1) Discuss different opinions of the threat of population growth on our planet. (“The Population Bomb”, “There’s Plenty of Room Aboard Planet Earth”)

Many men, many minds. These two articles perfectly display several opinions of the subject. The author of “The Population Bomb” Paul Ehrlich has quite a pessimistic approach. The destructive chain of all the forms of pollution starts from the rapid population growth. The figures presented in the article prove that the number of people on earth is increasing dramatically since ancient times and now it takes just 37 years to witness the population doubling. It is plain that the density of the population on earth is increasing and it is becoming quite crowded. Some optimistic scientists even assert an idea of an interstellar migration, though it is considered as totally utopian.

The world has not witnessed all the disastrous consequences yet. The main feature of the people is that they act as in the proverb: “he won’t lock the barn door till after the horse is stolen”.

On the other hand, the widespread pessimism about population explosion is exaggerated. The article “There’s Plenty of Room Aboard Planet Earth” enlightens some of the optimistic opinions though the figures of the rapid demographic growth remain unfavorable. According to the article some environmentalists believe that the crisis has been deferred, but not avoided, while their colleagues have other views of the demographic situation going south in a hurry. As an evidence of it, there are figures of replacement level in Europe, that clearly display the situation that the world is going to face soon: there will be fewer people of working age to support those on retirement. Also it may prove much harder to recruit people to do unpopular jobs.

The pundits predict the population growth decline being on the horizon already. But those who have painted a rosy picture of an environment recovering its natural beauty could find that the opposite is nearer the truth.

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