A quick look at the BBC News website this lunchtime reveals two interesting articles about our fellow Homo sapiens.
Firstly, the population of the USA reached 300 million as of 11:46GMT today. Just one big number among many big numbers which emerge when discussing how population sizes are growing rapidly in many parts of the world. When do we collectively accept a shared responsibility to consider a global population size based on replacement? Jared Diamond builds towards this point in Collapse (now in paperback). How do we manage our resources and the (inevitable) impact we have on the planet? A number of noteworthy new titles investigate e.g. An Introduction to Sustainable Development, and, focusing on the direct consequence of growing populations and (welcome) development the Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Consumption. In the midst of our consumption, and even in spite of our efforts, what lengths must we take to protect biodiversity? Gaining Ground: In Pursuit of Ecological Sustainability makes a powerful case for the protection of wildlife. How do we balance the high standard of living some of us are lucky enough to enjoy, and that we hope will soon extend to all, with the responsibilty to manage the planet. How are our societies to make these choices, and how are the issues being presented to the public? Environmental Sociology investigates our response to the facts.
Secondly, Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics predicts that the human species will split in two over the next 100,000 years. Curry bases this on likely mating preferences between socio-economic classes – read Mating Systems and Strategies to find out more about the implications of mate choice, or The Complete World of Human Evolution for a broad introduction to humankind.
