HumanPopulation-UniversityofNorthFlorida.docVIP

Human Population Since the late 1960s and early 1970s the ‘population problem,’ as an immediate threat to humanity, has been trumpeted by a number of ‘technological luddites,’(look-up the meaning of ‘Luddite’ ), including Paul R. Ehrlich [The Population Bomb (1968)], Garrett Hardin [“The Tragedy of the Commons,” Science, 162 (1968), 1243-1248], and the authors of the Club of Rome Report – Donella H. Meadow, Dennis L. Meadows, J?rgen Randers and William W. Behrens III [The Limits to Growth (1972)]. The following list of source materials is quite controversial, since many contemporary so-called ‘scientists’ have chosen to abandon the ‘Baconian Scientific Method,’ and have willingly substituted a ‘belief-system’ (which is one of the definitions of ‘religion’) for empirical testing of hypotheses. It would be well to look up each of the authors discussed in this course on the internet and discover their academic backgrounds and reliability as ‘scientists’ in their chosen professions. Sources: “What is science?” /science1.htm. “The scientific method the habit of truth,” /histbooknetscape/b10.htm. “In Defense of Bacon,” /~phil/bacon.htm. Dr. Michael Crichton, M.D. 2005. “Complexity Theory and Environmental Management,” November 6. Available under “Speeches,” at: __________. 2005. “The Role of Science in Environmental Policy-Making.” Statement before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, September 28. Available @: /hearing_staements.cfm?id =246766. __________ . 2005. “The Case of Skepticism on Global Warming.” January 25. Available under “Speeches,” at: __________. 2003. “Environmentalism as Religion,” Speech to the Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, CA., September 15. Available under speeches, at: ____________. 2003. “Aliens Cause Global Warming,” Lecture California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, January 17.Available under speeches, at: __________. 2002. “Why Speculate?” April 26. Available