More contentious (and more important) is the call by ecological economists for an end to growth. We define growth as an increase in throughput, which is the flow of natural resources from the environment, through the economy, and back to the environment as waste. It is a quantitative increase in the physical dimensions of the economy or of the waste stream produced by the economy. This kind of growth, of course, cannot continue indefinitely, as the Earth and its resources are not infinite. While growth must end, this in no way implies an end to development, which we define as qualitative change, realization of potential, evolution toward an improved but no larger structure or system - an increase in the quality of good and services (where quality is measured by the ability to increase human well-being) provided by a given throughput. Most of you have ceased growing physically yet are probably studying this text in an effort to further your potential as humans. We expect human society to continue developing, and indeed argue that only by ending growth will we be able to continue developing for the indefinite future. Fortunately, many desirable ends require few physical resources.
The idea of "sustainable development," to be discussed later, is development without growth - that is, qualitative improvement in the ability to staisfy wants (needs and desires) without a quantitative increase in throughput beyond carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is the population of humans that can be sustained by a given ecosystem at a given level of consumption, with a given technology. Limits to growth do not necessarily imply limits to development.
Conventional neoclassical economists might define economic growth as the increase in an economy's production of goods and services, typically measure by their market values, that is, an increase in gross national production (GNP). However, an economy can develop without growing, grow with developing, or do both at the same time. GNP lumps together quantitative growth with qualitative development - two very different things that follow very different laws - and is this not a very useful measure.
In spite of the distinction between growth and development, calling for an end to growth requires an almost revolutionary change in social perceptions for the good (our ends and their ranking), a theme that will recur throughout this text. As we are all aware, the transition from adolescence to maturity is a difficult time for individuals and will be for society as well.
Growth is the increase in the cell size and number that take place during the life history of an organism. The increase in size and changes in shape of a developing organism depend on the increase in the number and size of cells that make up the individual. Increase in size resulting from cell multiplication, cell expansion as well as maturation of tissues occurs by a precise cellular reproductive mechanism referred to as mitosis.
Growth may be restricted to special regions of the organisms such as the layers of cells that divide and increase in size near the tip of the plant shoot. Or the cells engaged in growth may be widely distributed throughout the body of the organism, as in human embryo. In this regard, the rates of cell division and of the increase in cell size differ in different parts.
The rate of growth of various components of an organism may have important effect in its ability to adapt to the environment and hence may play a role in evolution. Thus, growth is an incredibly complex phenomenon which involves changes in the body form, metabolism and body processes.
Growth occurs throughout the life history but not uniformly. It occurs at a faster rate until a plant or animal attains maturity. After this stage, gradually growth slows down and stops after a particular time.
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What Is Development?
Development is the progressive changes in size, shape and function during the life of an organism by which its genetic potentials (genotype) are translated into functioning mature systems (phenotype). In other words, development is the increase in complexity of an organism as it grows. As the number of cells increases, they become differentiated (specialized for different tasks).
An organism like animals are made up of different important organ systems like the respiratory system, reproductive system, circulatory system, digestive system, etc. all these systems form part of the developmental process. The interactions of the environment and the genetic instructions inherited by the cells determine how the plant develops.
Development involves the differentiation of cells within a period of time, these cells can be highly specialized and perform their specific functions. Every organism has its own stage of development. For example, humans can be pregnant and give birth when they reach the stage of puberty or adulthood.
Some organisms also undergo several developmental changes after being hatched i.e metamorphosis. Metamorphosis has different stages like an egg to larva, larva to pupa and pupa to adult. Metamorphosis is common in insects, frogs, spiders, butterflies, bees, dragonflies, scorpions etc.
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