Data link roundup (week of September 20, 2013)

The week's top data analysis links...

POPULATION TRENDS

Late last week Slate published an excellent piece detailing the limits of longevity.

And speaking of longevity...
The Population Reference Bureau released the 2013 World Population Data Sheet and online interactive graphics.

Image source

And speaking of population growth...
The New York Times published an very non-Malthusian op-ed by Erle Ellis suggesting that there is no such thing as a "carrying capacity" for the earth.
(Thanks to @DrDemography for sharing the link.)

For what it's worth...
While I lean more toward Hans Rosling's "possibilist" attitude about population growth than toward Malthus' pessimist worldview, I also suspect Ellis has never seen the Star Trek episode The Trouble With Tribbles.

Also, on the blog Weeks Population, Dr. John Weeks published a succinct rejoinder to Ellis' op-ed.


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

• There's a reason why September birthdays are so common...
• This week the Census Bureau released new data from the American Community Survey
• The Globe and Mail publishes a (not so) popular opinion on population forecasting