Population

According to the United Nation's Population Division, the world population is projected to reach the 7 billion mark on October 31, 2011 while the United States Census Bureau predicts it will happen in April, 2012. However, regardless of the exact moment, the implications for people, future generations, and the environment are significant. It took only 12 years for the world population to increase from 6 billion in 1999 and further 12 years before that to increase from 5 billion. 12 years are exceptionally short amount of time compare to length of time it took for human population to jump from one billion in 1804 to two billion in 1927. This clearly shows that we are experiencing population explosion. In fact, the world population is projected to reach 9 billion before 2050.
From Environmental Wisdom Worldview, the current population growth rate worsens the growing number of environmental, economic and social problems. Most of the global crises we face today could relate to the issue of human overpopulation.
There is clear evidence that the increase in greenhouse gases is proportional to the growth in population. Each and every living person consumes the Earth's resources in order to satisfy their needs and wants. However, this consumption and subsequent waste has an impact on our environment. Growing population means more fossil fuels are burned and more land are cleared for agriculture. All these activities contributed to greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, environmentalists estimated that human consume resources much faster than they can replenish and thus surpassing the Earth's carrying capacity. For instance, forests are being torn down faster than they can regrow as more land is needed to support our ever-growing population. The loss of these forests could lead to extinction of plants and animals. These living organisms could provide cures for diseases that will never be found.
Beside climate change, water scarcity, food shortages and overfishing are... [continues]

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