"Note: this brief essay is based on a paper I presented at the National Seminar on Population Growth and Socio-economic Development, held in Nuku'alofa in November, 1976. A shorter version of the paper, originally entitled 'Population Growth in TonnGa: Its Impact on Environment and Society', was circulated at the seminar. Apart from a slight revision, some deletions and about 400 additional words, the present version is the same as that which I read to the gathering at the International Dateline Hotel. Randy Thaman took the photograph shown inside"--Page 35.