Population and environmental issues are, in and of themselves, extremely complex; linked, they create a whole new set of dynamics which add to that complexity. In conceiving this AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment, the AAAS International Office wanted to bring together population-environment linkages in ways that make them easily accessible to policy and decision makers, students and the general public. Our hope is that in presenting the issues clearly, the debate surrounding population-environment dynamics and our understanding of the issues will broaden in the coming years.