Myth of superabundance

The myth of superabundance is a term coined by US politician Stewart Udall — a member of the Democratic Party — in 1964 in his book The Quiet Crisis. The term refers to the belief that Earth has more than sufficient natural resources to satisfy humanity's wants.

Udall described the myth as the belief that there was "so much land, so much water, so much timber, so many birds and beasts"^[1]^:22 that humans did not envision a time where the planet would not replenish what had been sowed.

According to Stewart Udall the myth of superabundance was replaced in the 20th century by the myth of scientific supremacy: the belief that science can eventually find a solution to any problem.^[1]^:178 This leads to behaviors which, while recognizing that resources are not infinite, still fail to properly preserve those resources, putting the problem off to future generations to solve through science.^[1] "Present the repair bill to the next generation" is their silent motto.^[1]^:178

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Udall, Stuart, L. (1988). The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher. ISBN 087905333X. Search this book on

This article "Myth of superabundance" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Myth of superabundance. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

[Udall-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Udall, Stuart, L. (1988). The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher. ISBN 087905333X. Search this book on

[1]

v t e Conservation of species
Index of conservation articles
Conservation biology	Captive breeding Compassionate conservation Conservation behavior Conservation-dependent species Conservation genetics Conservation status Ex-situ conservation Extinction threshold In-situ conservation Latent extinction risk Marine conservation Nature conservation Conservation biology of parasites Species reintroduction Species translocation Conservation welfare Threatened species
Key topics	Biodiversity Conservation agriculture Conservation finance Conservation grazing Conservation management system Conservation movement Conservation officer Conservation photography Conservation psychology Conservation refugee Conspicuous conservation Forest management Forest protection Tropical rainforest conservation Human–wildlife conflict
Protected areas	Conservation designation Conservation development Conservation district Conservation easement Ecoregion conservation status Environmental protection Gap analysis Habitat conservation High conservation value area Landscape-scale conservation Marine protected area National conservation area Open space reserve Riparian buffer Roadless area conservation Roadside conservation Site-based conservation Special Area of Conservation Wildlife corridor
Restoration	Assisted natural regeneration Ecosystem restoration Island restoration Reforestation afforestation Rewilding marine
By taxon	Arthropods Insect hotel Birds raptors Fungi Land mammals American bison Arabian oryx bears elephants slow lorises tigers wolves Marine Gray nurse shark manatees salmon sea otters Painted turtles Plants seed bank cryopreservation
By country	Angola Australia Belize Brazil Costa Rica Hong Kong Iceland India Bhopal Ireland Italy New Zealand Pakistan Papua New Guinea Uganda United Kingdom (Scotland) United States forests
Related	De-extinction Myth of superabundance Planetary boundaries IUCN Red List NatureServe conservation status
List of conservation issues List of organisations List of people Category

Myth of superabundance

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)[edit]