Loening U E
Centre for Human Ecology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1993 Apr;87 Suppl 1:S9-12. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(93)90520-z.
Human societies have developed by overcoming the constraints of nature. The result is population growth that will exceed, and probably has already exceeded, the carrying capacity--it is the most dramatic period in the history of the planet. It is not only growth, but existing numbers and their demands, that destroy the ecological basis. The obligation on humanity now is to add to this success over nature a negative instead of a positive feedback system. There can be no simple technical answer; solutions must come from the co-ordinated attention to environment, population, poverty and equity. Most political social and economic institutions militate against the changes needed. Two approaches are outlined: a tool for thought for communities to determine their aims in terms of fundamental human needs, and a resource modelling system to assess whether such aims are physically possible.
人类社会通过克服自然的限制而发展。结果是人口增长将会超过，而且可能已经超过了地球的承载能力——这是地球历史上最具戏剧性的时期。不仅是增长，还有现有人口数量及其需求，正在破坏生态基础。现在人类的义务是在战胜自然这一成功之上增加一个负反馈系统，而非正反馈系统。不存在简单的技术答案；解决方案必须来自对环境、人口、贫困和公平的协同关注。大多数政治、社会和经济机构都不利于所需的变革。文中概述了两种方法：一种是供社区思考的工具，用于根据人类基本需求确定其目标；另一种是资源建模系统，用于评估这些目标在实际中是否可行。
