Which aspect of the human population issue has the greatest impact on the sustainability of earth?

Expanding further on the exercise we did in class, which aspect of the human population issue has the greatest impact on the sustainability of earth:  a) the rapid and continued growth in the number of people on earth or b) the heavy consumption of people in the developed world?  You must select and defend either a or b, even if you really think it’s a combination of the two aspects of the issue.

a.

State which aspect you feel has the greatest impact.

b.

Provide statistics on what we know about your selected impact that support your position. If you select rapid and continued growth, be sure to explain the concepts of exponential growth and doubling time.  If you select the consumption issue, provide data on global consumption, consumption in HDCs versus the environmental impact of continued growth in LDCs and the impact of thecontinued demand on our natural resources.

c.

At least briefly explain why the other aspect isn’t as important.