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This course examines the role of human agency on the earth, past and present, taking various thematic perspectives. At base is the fact that more than six billion people now inhabit this planet and they need to be fed and make a living every day. Any resource conservation policy that does not acknowledge this fundamental fact is flawed. The course begins by examining the current state of world population in terms of numbers, distribution, and growth rates, paying attention to the countries and regions forecast to grow as well as those forecast to decline as projected by the Population Division of the United Nations. The major part of the course focuses on current issues involving food production, energy production, and land use, including study of the controversy over livestock production and an in-depth look at the grain and oilseed production in North and South America, the role of biofuels, the energy requirements of alternative energy production, the "food vs. fuel" issue, and controversies over land use as croplands replace pastures in South America.