good sides as well. For example technologies which repress the impact of environmental disruption and technologies to purify the environment. Technologies such as cultivating green water weeds to generate oxygen or to plant trees in the dessert are some of the examples. It is still unknown exactly how well these good technologies will develop in the future to prevent environment disruption. Nevertheless, it can be said that they have some room to change the figure of supporting capacity of the earth, depending on how technological innovation is materialized.
The second factor is that the supporting capacity of the earth can be changed by people's taste of various countries, cultures, religion, ideas, eating habits, consumption patterns, and life styles of the future.
If everybody on the earth wishes to eat a lot of meat, consume oil, live in a big house on a big lot like Americans today, it seems impossible for earth to support the previously mentioned 12 billion population. However, Indians may never eat beef, Japanese may refuse such a middle class American family's life style which is three people living on one acre lot, and may be satisfied with living in a small house like a rabbit house. People from all over the world may not necessarily agree that western material civilization, in which the American culture. represents as the most desirable one to seek after. A quite another type of value-system may be generated which involves a different life style, incorporating oriental philosophy.
6. Impact of the World Population Growth and Adjustment to it
Since Maithus, population growth has often been regarded negatively. Arguments in the 1950s and 1960s maintained that in developing countries, population growth would slow down development and prevent the rise in the standard of living. The argument is that population growth resulting from high birth rate would naturally bring a large youth population to raise and educate, causing an enormous economy burden which leaves no room for
