What Is Mckibben's Argument In Chapter 3

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McKibben’s general argument in Chapter three in his work, Maybe One, is that we live in a special time. More specifically, McKibben argues that it is special not due to the fact of the rising population, but the extent that an individual produces waste as the world continues to develop and demand more resources. McKibben illustrates that humans are in a special time by using chapter three to answer the questions: How many of us are there? , How big are we? , and How big is the Earth?. McKibben reminds us although we may not feel as crowded as we are, we must realize resources are scarce compared to the increasing population. He accounts for claims that others have made throughout history, but assures readers his claims are based off of science not the doomsday speakers or prophets but he asserts that if no action is taken we will soon be unable to support the growing population at this time and that is what makes this timeframe so special.
At the start of the book, McKibben offers both sides of the argument over the prejudice on only children. He displays the research of Hall that described only children as brats, lonely, and outcasts along with other disadvantages. However, McKibben explains that this research became so prevalent because it was some of the only research available at the time done on “onlies”. He proceeds to outline exactly what the failures
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Personally, I know my parents were not sure if they wanted to have children and after I was born they decided to have a second child just to keep me company. Though I love my brother I do not think having a sibling was crucial in my upbringing and we live in a special time where you cannot have multiple children based solely on the belief that “two is better than one”. Because our population demands so many resources parents should consider that having one child could help the planet and future

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