Limits to Growth

Based off the essay "Limits to Growth" by Donella and Dennis Meadows


In Limits to Growth, the central point of discussion is the lack of arable land. This relates to the fact that they view the primary issue with a large and increasing global population as the scarcity of food that will come with trying to feed them. This is widely accepted as the main concern of overpopulation. However, they neglect to mention the fact that overpopulation is an issue because of a worldwide lack of resources, that is, not only food. They mention briefly at the end of the excerpt about the increasing need for fresh water. There is also the need for fresh air. Both fresh water and fresh air will become less plentiful resources as the population nears carrying capacity, due largely in part to the fact that the globe is compensating for the excess population by trying to produce more food, and polluting the air and water resources in the process.

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