This document discusses several theories related to population growth and carrying capacity of the Earth: - Cornucopians believe that continued technological progress will allow humanity to meet its material needs and support continued population growth, even drawing on outer space for resources. - Malthusians argue that population growth will eventually outpace the Earth's ability to produce food and resources, leading to scarcity. - William Catton's overshoot theory holds that humanity has already exceeded the planet's carrying capacity through environmental damage from overconsumption. - Ester Boserup believed that population growth enables agricultural innovations to increase food production through more intensive farming methods. - The Club of Rome warned in 1972 that based on

1. Bimal Antony
&
Chinnu Jaison
1st MSW
School of Social Work

2. Population is the collection of people or organisms of a
particular species living in a given geographic area.
Population growth is the increase in the number of
members of a population over a given time. A typical time
frame for calculating growth is yearly.

3. Malthus
Modern Theory of Population
Cornucopian
Bogue
Catton
Boserup
Club of Rome

4. Definition:
A cornucopian Is someone who believes that continued
progress and provision of material items for mankind can
be met by advances in technology.

5. They believe that there is enough matter and
energy on the Earth to support the peaking growth
of the population
They believe that outer-space will give humanity
almost unlimited room for growth.
There is no historical evidence that society will run
out of resources.
Faith in the human ability to find technological
innovations to carry the increased capacity of the
human population.

6. The population grows only in response to the
Earth’s ability to support a larger population.
Over time, society naturally limits or increases its
population
Theory of demographic regulation

7. Is an expansion on the Malthus view
Phantom Carrying Capacity: is when the population
is using non-renewable resources that while they
sustain the current generation, will not be enough
for the next to survive.
This is directly related to the Overshoot theory.
William Catton believes that Earth’s carry capacity
has exceeded at the expense of environmental
damage.

8. An overshoot condition
occurs when the
population growth rate
exceeds the planets
carrying capacity. At this
point, the population
will start to die out and
eventually even out with
the carrying capacity
again.
The biggest problem
with this situation is that
the actual carrying
capacity will be
significantly decreased
due to the planets
environmental damage.

9. Population growth has enabled agricultural
development to occur
People will find ways to increase the production of food
by increasing workforce, machinery, fertilizers, etc.
Fertility of land will be maintained when population is
low
Changes in technology helped in developing high yield
crops

10. Founded in April 1968 by Aurelio Peccei, an Italian
scholar and industrialist, and Alexander King, a
Scottish scientist
Published the book ‘The Limits to Growth’ in 1972
If present growth trends in the world continue, the
limits to growth on this planet will be reached
sometime in the next 100 years
The result will be sudden and uncontrollable
decline in both population and industrial capacity

12. htttp://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/4735
http://home.ica.net/~drw/pop13a.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/HNurton/population-
theories