William R. Catton, Jr.: Overshoot

Summary: TakeNote re Overshoot

TakeNote 7/10/2007

Catton's core principle:

Human society is inextricably part of a global biotic community, and in that community human dominance has had and is having self-destructive consequences.

Three bases of growth:

1. Ecocide at planetary scale
2. Drawdown of energy resources, Peak Oil
3. Exploitation of South

Some of his points:

• Earth's carrying capacity is declining, 10. Exuberance built on phantom cc, temporary increase taken from past accumulations and from other regions. Can't be sustained.
• Assesses geological spend-down as current acreage of biofuels -- can't be achieved.
• Diachronic competition, intergenerational exploitation

---

Wayne Hayes, Ph.D. | Initialized: 7/10/2007 | Last Update: 7/10/2007