Overview

In September 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development was held in Cairo to report to the world that the gravest problem facing our planet today is that there are too many of us for our planet's resources to sustain. Over-population threatens our existence as a species more than any disease, any shortage of resources, any political or military power, but these dilemmas do contribute to the population crisis, rendering it more and more frightening. By the year 2050 the populations of many destitute countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Mexico, Iran and India - which presently nears a population of 1 billion people) will just about double, and the governments and social services in these countries are already taxed beyond their capacities. Through the stories of families and individuals the author meets, he aims to convey the urgency of the over-population crisis and the extent of the damage it could wreak. In this book he presents his discussions with a Palestinian farmer whose water supply is dwindling; an Indian woman, newly empowered by literacy and family planning methods, who learns she can choose not to have more children; a cleric in Brazil trapped between Papal declarations against contraception and the realization that the number of undernourished children in his cramped urban parish is alarming. While illustrating the factors and history behind the population problem, the author simultaneously exposes what governments and citizens could be doing to improve the situation.

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9780140232264

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Reviews

Illuminates the population problem in poor nations in terms of real people rather than just large numbers.... A book to read, enjoy, and learn from. --Paul R. Ehrlich, Los Angeles Times Book Review Vividly conveys the population-driven environmental, social, political, and economic disintegration that is occurring worldwide --Scientific American Brings into stark relief the effects of over-population on the lives of real people. --Publisher's Weekly

A thoughtful, evenhanded, and accessible mix of reporting and analysis concerning population control, by the diplomatic correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor. Acknowledging the complexities of population growth, Moffett finds cause for both trepidation and hope. He ranges widely to illustrate the issues involved. Considering Cairo as a case of third-world urban overcrowding, he describes the political effects (including the resurgence of radical Islam among the poor) and the economic effects (such as urban encroachment on farmlands). Drawing on successful examples elsewhere, he suggests decentralization, housing deregulation, increased farm output, and a stronger private sector as solutions. Considering countries like Kenya, which can no longer feed their people, he proposes such nation-specific strategies as water conservation and replenishing the soil with nutrients, noting that biotechnological research has seldom focused on Third World agricultural problems. Still, if developing countries are to lower their rate of population growth, their citizens must begin to want smaller families, a change in attitude that will require improving the education and status of women in societies that are often patriarchal. While Moffett observes that religious belief does not preclude contraception in many Catholic countries, he is critical of the Church's population policies and its power at the United Nations. Though the Reagan and Bush administrations, influenced by laissez-faire economics and opposition to abortion, retarded world population control, Moffett thinks much can still be done. He may be pollyannish about the peace ushered in by the end of the Cold War, but he's right in observing that favorable conditions exist for wealthy nations and international organizations to address the world demographic explosion. The book could use more edge, both in its prose and its attitude toward experts, but it should aid anybody engaged with this vital issue. (Kirkus Reviews)

Illuminates the population problem in poor nations in terms of real people rather than just large numbers.... A book to read, enjoy, and learn from. <br> --Paul R. Ehrlich, Los Angeles Times Book Review<br><br> Vividly conveys the population-driven environmental, social, political, and economic disintegration that is occurring worldwide <br> --Scientific American<br><br> Brings into stark relief the effects of over-population on the lives of real people. <br> --Publisher's Weekly

Author Information

George D. Moffett, Ph.D., is a diplomatic correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, and has previously served as its Middle East bureau chief. He co-authored and edited a Monitor series on global population that was awarded a Global Media Award by the Population Institute in 1993. He is the author of The Limits of Victory: The Ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties and Critical Masses: The Global Population Challenge.

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