outside of these generalizations - those living in Sub-Saharan Africa and the more impoverished of the three countries of the Indian subcontinent - remedial action lies less with agriculture than in political reform (Africa) and more and better paying jobs (Asia). (WORLD POPULATION, FOOD SUPPLY)

98.91.20 - English - Norman MYERS, Oxford University, Upper Meadow, Old Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 8SZ (U.K.)

Environmental refugees (p. 167-182)

There are fast-growing numbers of people who can no longer gain a secure livelihood in their homelands because of drought, soil erosion, desertification, deforestation and other environmental problems. In their desperation, these 'environmental refugees' - as they are increasingly coming to be known and as they are termed in this paper - feel they have no alternative but to seek sanctuary elsewhere, however hazardous the attempt. Not all of them have fled their countries, many being internally displaced. But all have abandoned their homelands on a semi-permanent if not permanent basis, having little hope of a foreseeable return. (MIGRATION, REFUGEES, ENVIRONMENT)

Back to Home page