RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PAPERS NOTED BY AUTHORS

Aishton
During the lecture portion of SNR&E 545 the students were exposed to a 
variety of topics, which included the use of transition dynamics, 
mathematical applications such as curve fitting and Geographical 
Information Systems (GIS).  The students comprising the class came from 
several different academic disciplines, most commonly Public Health, 
Natural Resources & Environment and Urban Planning.   Class members had a 
broad range of interests and expertise about topics relating to many 
different parts of the world.  I understood, conceptually, how these 
subject areas overlapped, yet to write how the students semester projects 
were similar seemed nearly impossible.  My first impression ascribed to 
the notion that we were linked through the usage of similar evaluative 
techniques.  Perhaps we also have a connection which relates to 
policy-making strategies, since we were encouraged to propose policy 
formation or modification schemes.  My initial concept is about the 
association of material is accurate, but only at a superficial level.  To 
fully understand the correlation between papers there is a need to 
investigate the underlying structure and purpose which binds the class 
members at a more fundamental level.  demonstrate

Until the official end of the Cold War, signified by the collapse of the 
Soviet Union and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall the world centered 
on the concept of nuclear proliferation and the constant threat of 
mutual, nuclear annihilation from the two Super Powers of the world, the 
United States and the Soviet Union.  During the last 5 years this veil of 
fear has lifted only to reveal the fact that we are exposed to a threat 
equal in the magnitude to that of nuclear war but slower in its effect on 
mankind.  The term overshoot means to go beyond limits inadvertently and 
this definition relates about overshoot on a global scale according to 
chapter 1 of Beyond the Limits, (Meadows, Meadows & Randers, 1992).  
Global scale overshoot refers to dynamics among the human population, 
global economy, resource extraction and the waste produced by these 
actions.  It is possible that human society has overshot and the 
environment may no longer be sustainable.  In either case there is 
immediate need to initiate remediation strategies.  At the root of this 
remediation is the concept of incremental policy change.  This is the 
fundamental level about which I spoke in the previous paragraph.  
Although our research papers consider a myriad of topics in various parts 
of the world they are interconnected just as is the modern world.  While 
the world focused its attention on a potential nuclear showdown world 
economics, through technological advances in communications, computer 
applications, transportation, finance and numerous other areas wrapped 
themselves in a network whereby the world is currently inextricably 
intertwined.  This new world community places huge demands on our global 
ecosystem.  Humans interact with each other and with the environment in 
which they live.   LeChatliers chemical principle states that a vapor 
system under stress readjusts itself to limit or neutralize this stress.  
Our planet is nearing the point whereby it cannot regulate its systems 
naturally to accommodate its inhabitants.  Therefore, people of our world 
must combine intellectual resources to devise strategies to reduce the 
stress on the planet and simultaneously allow for continued growth, 
change and development.  According to  Beyond the Limits, (Meadows, 
Meadows & Randers, 1992) population and industrial capital are the 
driving forces behind exponential growth in the world system.  Population 
and capital draw materials and energy from the earth and return wastes 
and heat, a normal function of the law of conservation of matter and 
energy.  The exact limits to which we can extract resources is such a 
complicated dynamic that it is virtually impossible to predict. Evidence 
from depleted energy supplies, population growth and environmental 
conditions would suggest, however, that we are approaching those limits 
and presumably at an increasing rate if, in fact we have not reached that 
point already (overshoot).  It is appropriate to add a principle from 
Institutions for the Earth (Haas, Keohane, Levy, 1992).  The authors 
stated that non-renewable resources will never be completely used up but 
renewable resources will be used to their virtual end.  They contend that 
non-renewable resources will be extracted until it is monetarily feasible 
to extract any longer and presumably there will be a small amount of the 
resource left.  Since renewable resources are  simply that then there 
will be exploitation but most likely at a rate exceeding the natural 
replenishment, subsequently rendering the renewables, at least for some 
finite term, virtually extinct.  

In order to insure a sustainable human population and sustainable 
existence on this planet it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive policy 
which is mutually agreeable and adopted by all the leaders of the world 
community.  As I review the complicated problems currently occurring in 
the world community the task of establishing a viable policy to insure 
the survival of the planet appears formidable.  The theoretical and 
practical solution to this problem is evinced in the SNR&E 545 course.  
The changes which will take place do not originate from one particular 
office or happen all at once.  The type of change required will occur 
from many different sources and at different administrative, economic, 
academic, technological and intellectual levels.  These changes will 
occur incrementally.  Our class is a microcosm of the world community.  
We have seen presentations which not only reflect different geographic 
areas of the world but these presentations also address policy decisions 
at various levels of the respective intra-governmental or 
inter-governmental hierarchies which exist in the world today.  No one 
person or country will, alone, be able to solve the serious environmental 
remediation facing the global community.  Fundamental changes in 
environmental policy must occur.  The strategy behind these changes will 
come from a concerted, world-wide effort.  Presently I have an even 
higher-level understanding of this task.  Twenty students conducted 
research in twenty specific subject areas and each topic delineated 
specific and serious environmental implications requiring policy 
changes.  When viewed from the perspective of our class the global 
problems appears insurmountable.  However, I believe that an individual 
can still make a difference in the world.  Individual or groups of 
individuals can identify problems, implement remediation strategies and 
incrementally influence the movement of a global process.  By focusing on 
one specific problem at a time an individual will not be as apt to be 
overwhelmed by the enormous task ahead.  This is the valuable lesson I 
have learned from my project and the projects of my colleagues.

Birkelund
The obvious connection between all of the chapters in this volume is 
population.  As the global population continues to rise, the pressures to 
utilize environmental resources increases.  In this respect, the 
Birkelund Chapter could benefit from following some of the policies 
advocated in the Cheatham Chapter on reducing fertility rates in India.  
The forestry transition in Indonesia and Malaysia (Birkelund Chapter) is 
directly tied to the demographic transitions in these countries.  The 
demographic transition in India is similar to both that of Indonesia and 
Malaysia.  All three countries are still developing and have a long way 
to go before their demographic transitions are completed.  Cheatham 
proposes a unique solution to reducing fertility rates; increasing the 
employment opportunities available to women has a significant negative 
effect on fertility, this implies that private industry has the 
opportunity to affect positive social change in the course of normal 
profit-seeking operations.  By employing women and creating economic 
growth, Indonesia and Malaysia could reduce fertility rates.  This would 
help alleviate the problem of landless peasants who follow logging 
companies into the tropical forests and convert land into agricultural 
fields.

Deforestation problems are a common link between the Birkelund, Heydir, 
and OConnell Chapters.  Heydir deals specifically with tropical 
deforestation in Indonesia.  His approach focuses on agriculture as the 
main cause of deforestation while the Birkelund Chapter focuses on 
trade.  However, both papers are interrelated and do recognize that there 
are numerous factors (a web of causality) contributing to the destruction 
of forests in this region.  The Heydir Chapter gives mention to 
commercial logging and the Birkelund Chapter states logging practices can 
be seen in conjunction with agriculture as the first step in permanently 
removing trees in many of these areas.  Both papers recognize the problem 
of government corruption, the role of population pressures, and the need 
for new forestry management strategies.  The two Chapters differ in their 
proposals for changing the existing forestry management.  Heydir 
advocates bottom-up (local level) solutions to deforestation while I 
advocate top-down (domestic and international government) solutions to 
deforestation.  Correcting the problem of deforestation could involve a 
combination of the two proposals.  A more comprehensive approach might 
combine the bottom-up and top-down solutions to attack deforestation from 
all levels.  

The OConnell Chapter on Costa Rica is an interesting contrast to the 
problems in Indonesia and Malaysia.  Costa Rica has almost passed through 
its forestry transition and today, Costa Rica is widely regarded as a 
model for other tropical nations in the area of conservation (OConnell 
Chapter).  Thus, Indonesia and Malaysia could benefit from examining the 
past successes of Costa Rica in preserving its tropical forests.  More 
precisely, the extensive system of national parks and reserves in Costa 
Rica could be modeled as part of the solution to deforestation in the 
countries of Indonesia and Malaysia.  	

In regards to the trade and environment nexus, there are ties between 
deforestation in Indonesia/Malaysia; hydropower in Nepal; and aids in 
Thailand.  In all these situations, international demands can provide an 
incentive to destroy the environment and human health.  As seen in the 
Birkelund chapter, tropical forests are being destroyed for the economic 
profit of selling timber to foreign countries.  In Nepal, one of the 
primary reasons to build large hydroelectric dams is to trade energy to 
India in exchange for income.  However, this would expose Nepal to 
numerous environmental risksflooding, landslides, and seismic hazards.  
Ultimately, Rowe advocates small dams over the large dams.  It will be 
interesting to see how Nepal deals with this issue in the future and how 
international trade pressures will effect the outcome.  

A more tenuous link exists with the Landweber chapter on aids in 
Thailand.  One of the major causes for the rapid spread of aids in this 
area has been the infamous sex trade.  Policy towards prostitution on the 
national level does not help matters either, since it is intertwined with 
the booming tourist industry (Landweber Chapter).  In this case, the 
international community could deem aids in Thailand a global problem and 
provide financial support to help stop the spread of this disease.     
As a whole, all of the Chapters deal with population-environment issues 
that are in some way related to the international community and trade.  
The nexus between trade, the environment, and population could be further 
refined by examining trade and the different environmental problems faced 
in each one of the Chapters presented in this Volume.

Cheatham
I feel that my paper is most closely related to that of Ajay Gupta.  In 
his paper, Ajay presents a clear view of the pressure that the sheer size 
of Indias population places its on resources and its people.  His outline 
of a number of transitions and current and past government economic 
policies provides a detailed account of Indias current economic and 
political environment that is missing from my paper.  Although I hope 
that at least some of my theorizing is generalizable across the 
developing world, I have chosen to concentrate on India as a case study; 
unfortunately, in an attempt to be concise, I may have dealt with the 
characteristics of Indias population in too cursory a manner.  Ajays 
paper compensates for this by describing Indias situation at length, 
setting up the environment in which my model works.  Ajays paper, to a 
large extent, may be required for those less familiar with India to truly 
understand the purpose of and the thinking behind my paper.
Similar, also, to my paper is that of Lilly Lombard.  Much like my own 
paper, Lillys is concerned with family planning issues.  I feel that 
Lillys paper works nicely with my own, as they both address exogenous 
means of increasing the demand for contraceptive technologies.  By 
reviewing cookstove programs as they exist today and discussing their 
potential to reduce fertility, Lillys paper suggests that private 
enterprise can effectively reduce birth rates in the developing world.  
While my paper concerns itself with increasing the opportunity costs of 
large families by providing more financially beneficial alternatives, 
Lillys paper considers increasing the temporal efficiency of cooking to 
free up more time for other tasks as a means to increase the opportunity 
costs of large families by reducing the benefits associated with large 
numbers of children.  Lillys paper is valuable to mine because it shows 
that my paper is but one of a broad range of approaches to a single, 
overriding goal in family planning:  Engineering currently low 
opportunity costs of high fertility so that they might increase to a 
level at or near the associated costs to society.

Cunningham
The chapter I wrote on the effects of Global Warming on the South Sahel 
region of West Africa fits in with many of the other chapters in several 
ways.  Most simply, it fits in geographically and helps to flesh out the 
information available here about Sub-Saharan Africa.  Alice Nambalamba, 
Erin Perry wrote about Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Southern Benin. Time 
and space did not permit us to cover all of the countries or even regions 
of Africa, but together we provide a good overview of several aspects of 
the dynamic across the continent, most especially the population 
transition.  

My work fits perhaps especially well with that of Marisa Sifontes.  She 
covers in detail the transitions effecting the fisher people of Southern 
Benin who are experiencing lower and lower fish catches every year in 
much the same way as the cultivators of the north of Benin who I 
investigated are experiencing lower crop yields each year.  Not 
surprisingly, many of the reasons for the decreasing yields of both fish 
and crops appear to be the same:  increasing population placing greater 
pressure on the available resources, decreasing time allowed for the 
replenishment of those resources, and  a deep desire by both groups of 
people to remain in their homes and the continue the work that they 
traditionally do.

My chapter, unlike many of the other chapters on either Africa or other 
parts of the developing world deals with the effects of an external 
condition (global warming) on the region.  Since many of the people in 
the developing world live in tightly constrained ecosystems,  and are 
therefore highly influenced by any changes in the environment, an 
eternality may influence a population in much the same way that any 
change in the environment does whether it is created elsewhere or caused 
by the government or other people within the country.  In this way, my 
paper is related to deforestation in Indonesia as described by James 
Birkelund and dams in Nepal as described by Karen Rowe who explore in 
detail the effects of environmental changes, or potential changes on 
people living in highly constrained ecosystems.

Lilly Lombards chapter on improved cook stove potentials in the third 
world may provide a partial solution to some to some of the environmental 
problems described in my own chapter.  Micah Cheathams chapter on 
fertility in India offers a  theoretical model through which to view 
overpopulation in many settings and may be applicable to the people of 
the South Sahel in  many respects.  Similarly, Michael Landwebers chapter 
on Malaria and AIDS in Thailand offers ideas for improved health care at 
the village level which may be applicable to the problems arising in the 
epidemiology transition in the South Sahel.

All of the chapters are highly related in that we focused our attention 
on policy and ways in which the potential negative trends caused by  
transitions could be slowed or reversed.  As my chapter points out, in 
todays interdependent world, the action or lack of action of the people 
of one region can and do highly influence many other regions of the 
world.  This fact alone is a strong link between all the chapters in the 
monograph since the policies enacted in any region are important not just 
for that regions people, but for the world.

Frank
Franks work on the population dynamics and urbanization transition is 
related to many of the other projects in one form or another. However 
there are some projects that are more closely related and help to 
emphasize the complexity of the urban-environment dynamics and 
urbanization transition; these projects are Perrys Urbanization - 
Environment Case study of Kenya, Nabalambas comparative urbanization 
study of Uganda and Tanzania, Torngs study on the effects of the 
Interstate Highway System on Suburbanization and Guptas study of the 
economic transition and its implications in India.

In her work Frank studies the different effects of technology on urban 
shape. It is suggested that there is a link between urban shape and 
available technology (especially transportation) at the time of urban 
growth. Two American cities serve as example - El Paso and Boston. El 
Paso experienced a major growth period post World War II and the 
introduction of automobile. Urban density is fairly low with 2216 
persons/square mile in comparison to other cities of comparable in size 
such as Boston, MA (11398 persons/sqm) or Seattle, WA (6193 persons/sqm). 
El Pasos urbanization pattern traces the paths of the three major 
Interstate Highways in the area. Torng studied the effects of 
highway/expressway systems on urbanized area growth. His analysis 
supports the dependency of land use on transportation system changes and 
the relationship between transportation and land use respectively. 
However the modeling results show that there is no single causal 
relationship between Highway interchange proximity and urbanization of 
land. The factors leading to urbanization are manifold and their 
interactions are complex - as suggested by Frank. They seem to change 
over time in their importance. Torng points out that the spatial 
correlation of Highway interchange and likelihood of urbanization of 
adjacent land is decreasing from the 1960-80 model to the 1970-1990 
model. Instead the importance of the neighboring effect for predicting 
future land use changes and urbanization is increasing in the more recent 
model.

Perry discusses the dilemma of urban-environment dynamics in the case of 
Kenya, a country at the beginning of the urbanization transition (Pattern 
B). Urban growth and development often degrades the environment in 
adjacent rural areas due to an increased demand of high quality produce 
and food, energy and water. Some research however indicates that 
urbanization in combination with education for women could successfully 
reduce fertility and thus reduce population growth. In terms of urban 
growth pattern Frank is content that urban shape has a major impact on 
the efficiency of an urban system. Spread out urban areas tend to 
increase individual transportation and thus pollution. A more compact 
city shape might help minimize the negative effects on the environment 
while it maximizes the benefits from urbanization such as reduced 
fertility. The optimal shape of a city will depend on many variables such 
as size, level of technology, topography etc. An improved understanding 
of the optimal shape of cities could help to mitigate or prevent negative 
environmental effects form rapid urbanization in lesser developed 
countries (LDCs).

Gupta however cautions that urbanization, decreasing birth rates and 
decreasing population growth will not necessarily stop pressures on 
natural resources and the environment. His premise is that affluence will 
increase consumerism and thus will increase the demand of natural 
resources, energy and food. So, the carrying capacity of a landscape is 
defined by culture and the level of technology. Hence urbanization 
policies must promote efficient energy and resource use in order to 
reduce overall energy and resource demand offsetting higher demands 
created by affluence.

Nabalambas work is interesting in respect to devising policies to control 
or manage urbanization. Despite an anti-urban policy in Tanzania, 
urbanization continued steadily since liberation of the country. This 
means that policies hardly can reverse the trend of urbanization. In 
fact, it seems that the redistribution of funds to rural villages had no 
long term effects at all. Since little or no money and planning effort 
went into managing urbanization, living conditions in cities and 
education have not been improved much. As a consequence, the fertility 
rates in urban Tanzania have not declined as observed by Perry for Kenya 
but increased. Thus, influencing urban pattern by policy will be a 
difficult task. Policies cannot stop natural trends such as urbanization, 
only modify them in favorable ways. If used intelligently urban land use 
probably can be managed by providing services at the desired places to 
attract settlement, for example.

Gupta
My colleagues, in their papers have dealt with many of the same 
transitions I addressed in my paper on India, focusing, however, on 
different regions of the world. Reading their papers, I have been struck 
by the similarity of situations faced by countries throughout the world. 
Although regions differ, and policy responses also differ, most of the 
transitions are exacerbated by poverty, inequities and population 
pressures. A set of papers written by Andrea Frank, Erin Perry, Maureen 
Cunningham and Alice Nabalamba  discuss issues and transitions in 
different parts of the world  very similar to the ones India is 
undergoing. Urbanization pressures in Kenya and Uganda, for example are 
very similar to pressures India is facing. Since it can be argued that 
India is further into its transitions than most African nations the case 
of India could be used to predict the effects of the transitions Africa 
is undergoing. Similarly lessons from transitions in developed parts of 
the world can be applied to India. A potentially exciting topic is the 
similarity of changes and pressures buffeting both India and Russia, both 
countries started reforms around the same period in the nineties. 
However, although reform in Russia seems to be virtually an unregulated 
free for all, India is proceeding more cautiously. The outcome remains to 
be seen

Another series of papers deal with transitions which are in a more 
advanced stage than India is currently undergoing. Papers by Diane 
OConnell, James Birkelund, Michael Landweber provide a predictive glimpse 
of how the transitions which have started recently, may turn out. Lessons 
from these papers can be invaluable policy tools in order to avoid making 
the same mistakes, or to take advantage of the experiences of other 
nations. 

Finally a third set of papers, notably by Micah Cheatham, Lilly Lombard, 
Richard Tracy analyze transitions and offer suggestions into methods of 
alleviating pressures on transitions through resource saving methods, and 
innovative techniques. Lilly Lombards paper on fuelwood efficiency 
through improved cookstoves presents a short term solution to alleviating 
forest degradation which is prevalent in many parts of the world. Micah 
Cheathams paper on private sector solutions to fertility reduction 
presents an innovative way that might lead to strategies for decreasing 
the population growth momentum.

Han
The world is big.  It would be ludicrous for any one study to proclaim 
global authority over any topic.  However, it is possible to present a 
piece to the overall puzzle.  This is how both research and the people it 
effects work.  This attempt to link twenty such pieces created by fellow 
colleagues will undoubtedly reinforce this concept.
Using Transition Theory as a Tool

Transition theory was a major driving force for many of the studies 
conducted.  Each researcher used transitions in slightly different ways, 
emphasizing that transition theory can be a very flexible method that can 
adjust to various needs given the proper perspective.  Landweber, by 
studying one epidemiological topic, malaria, with the expressed intention 
of applying the basic concepts discovered to another topic, AIDS, has 
somewhat paralleled the intention of this paper, Energy Recovery from 
Landfill Gas.  Similarly, the motive was to study the situation of the 
United States and extrapolate the information globally.  And just as 
natural gas production was used to approximate the state of 
infrastructure for distributing natural gas, indirect relationships were 
also used in Shaffers study of Northern Iroquois origins [a possible late 
entry not included in this volumeeds.].  In fact, it was perhaps the 
crucial technique used to study civilizations far removed.  There is, 
naturally, always room for expansion.  A few examples of transitions were 
used in this paper, but they were by no means all inclusive.  Savarino 
used an interesting technique to study the rapidly developing country of 
India [another possible late entryeds.].  The method of examining 
transitions of bordering countries to obtain a clearer perspective and to 
predict transitions in India is a method that may be quite effective when 
attempting to apply energy recovery technology to various countries of 
the world.  Its a solid method to find information for a particular site 
when information on that site is sketchy or unreliable.  

Looking for a Need
Some of the pool of research topics can be applied to this paper in terms 
of the particular example transitions used.  As was stated, urbanization 
is a key in determining whether an energy recovery project can be 
economically sited nearby.  In terms of shear growth by numbers, Preston 
found that urban population in Sikkims East section was in the midst of a 
positive feedback loop.  Therefore, population continued to boom although 
the boom created scarcer resources.  General urbanization trends showing 
these types of population changes may be used, but two studies in  
particular, by Frank and Torng, delved into urban morphologies.  Torng 
noted that cities are no longer expanding along the highway corridors, 
rather they are filling in the gaps equally expanding all around.  This 
centralizes a population even more so within the context of 
urbanization.  A more centralized population is advantageous for energy 
recovery as a result of the increased amount of waste produced in a more 
concentrated space.  The more the waste, the more the gas that will be 
produced by its decomposition.  The more an urban center is centralized, 
the less the distance there is to transport the waste to the landfill, 
and the less the distance there is to transport the energy to the urban 
center.  Frank separated urban morphologies into three categories, each 
with distinguishing characteristics.  These three categories along with 
the supposition of the effect of automobiles on the urban growth pattern 
may be applied to probable sites around the world to determine if the 
urban morphology complements a recovery project.  Nabalambas dual study 
on urbanization and policy in both Tanzania and Uganda provided an 
example of how policy can have a serious impact on urbanization.

Policy Implementation
The feasibility of energy recovery projects can be immensely influenced 
by governmental policy with the most profound example being the Section 
29 tax break that enables landfills to theoretically recover more than 
75% of methane instead of just 50% without it.  Birkelund and Shaffer 
warn us of facets that may incorrectly be overlooked.  Birkelund suggests 
that a ban on Indonesian and Malaysian wood exports is probably not the 
answer to their deforestation problems, although a study of just the 
surface of the problem would seem to suggest so.   Therefore, seemingly 
quick and direct answers may not always be the correct course of action.  
Shaffers study emphasizes the importance of history to obtain a solid 
background of the situation and to possibly forecast future trends.  
As is the case with the vast majority of the world and the way it works, 
it is not only important to determine what needs to be implemented but 
also how it is implemented.  Government is not always a constant, 
exemplified by Aishtons study on Komi, a location recently subjected to 
tremendous political upheaval.  However, if a stable government is 
achieved, a positive structure must be found.  OConnell suggests the 
organizational structure of Costa Rica as a model for other countries.  
Costa Ricas hierarchy of regional, national, and local authorities seems 
to work brilliantly in curbing the countrys deforestation.  Landfill 
construction and operation is, by nature, a local issue, just as the 
enforcing of anti-deforestation policies is ultimately a local issue.  
However, policy for both energy recovery and deforestation must be issued 
from a larger, federal level with a better general perspective.  Other 
countries may possibly adopt Costa Ricas structure, which would 
presumably be advantageous to successfully implementing policies 
affecting landfill energy projects.    It is important to note that not 
all stable governments are capable of implementing stable policies.  The 
case of Lahat, presented by Heydir [not includededs.], highlights a 
unique problem.  A successful landfill energy project insists upon an 
organized, long term commitment.  If the government is essentially 
controlled by the whim of one individual, such as the case for Lahat, 
chances of a solid, long term commitment are quite slim.  

On the positive side, it is still possible.  Even if institutions act in 
self interest as opposed to public interest, energy recovery will still 
create a beneficial situation.  Tracys study on the use of greener 
materials in construction had the same inherent obstacle as widespread 
use of landfill energy.  Both attempted to convert to newer 
technologies.  People often view new technologies as risky with a high 
cost potential.  However, Tracys example of the Portland construction 
showed that greener technologies may cost a bit more up front, but will 
save money in the long run.  It can work as long as the overall picture 
is taken into account from the beginning.  Similarly, landfill energy 
recovery projects have a more expensive capital cost compared to a total 
absence of recovery, but the deficit can be more than compensated for in 
the long run through a positive operational cost when revenue from sale 
of the gas is included.   

Possible Effects of Landfill Energy Recovery Around the World
These twenty papers exemplified a large portion of the globe.  Some of 
the information discovered brought to light situations that may be 
impacted by a landfill energy recovery project.  Both Cheatham and Gupta 
focused on the country of India, which was one of the example countries 
in this paper.  It was surmised that India is poised for a situation that 
would encourage energy recovery.  Both Cheatham and Gupta reinforce this 
supposition.  If Cheathams economic theory of lowering fertility is 
successful, overall population growth may be retarded, but urban growth 
will still climb because women would migrate into the city workforce.  In 
this theory, income for many people would also increase which implies 
more people would be able to afford a more processed type of energy such 
as landfill gas.  This aspect was expanded upon in Guptas study.  He not 
only hinted on what would shape the urbanization transition  in India, 
but also its impact on energy demand;  The urbanization transition in 
India will be determined primarily by economic and agricultural 
transitions...Urbanization tends to create more demand for all forms of 
energy.  

Although urbanization is beneficial through the landfill perspective, 
care must be taken not to let this fact blur the detrimental effects.  
Everything in this world is in a balance.  The possible environmental 
destruction by urbanization illustrated in Perrys study warns of such 
consequences.  Still, in this case, energy recovery projects can assist 
in dampening these harmful effects.  Perry states that pressure for coal 
and fuel resources from rural areas will increase due to urbanization.  
In the U.S., 50% of all landfills are sited in rural areas.  Therefore, 
landfill energy may be used to supplement the solution for this increased 
energy need.  Furthermore, industry tends to grow alongside 
urbanization.  Industry is, far and away, the main user of medium grade 
BTU fuel, the most cost effective product of landfill gas.  Perry also 
sites growing carbon dioxide emissions as a concern.  As has been stated, 
burning landfill gas greatly reduces CO2 emissions since the main 
constituent other than methane is CO2.  

This emphasizes the important issue of global warming, an issue 
researched by Cunningham with respect to the effects on Africa.  She 
illustrated the detrimental effects on the population, agricultural, and 
epidemiological transitions.  Both main constituents of landfill gas, 
methane and carbon dioxide, are major players in the greenhouse effect.  
With 70% of methane emitted by anthropogenic sources, the majority of 
which emanate from landfills, recovering these gases can have a great 
effect on global warming.  

Rowe described a more localized situation in Nepal.  She emphasized 
Nepals need for energy independence, advising local hydroelectric power 
over large, national dams.  The local electricity could then be used to 
create light industry, thus decreasing the effect of traditional fuels 
and farming on the environment.  It may be beneficial to explore solid 
waste as another possible resource Nepal may exploit for its energy 
needs.  Granted, Nepal does not have the technology to implement such a 
project at this time.  However, more industrialized countries, such as 
the United States, could offer the know-how required for Nepal engineers 
to develop the technology.  These recovery facilities would most likely 
be small, but large enough to support light industry.

The world is not uniform.  Different areas are experiencing different 
changes at different times.  Landfill energy is not the start of the 
solution to anybodys energy needs, nor is it the final solution.  Rather, 
it is one solution in a serious of steps.  Lombards examination of the 
use of cook stoves as an alternative for open fuel wood  consumption is a 
preliminary step most countries must probably take before converting to 
more processed forms of energy.  However, once this has been 
accomplished, it may be advantageous to examine in greater detail the 
transition from using one type of energy source to another.  This and a 
multitude of other research topics must and will be researched in the 
future.  And one more piece may be found and fitted to the puzzle.

Landweber
At first glance, this paper on AIDS and malaria in Thailand does not seem 
to have a great deal in common with the others in this publication. 
Although some of them touch on the epidemiological transition, it is 
rarely more than a passing mention. Also, only one other paper in this 
monograph deals with the region of Southeast Asia, focusing on the 
forestry transition in Indonesia. However, beneath the surface, the 
underlying presumptions of this paper and the others provide an 
interesting juxtaposition to keep in mind. For most of these papers, 
population growth is a factor contributing to various problems. However, 
in the case of epidemiology, the problem at handdiseaseis actually a 
limiting factor for  population. In terms of AIDS, an epidemic of the 
proportion foreseeable could have devastating effects on the population 
in many of the countries discussed. While such epidemics are not 
unavoidable, it is an interesting factor to consider, particularly in 
regards to the papers in which burgeoning populations are pegged as a 
major problem. Although it is not desired by anyone, it must be realized 
that in many of these countries AIDS may end up controlling population to 
a greater extent than many of these monographs policy recommendations. 
Specifically, some of the connections to other papers are clearer. 
Deforestation in Indonesia could help the spread of malaria as people 
come into contact with previously unknown strains of the disease. Also, 
the papers on urbanization in India raise important epidemiological 
issues. As mentioned, disease is a major problem within the squatter 
colonies in crowded cities. The extensive health infrastructure in 
Thailand may be taken as an example of how to deal with such 
epidemiological concerns. Finally, and probably most crucial, many of 
these papers deal with countries where population issues and AIDS will be 
intertwined over the course of the next twenty years. Particularly, in 
many African countries and India, the epidemic appears to be spreading 
unchecked. For this reason, it is probably crucial for many of these 
papers to consider the ramifications of AIDS in their area of study, 
especially when making any projections about population. 

Lombard
Among those students who chose topics related to developing countries, I 
asked myself two questions while reviewing their research: 1) How would 
cookstove diffusion projects fare in their regions of interest? and,  2) 
What about their research furthers my understanding of  effective 
cookstove diffusion in light of broad population-environment dynamics and 
sectoral transitions?  While my answers were as inconclusive as they were 
varied, this was nevertheless a valuable exercise in looking beyond the 
narrow confines of my topic.

The South Sahel , for instance, (Maureens focus) suffers indeed from 
acute fuelwood shortages. Given the  poor, agriculturalist population 
that she describes,  it seems unlikely that widespread diffusion of 
market-produced/consumer-purchased stoves would take place.  In Mali, for 
instance, (as I uncovered during my research) the government last year 
officially banned the use of three-stone fires in a desperate attempt to 
lower fuelwood consumption, but has had little success in promoting 
fuel-efficient stoves.  Can cookstove diffusion play a part in the No 
Regrets policies that Maureen outlines?  I believe so, although initially 
only to wealthier pockets of  people. Given the poverty of most 
governments in this region, here is where international organizations may 
play a valuable role. They might, for example, test the acceptance of the 
inexpensive, rurally adapted Maendeleo stove (from Kenya) , modify it to 
meet local needs, and seek out indigenous artisans to see to production.  
As Maureen noted, however, issues such as global warming seem far removed 
in countries struggling with few resources and more pressing issues of 
survival.  So too, unfortunately, must fuelwood shortages reach 
unbearable levels before populations of the Sahel are capable of 
addressing the issue.

Certainly Alices countries of interest, Uganda and Tanzania, with their 
rapid urban transition, as well as Tanzanias economic liberalization, 
seem likely candidates for the welcoming of improved cookstovesespecially 
within their growing urban centers where woodfuel is commercial. In fact, 
Kenyan jikos have already been introduced into these countries.  Given 
the cultural similarities of these East African countries, few major 
modifications may need to be made to stoves disseminated in Tanzania, 
although areas of higher elevation may need to be adapted for the purpose 
of heating.

India, the topic of Ajay and Micah, was discussed in my paper at length.  
Nevertheless, Ajays assessment that structural reformincluding the 
commercialization of public enterprisesis underway in many parts of the 
Indian economy, helps explain why India is currently revolutionizing its 
formerly government-run cookstove program and turning it over to private 
hands.  Micahs argument that  diffusion of contraceptive technology in 
India will not take place until women become wage-earners (so that their 
opportunity cost for fertility becomes unacceptably high) paralleled my 
outlook for cookstove diffusion in rural areas.  Until womens labor is 
recognized monetarily, so that the opportunity cost for collecting wood 
is unacceptable, this technology will not reach many populations that may 
need it.

Most of the populations in Costa Rica and the Newly-Independent States, 
with higher income levels than in most developing countries, have already 
climbed the fuel preference ladder and are now using other forms of fuel 
with which to cook (for I was not able to identify any cookstove projects 
in these areas). And Thailand, as mentioned in my paper, is already 
equipped with its own improved cookstove, the Thai bucket, although I do 
not know to what extent this stove has been diffused. 

Finally, although climatically opposite from the South Sahel, 
impoverished Nepal shares similar traits in terms of cookstove diffusion. 
Fuelwood scarcity in select regions is becoming critical, but households 
are unable to afford the investment of efficient stoves.  Worse, Nepalese 
rely on fuelwood for heating much more than people in the Sahel, making 
the attractiveness and benefits of cookstoves all the less.  As Karen 
noted, Nepal is still very early in the energy transition, and faces the 
choice between building a massive national dam, or several smaller 
regional dams in order to supply the nation with a new form of energy.  
Since the probability of widespread diffusion of cookstoves in Nepal 
seems so unlikely, I agree that small dams that can provide household 
energy, may be the best solution for this country.

Cookstove projects, clearly, are not appropriate for all the developing 
countries that my peers have studiedeven those countries suffering from 
significant fuelwood deficit.  Improved cookstoves may be tossed into the 
bag of  policy options available to help regions progress through 
transitions of energy, urbanization, and perhaps deforestation.  But they 
should be swiftly expelled if there does not appear to be a significant 
population eager to diffuse and employ them.

Nabalamba
The various papers presented had one inherent elementthat there is a 
direct relationship between people the environment they live in and that 
environmental resources that sustain people were depleting at a rate 
faster than they could reasonably be replaced.  A considerable number of 
papers were prepared on Developing countries or newly industrializing 
nations, an indication that these countries were experiencing far greater 
danger of environmental depletion than their Western/industrialized 
counterparts.  The various population and environmental transitions 
discussedforestry, epidemiology, economic, water resources, agriculture, 
and urbanization indicate a very complex world we live in.  These papers 
also showed that, regardless of size, the greatest danger that Developing 
nations were faced with was manageability of environmental resources and 
changes.  Many economies examined have limited resources and far too many 
other priorities to restrain environmental degradation.  In addition, the 
majority of Developing  societies discussed are only recently beginning 
the democratization transition such that the people whose lives are 
affected by environmental degradation/changes have had little no effect 
on policy formulation that would reverse trends or that have had positive 
effects in the more democratic societies.  The papers on Forestry 
transition in Indonesia and Waste Landfills in the United States are a 
case in point two comparable examples of the significance of liberalized 
political systems on environmental protection.  

My paper which examined political choices made by two African 
governmentsUganda and Tanzaniaand the effects of these choices on 
population and environment dynamics appropriately provides the linkage 
between the developing and developed country cases presented. The 
developing country focused papers all directly or indirectly  identify 
the state as the principle actor involved with decision making and thus 
have directed policy recommendations to this entity.  Policy 
recommendations have ranged from a request for a change in forestry 
management in Indonesia to include the people whose lives are affected by 
environmental shifts in the decision making process to an appeal to the 
international donor community in order to reverse deforestation in Costa 
Rica. These are the same issues I highlight in my paper as well.  
The exercise was intended to be data intensive and thus in an effort to 
make sense of a complex situation, all papers examined important 
demographic variablesbirth rates, death rates, population growth ratesand 
linked them to the changing environment in the various world regions. 
Most papers concluded that population numbers more than economic growth 
had the most adverse effects on the natural environment.

OConnell  
Transition theory provides a model to describe changes in sectors, such 
as the agricultural, industrial, urbanization, energy, forestry, and 
epidemiological sectors, over time.  The most challenging part of a 
transition is when the rate of change is exceptionally fast, and the 
society must adapt immediately to these changes.  Since all societies 
experience change in one or more sectors, transition theory can be 
applied to any society.    The papers presented in this monograph  
examine transitional changes in  many sectors, and for both developed and 
developing societies. Sectors analyzed include demographic, 
epidemiological, toxicity, urbanization, forestry, agricultural, and 
energy sectors for societies located in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin 
America, Europe, Africa and North America.  Despite the apparent 
variability in the papers that follow, several common themes can be 
found.  

The papers can be categorized by either geographic similarity  or sector 
analyzed.  Six papers focus on the Indian subcontinent, including Nepal, 
India, and the State of Sikkim.  Four papers look at transitions in the 
African countries of Benin, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Southeast 
Asian countries of Thailand, Malaysia,  and Indonesia are described in 
three papers.  Three papers examine sectors in North America.   The 
Republic of Komi and Costa Rica are each the focus of one paper.  Many 
different sectors are covered in the monograph papers.  Urbanization 
transition is the model applied to papers covering the growth of urban 
areas in Oklahoma City, policy impact on urbanization in both Uganda and 
Tanzania, urbanization trends in Kenya, and changes in global 
urbanization trends.   The forestry transition is the focus of papers on 
Sikkim, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India.  The epidemiological 
transition is applied to both Republic of Komi and Thailand.  One paper 
examines the  energy transition for the United States. All of the papers 
incorporate some aspect of the demographic transition in the analysis.   
All of the countries, except the United States and Komi Republic,  are in 
Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model, which is the fastest growing 
stage.  Rapidly growing populations often magnify the problems associated 
with rapid change in many sectors.  

All of the papers examine the relationship between human societies and 
the environment.  This is a very complex and dynamic relationship, and is 
difficult to simplify for the purposes of analysis.  A further 
complication is that many societies go through several transitions at one 
time, which makes it more difficult to analyze the effects of one 
transition, and make appropriate recommendations for that society.   The 
Republic of Komi is currently going through both the epidemiological and 
toxicity transition.  Nepal is experiencing rapid change in the 
agricultural, forestry, and energy sectors.  India is going through 
multiple transitions, including the forestry, agricultural, and energy 
transitions.  Costa Rica has completed the forestry transition, but is 
experiencing rapid change in the energy, agricultural, and toxicity 
sectors.   Sustainable building materials are directly related to the 
demographic, forestry, and urbanization transitions.  The Sahel is going 
through the agricultural, epidemiological, and demographic transitions.  
Societies experience multiple sectors at once, which makes it difficult 
to implement policy measures that adequately address the problems 
associated with rapid change.   

The outcome of rapid change depends upon the way the society chooses to 
manage change in any sector.  Public policy can mitigate the negative 
impacts of rapid change, if policy measures are quickly and effectively 
implemented.   The governments of Costa Rica and Thailand responded with 
public policy measures to ease the  crisis in the forestry and 
epidemiological transitions, respectively.  However, both of these 
countries may enter into a second transition; Costa Rica may see 
deforestation of protected forests if the population continues to grow 
and stresses related to deforestation increase, and Thailand may enter 
into a second epidemiological transition because of the current spread of 
HIV infection.  These national governments must be constantly alert to 
any changes in sectors, and develop a new response plan.  However, some 
countries, such as India, Indonesia, Benin,  have not yet developed and 
implemented appropriate policy measures to address problems associated 
with transitions. The environmental, economic, and social problems may be 
enhanced if policy measures do not address problems related to rapid 
change.   Some papers recommend a local solution to environmental and 
social problems resulting from transitions, such as bottom-up management 
in Indonesia, biome-related policy in Republic of Komi, and watershed 
management in Costa Rica.  All of the papers include  policy 
recommendations; however, the challenge is create policy recommendations 
with the paucity of data available.  

Many papers recognize the increasing importance of global factors in the 
analysis of transitions for a country or region.  Global demand for 
tropical wood and other products has a direct impact on the loss of 
forests in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Costa Rica.  Many developing 
countries, such as India and Costa Rica,  suffer from a massive external 
debt.  The pressure to service this debt plays a key role in economic 
choices made in the country.  The International Monetary Fund and the 
World Bank initiated a structural adjustment program for nations with 
poor economic performance.  Costa Rica, Uganda, and Tanzania are among 
those countries that must make significant changes in their national 
governments under the structural adjustment program.   National policy 
measures can be  instrumental in  mitigating the harmful effects of rapid 
change; however, all nations must recognize the powerful role of the 
international community.  Implementing policy on an international scale 
may be the ultimate challenge for the worlds nations.  

Transition theory is a powerful tool that can be used to analyze sectors 
that are experiencing rapid change.  This information provides 
decision-makers with important feedback about areas in the society that 
may benefit from public policy measures.  The papers in this monograph 
describe transitions for many different geographic locations, and yet 
there are similarities among the topics.  Human populations have  a 
dramatic impact on the environment, and the demographic transition plays 
a key role in all of the papers.  Every paper presents policy 
recommendations designed to mitigate the potentially harmful impacts 
associated with rapid change, and most papers must make these 
recommendations without adequate data.  Often, countries need to think 
beyond their borders when addressing social, economic, and environmental  
problems.  The world is increasingly moving towards a global village, 
and  impacts associated with some transitions may require an 
international rather than a national solution.  Longitudinal analysis of 
multiple sectors completes a picture of what is occurring in the society 
and where potential problems may be found.  Decision makers can be guided 
by this analysis, and develop and implement policy measures directed to 
sectors experiencing rapid change.   

Preston
Despite the wide array of research topics, there is a surprising amount 
of overlap and interrelationships among them.  Each of us has used Dr. 
Drakes transition theory as the basis of our hypotheses.  Using this as a 
fundamental tool to show change over time we have been able to analyze 
population and environment changes in other countries and our own.  The 
focus has been on using this tool as a way to develop more effective 
policies.  Only by looking at a phenomenon over time can policy makers 
even attempt to make predictions about the future.  Such an approach, 
however, is often not used when policies are needed immediately to deal 
with a specific problem. 

My project was particularly relevant to those projects that either deal 
with South and Southeast Asia or those projects that deal with 
deforestation.  The combination of these two aspects include a variety of 
research projects.  Karen Rowes paper deals with a very similar 
mountainous environment and therefore involves similar variables and 
factors.  She has focused on rivers and hydropower dams while I have 
focused on trees and deforestation.  However, her research is entirely 
applicable to all the issues in Sikkim.  In fact, a large dam project was 
recently rejected in Sikkim because of many of the factors outlined in 
Karens paper.  

Lillys project is also very relevant in that she deals with a potential 
solution to the deforestation dilemmathe use of cook stoves.  Policy 
makers in Sikkim could greatly benefit by the information obtained in her 
study.

Another relevant project is the one on forestry issues in Southeast Asia 
by James.  He looks at deforestation from an entirely different 
perspective, yet one which may be very relevant to policy makers in 
Sikkim because Sikkim has discussed harvesting its timber if it can find 
the appropriate technology to do so given its mountainous terrain.  
Ajays project, although not directly related to forestry, is also of 
particular importance because it would be beneficial for Sikkim to 
conduct a similar economic analysis at some point.  Being part of India, 
I am sure that Sikkim has very similar statistics to those that Ajay 
presented. 

There are plenty of other projects which, although they do not deal with 
forestry or South Asia are very related.  Maureens project on global 
warming probably applies to all of our research since global warming is 
occurring all over the world and the actual effects of this are still 
largely unknown.  In developing environmental policies in the future, 
global warming will have to be considered as an important factor.  
Even the two papers on urbanization in Africa are very related to Sikkims 
situation because urbanization has been a major threat to deforestation 
in Sikkim.  Similarly, the research on diseases and epidemiology is 
applicable to Sikkim in the same way that it would be relevant to almost 
any developing nation who does not have high quality health facilities.
Since all the research projects discussed the relationship between human 
populations and environmental conditions, each one provides valuable 
insight into the dilemmas facing our future generations.  The population 
- environment nexus is finally receiving the attention and study that it 
deserves by academics.  However, although some of the relationships are 
being established, most of the complexity of population environment 
issues are still largely unknown and debated.  Thus, by using a variety 
of research endeavors, such as is presented in this document, researchers 
will continue to put the pieces together and not only understand the 
population-environment problems, but also work toward interdisciplinary 
solutions to these problems.

Rowe
In examining Nepals potential for exploiting its one renewable energy 
source - hydropower, it was necessary to examine conditions in other 
relevant sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and energy.  It was also 
important to understand Nepals demographic situation.  A number of other 
papers in this class have also examined the demographic situation and 
have used the information to illustrate its importance in the 
population-environment dynamic.   Nepals poor demographic situation, 
characterized by high population growth rates and  high total fertility 
rates (TFR), can be compared to those in other developing countries such 
as Kenya, Uganda, and India, discussed by Perry, Nabalamba, and Gupta and 
Savarino respectively.  These countries too, are looking for 
interventions to slow the population growth rate and TFR so that the 
population total does not continue to grow at exponential rates.  The 
population pressures found in these countries has caused an increase in 
poverty and environmental degradation.  In addition such poor demographic 
situations have made it difficult for these countries to complete 
successful transitions in other sectors.  In contrast, Heydir highlights 
the benefits of a strong Family Planning program in Indonesia that have 
been effective in lowering the TFR and overall population growth rate.
Three additional papers in particular can be directly related to Nepals 
situation.  First Lombard discusses the importance of fuel-efficient cook 
stoves and she argues that they not only benefit the environment by 
decreasing deforestation, but may also trigger a positive feedback loop 
of lowering population growth and lowered prevalence of poverty.  This is 
certainly relevant to Nepals situation where deforestation rates are high 
and there continues to be an overexploitation of forest products.  While 
the government debates over other energy alternatives,  the people in 
Nepal would benefit immensely by using their fuelwood in a more efficient 
manner.  In fact, mud made cook stoves are now being promoted in  Nepal.  
Lombard also provided a rationale for the importance of targeting womens 
groups in initiating  these projects, and Nepal is currently making this 
effort, as a number of NGOs have been involved with small smokeless stove 
projects in the rural areas.    Nepal too, will benefit by using more 
energy efficient stoves that also reduce the amount of open fire and 
smoke in the kitchens.  Again as Lombard points out, there are a number 
of  health risks, such as reducing respiratory diseases and reducing 
burns in children, that make the idea of promoting these stoves even more 
appealing.   

A second area directly related to Nepal is the forestry situation in 
Sikkim, India.  Preston investigates deforestation in Sikkim and clearly  
points out that causes for deforestation are directly linked to increased 
population growth, increased tourism and additional factors.   The 
situation is very similar in Nepal as both population growth and 
increased tourism are contributing factors to the deforestation occurring 
there.  Her analysis and conclusion to implement a more comprehensive 
forestry policy to account for such factors would also prove beneficial 
to Nepal.

Finally, Guptas examination of the current situation in India can be both 
compared and contrasted to Nepals situation across sectors.  Gupta 
asserts that India still has a significant number of people working in 
the agricultural sector.  Yet he explains that the country is aiming to 
shift workers from less productive rural farmers to more productive urban 
jobs.  He acknowledges that there is debate over the feasibility of  
accomplishing this without worsening conditions.  This government action 
of shifting workers points out the fact that India is striving to 
industrialize and urbanize at a much faster pace than Nepal.  Also 
Savarino, in her paper addressing forestry and agriculture in India,  
acknowledges that India has expressed a definite need for better 
irrigation to improve the agricultural productivity.  These facts; Indias 
desire for major irrigation schemes,  and high commercial energy needs 
due to its fast increasing urbanization and industrialization, cause it, 
like Nepal, to consider large dam projects as an alternative to meet the 
countrys demands and needs.    

Torng
In this section, I explore the connections between my own work, A Spatial 
Perspective of the Interstate Highway Systems Effects on Suburbanization, 
and other colleagues works.  But first, I wish to define my work as a 
study which examines a small part (both in space and time dimensions) of 
the whole population environment dynamic system in a little greater 
detail.  In this class, Africa and many other third world countries seem 
to be the most popular case study areas for issues of transitional 
dynamics.   In many respects, these developing or underdeveloped third 
world countries and areas are currently following the steps which the 
U.S. went through several decades ago.  In terms of urban-rural 
population migration dynamics which is the major focus of my work, many 
of these countries, such as India (discussed by Ajay and Theresa), Benin 
(discussed by Marisa), Kenya (discussed by Erin), Nepal (discussed by 
Karen), and areas, such as South Sahel region (discussed by Maureen), are 
experiencing large scaled population in-migration into urban areas 
because of significant population and environment transitions.  People 
move toward urban areas for better economic opportunities and quality of 
life.  In the U.S., several major cities, such as Detroit, have been 
facing intensive population out-migration (suburbanization) phenomenon 
over recent decades.  This is hitting the local government with various 
kinds of social problems, e.g., unemployment, crime, etc.  If no major 
policy adjustment is made, I  foresee that these third world countries 
future urban-rural transition patterns will be somewhat similar to the 
ones which U.S. had experienced.  As a population transition pioneer, the 
U.S.s and other developed countries experience is a very valuable 
reference source for those countries approaching the transition stages.  
Being a world community leader, it is important for the U.S. to conduct 
research regarding we learned from the past experience.  Then we can make 
this knowledge and information available to other countries in the world.

Finally, in terms of individual papers, I think my paper is very well 
connected to Andreas work about population dynamics and urban growth 
patterns.  In her paper, many direct (e.g., infrastructure, topology, and 
climate) and indirect (e.g., culture and income) factors are identified 
as having potential influences on urban forms.  I regard her paper as an 
overview of the general trend of population dynamics and urban growth 
patterns in the world.  Each relationship, as identified in the figure 
Influences on Urban Forms in Andreas paper, is a single research topic 
for further investigation.  My work can then be defined as a more 
detailed discussion of a small part of her analysis.  That is, the 
relationship between transportation systems and urban form.  As a matter 
of fact, one of my future research suggestions is how to 
three-dimensionally expand the scope of this study to examine more 
identified influential factors (1st dimension, factors), regions (2nd 
dimension, space),  and study time period (3rd dimension, time), in order 
to conclude the research with more clear transition patterns, which 
hopefully can help other countries in their population and urban 
development policy making. 

Tracy
The research of my paper links to the work of others in the form of two 
groups.  My research links fairly well with the research of the following 
individuals:  James Birkelund, Lynelle Preston, and Diane OConnell,.  My 
research also has some links to the work of Andrea Frank, Karen Rowe, 
Lilly Lombard, and Erin Perry.

The first groups research deals primarily with forestry practices and 
deforestation.  There are several obvious links.  The first is to 
OConnells work.  Her research focuses on the forestry practices of Costa 
Rica.  In her paper she clearly demonstrates the dwindling supply of old 
growth trees in Costa Rica.  Certainly if the technology can be obtained 
by Costa Rica they should implement the manufacture of some of the wood 
products I recommend in my paper.  The same can be said of the work of 
Birkelund and Preston.

Another connection is that if the developed countries of the world would 
implement the strategies I recommend, there would be less of a demand for 
the timber of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Costa Rica.  While this may have 
severe economic repercussions for these countries, it could go a long way 
toward helping those countries preserve a large portion of their 
biodiversity.

Yet another link is in the trend towards urbanization.  As I state in my 
paper this trend usually increases density and therefore increases the 
efficiency of building resources.  However, this increased efficiency may 
apply to predominantly nonrenewable resources.  In turn this has 
implications for the sustainability of such practices and pollution from 
such practices.

The second group's research research is a little more wide spread and the 
connections are a little more indirect.  Frank writes about population 
dynamics with respect to urban growth.  Perry writes about urbanization 
and the environment in Kenya.  In my paper I point out the implications 
of urban growth on the sustainable building material transition.  The 
papers of Frank and Perry serve as examples of how other transitions 
affect the urbanization transition.  This in turn helps to validate the 
connections of transitions I make in my paper.

Rowe touches on the topic of Hydropower in Nepal.  As she points out the 
construction of hydroelectric projects has profound implications on the 
neighboring environment.  Certainly the decision to build a hydroelectric 
project should have impact upon a government's forestry policies.

Lastly, Lombard's paper deals with the topics of improved cook stoves, 
women's education, a fertility in developing countries.  Lombard clearly 
makes a case for improved cook stoves on the basis of reducing cooking 
time.  Clearly the productivity of women is increased.  This allows those 
women to increase their economic potential and thus helps lower 
fertility.  The link with my paper is that these stoves increase the 
efficiency of the use of wood resources.