ABSTRACT
The absolute size and the growth of the population of the Earth determines the quantities of resources needed for sustainability, and determines the amount of emissions and other waste products that need to be accommodated. If the population is growing, demand for resources will be growing. Stability occurs with a stable world population and growth limited by the ability to provide comparable growth in supporting resources. Chapter 6 discusses the waste product input to the Earth system related to the population-carbon dioxide and its impact on the climate-and Chapter 7 discusses the various energy resource inputs that are required to support the population. To be sustainable, as discussed in the Introduction, these must be in balance over the long term and population growth needs to be zero or at a level that matches resource growth.
