Among twenty-one representatives of as many nations comprising the World Commission on Environment and Development, there was unanimous agreement on all issues concerning the environment, except two—the causal significance of population growth, and what to do with Antarctica. The lack of consensus on population is symptomatic of widespread confusion not only in the theoretical and empirical literature, but also among advocates of population control.This paper argues that confusion stems from insufficient attention to the nature of the causes involved. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds—ultimate and proximate. Ultimate causes include polluting technologies, affluence-related wastes, environmental consequences of warfare, land and urban mismanagement policies, and so on. In contrast, proximate causes such as rapid population growth are shown to be more situation-specific, contemporary, and of a confounding nature.
Summary This paper seeks to evaluate the extent to which the world's population is represented by governments that judge population growth largely in terms of their countries' socio-economic capacity to absorb such growth. The initial data base consists of 125 countries, representing approximately 94 per cent of the world's population, classified according to whether their governments perceive their rates of population growth as deficient, satisfactory or excessive. Using various socio-economic development indices, a crude attempt is made to assess linkages between government perceptions and absorptive capacity. Results lead to insights into why some governments perceive their population situation at variance with the popular tide of opinion about desirability of reducing population growth everywhere.
This primer presents a basic overview of legal terminology and theories that may be encountered by the health physicist relative to radiation-related litigation. Legal terms are defined, and the progression of a sample radiation injury claim is explained from the filing of a claim through the appeal process. The objective of the primer is to establish a basic foundation of legal concepts on which to build further understanding. The legal system is an arena with which most health physicists have essentially no familiarity or, at best, limited knowledge. The chances are increasing that health physics professionals may be involved in radiation injury litigation in some way, requiring a basic understanding of these concepts.
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