CHALLENGE OF MAN'S POWER 



Several of the growing problems presented by man's increasing 

 power will be discussed in this section. The purpose is not, however, to 

 suggest that these problems are well understood. The aim, instead, is 

 to delineate some of the many inadequacies of current scientific 

 understanding — deficiencies which prevent discerning interpretation 

 of the problems and viable options for resolving them. 



Population and Health 



The "population" problem is broad in scope, ranging from the 

 explosive growth in the number of people to matters of nutrition and 

 health and to the question of the ultimate "carrying capacity" of the 

 finite planet. The boundaries of the problem are diffuse and 

 transitory, changing as new knowledge reveals new problems, new 

 possibilities, and unexpected ramifications. 



No single factor is likely to have so pervasive an effect on the 

 character and quality of life as the total number of human beings. "It 

 took all of history to the year 1850 to produce a world population of 

 one billion; it took only 100 years for the second billion, and 30 for the 

 third; it is taking only about 15 years for the fourth and it will take less 

 than 10 years for the fifth billion. What these striking figures indicate 

 is that the world cannot sustain such a growth for very long."i Indeed, 

 the belief is growing that the world population has now reached a level 

 at which further increases — especially rapid increases such as at 

 present — will seriously impair the quality of life for all. 



Yet even if the birth rate, worldwide, were to decline next year to 

 the replacement rate of only two children per couple, world population 

 would level off eventually at about 50 percent above what it is now, 

 due to the age distribution of the present population. If zero 



' S. J. Segal, "Population Growth: Challenge to Science," in The Greatest Adventure: 

 Basic Research That Shapes Our Lives, Kone and Jordan (eds.). The Rockefeller University 

 Press, 1974. 



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