Is the Planet Full?

What are the impacts of population growth? Can our planet support the demands of the ten billion people anticipated to be the world's population by the middle of this century?While it is common to hear about the problems of overpopulation, might there be unexplored benefits of increasing numbers of people in the world? How can we both consider and harness the potential benefits brought by a healthier, wealthier and larger population? May more people mean more scientists to discover how our world works, more inventors and thinkers to help solve the world's problems, more skilled people to put these ideas into practice?In this book, leading academics with a wide range of expertise in demography, philosophy, biology, climate science, economics and environmental sustainability explore the contexts, costs and benefits of a burgeoning population on our economic, social and environmental systems.

1 Ian Goldin: Introduction; 2 Anthony B. Atkinson: Optimum Population, Welfare Economics, and Inequality; 3 Toby Ord: Overpopulation or Underpopulation?; 4 Sarah Harper: Demographic and Environmental Transitions; 5 Ian Johnston: Towards a Contemporary Understanding of the Limits to Growth; 6 H. Charles J. Godfray: How can 9-10 Billion People be Fed Sustainably and Equitably by 2050?; 7 Mark New: Water Scarcity on a Blue Planet; 8 Yadvinder Malhi: The Metabolism of a Human-Dominated Planet; 9 Robyn Norton: Safe, Effective, and Affordable Health Care for a Bulging Population; 10 Anthony Hartwell: Sourcing Mineral Resources: Problems and Solutions; 11 Ian Goldin: Governance Matters Most