In "Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Science, Technology and Society," edited by Thomas A. Easton, these two articles (Population Articles #1 and #2, above) were paired around the question, "Do falling birth rates pose a threat to human welfare?"  Read and consider the different perspectives represented in these articles.  Here are some prompts from "Taking Sides" and from my PowerPoint lecture to help you get started.  

Please PICK ONE PROMPT to respond to and identify your prompt by its number.  Prompts:

1. These two articles deal with different aspects of the population issue.  What is Knapp's big issue?  How do girls and women fit into Whitty's considerations?
2. What does the term "carrying capacity" mean?  Is it possible to have too many people on the Earth?  What does population have to do with sustainability?
3. Both Dale Knapp and Julia Whitty consider economic issues.  What are their main points?  Any common ground between the two?
4. What are the key features of "quality of life"?  Does quality of life seem likely to suffer more with a declining population or a growing population?
5. Why is talking about the population problem taboo (Whitty's title)?  Is there any way around that to have a more open discussion?
6. Pick one of the two articles and summarize it by writing 4 lines that rhyme.