population

Saying No to Growth

28 May, 2009 | Aline Cornford

At a time when living beyond one’s means seems to be the rule rather than the exception, the town of Okotoks is bucking the trend. It has limited its boundary and capped its population at 30,000. Why 30,000? That’s the carrying capacity of the Sheep River, a slow-moving stream that ­meanders through this bustling community in Southern Alberta, which lies 18 kilometres south of Calgary. ...

Calgary in the year 2050

28 May, 2009 | Brad Stelfox

Rural Growth
Stress on water systems
• In 1950, Alberta irrigated 180,000 hectares of land. In 2000, 520,00 hectares were being irrigated.
• In 1950, Alberta had 20,000 drilled water wells. In 2000, there were 325,000.

Questionable Environmental Impacts
• Alberta’s cattle population in 1950 was 1.8 million. In 2000, the cattle population was 5.7 million.
• In 1950, Alberta supported 68,000 farms. In 2000, the number dropped to 29,000 as agriculture tended towards larger farms. ...

Getting Beyond the Bomb (34.6)

26 May, 2009 | Stephen Bocking

Growing up as the fifth of six kids, I never saw any special virtue in small families. Back then, at the tail end of the baby boom, apparently no one else did either. So perhaps it was no wonder that Paul Ehrlich caused such a commotion when, in 1968, he tossed The Population Bomb into the world’s emerging environmental conscience. Written in just a few weeks, the book sold in the millions. Ehrlich’s forceful and confident arguments, and his authority as a Stanford biologist, compelled attention.

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