An Overcrowded World?: Population, Resources and the Environment (The Shape of the World: Explorations in Human Geography)

This book explores the issues of overpopulation and the resulting depletion of natural resources. The main focus is on the impact that developments in one part of the world have upon people's lifestyles, and the forms of inequality dictated by the relationship between rich and poor countries. The study of wilderness and the notion of empty space are used to introduce questions of national resources, sustainability, and ecology. Sustainability provides the framework for discussion of population change, mortality and fertility and the questions of energy resources and environmental degradation. An Overcrowded World demonstrates how uneven development worsens ecological problems in certain areas and prevents a unified global response.

Philip Sarre and John Blunden are both at The Open University.