7 BILLION AND YOU
The Human Evolutionary Studies Program at Simon Fraser University
invites you to a series of free public lectures and discussions by leading
thinkers on the patterns, processes and prognosis for a planet housing
7 billion humans and counting.
Demography of the Seven Billion
Drivers of the Seven Billion
Ethics and the Seven Billion
Dr. Warren C. Sanderson, Professor
of Economics, Stony Brook University,
New York, US
Dr. Shripad Tuljapurkar, Professor of
Biology and Population Studies, Stanford
University, Stanford, CA, US
Dr. Christine Overall, Professor
of Philosophy, Queen’s University,
Kingston, Ontario, CA
Where is the world population heading what happens when we get there?
What are the genetic and cultural
influences on our population trajectory?
What major ethical issues must we
confront?
The world’s population is expected to
peak at 9 to 10 billion and then slowly
decline. There are multiple questions
associated with this march toward
population stability: how do we know
it will happen, what is its timing and
regional variation, how much older will
the world’s population get, and what are
the implications of this stability for world
environmental change?
Human well being and population change
turn on the relationship between humans
and resources. How did that relationship
evolve as human hunter-gatherers
made the transition to farming, and
then to industry? How did demography
and resources shape – and respond to –
culture? How is this interaction reflected
in today’s human genetic diversity? What
important lessons does history provide
that inform our future choices and
decisions on a crowded planet?
Living among seven billion human
beings generates significant ethical
questions for all of us. We need to think
about our procreative responsibilities
and rights, and our duties to the other
living beings on the planet. Do we have
individual responsibilities to limit our
reproduction? Does society have the
right to place legal or social barriers
to procreation by its citizens? What is
the ethical significance of increases in
human longevity?
7 pm, Thursday, January 24, 2013
Location: HC 1900
7 pm, Thursday, January 31, 2013
Location: HC 1900
7 pm, Thursday, February 21, 2013
Location: HC 1400
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The Economics of the Seven Billion
Resources and the Seven Billion
YOU and the Seven Billion
Dr. Nicolas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt
Chair in Political Economy, American
Enterprise Institute, Washington, US
Dr. William Rees, Professor Emeritus,
Population Ecology, University of British
Columbia
Moderated by Don White, Interdisciplinary
Studies, Simon Fraser University
How can health and wealth be expanding
as populations grow?
Can the world really support the future
population?
Population levels have nearly
quadrupled over the 20th century, but
most of us are actually living longer,
healthier and wealthier lives. Food
production is still outstripping global
need. Is it possible we are misreading
the situation? Regardless, can voluntary
family planning programs have any real
impact? What is the effective role of
parental choice?
Human demand seems to be outstripping
supply, a phenomenon driven by both
numbers and lifestyle. Can the world
community attend to the three billion
people who live in poverty, meet the
needs of an additional 2.5 billion expected
by 2050, and also reduce total energy
and material consumption below current
levels?
7 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013
Location: HC 1900
7 pm, Thursday, March 7, 2013
Location: HC 1900
What next?
Informed decisions come from informed
discussions; thinking globally begins
at the local level. In a moderated final
session, audience members will discuss
whether the things they’ve heard
about human population in the last five
sessions add up to a need for action.
Does the increasing number of humans
really represent a problem? If it does,
what can be done about it?
Light refreshment will be served.
7 pm, Thursday, March 14, 2013
Location: HC 1400
Reservations: All lectures are held at Simon Fraser University Vancouver at Harbour Centre, 515 W Hastings, Vancouver, BC.
As seating is limited, reservations are recommended: www.sfu.ca/reserve
More information: www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science
A David and Cecilia Ting Endowment Fund Lecture Series
Sponsors:
Simon Fraser University
• Human Evolutionary Studies Program
• Faculty of Environment
• Ting Endowment, Lifelong Learning
• Faculty of Science