Excerpts from a statement issued by
the
United States National Academy of Science
Below are excerpts
from two of the world's foremost scientific bodies
concerning human population growth and the environment:
| A joint statement was issued in 1992 by the officers of the Royal Society of London and the United States National Academy of Science. | ||
| "World population is growing at the unprecedented rate of almost 100 million people every year, and human activities are producing major changes in the global environment." | ||
| If current predictions of human population growth prove accurate and patterns of human activity on the planet remain unchanged, science and technology may not be able to prevent... irreversible degradation of the environment...." |
| "...present patterns of human activity accentuated by population growth should make even the most optimistic about future scientific progress pause and reconsider the wisdom of ignoring these threats to our planet." | ||
| "...loss of biodiversity is one of the fastest moving aspects of global change, is irreversible, and has serious consequences for the human prospect in the future." | ||
| "Unrestrained resource consumption for energy production and other uses, especially if the developing world strives to achieve living standards based on the same levels of consumption as the developed world, could lead to catastrophic outcomes for the global environment." |
The statement's title is
Population Growth, Resource
Consumption and a Sustainable World
1992