World Population Day
Is there a limit to the number of human beings the Earth can sustain? And if there is, are we getting close to that number?
It’s a sensitive topic for many people and nations, but the growth of human population may also be the most important topic facing the future of the human race.
Energy consumption and water are major concerns as our population continues to rise.
“The top-three grain producing countries of the planet, India, China are the United States, all have unsustainable pumping for irrigation and water tables are sinking in these countries dramatically. In India, the water table is sinking by about 10 feet a year. And more and more farms are turning to desert as farmers can no longer reach the water, there are about 150 million people in India now being kept alive through unsustainable pumping of underground aquifers. When that water returns out, those people will face immediate starvation.”
“In reality, the problem we have is not climate change, it’s not water shortage, it’s not loss of biodiversity, it’s not degradation of soils. It is overuse of the Earth’s resources by the human endeavor.”
"Continuing growth of the human population is the most serious environmental problem for our planet and for our nation. The consequences of that growth are all around us—loss of open space, air and water pollution, and never-ending sprawl. Habitat loss due to population growth is by far the greatest threat to wildlife. We simply must face up to this paramount issue.
Rising consumption today is a far bigger threat to the environment than a rising head count. And most of that extra consumption is still happening in rich countries that have long since given up growing their populations
Population growth stretches natural resources to their limits. Deforestation, food and water shortages, and climate change are all intensified by the addition of nearly 80 million people a year to the world's population.
According to the United Nations, the
It’s a sensitive topic for many people and nations, but the growth of human population may also be the most important topic facing the future of the human race.
Energy consumption and water are major concerns as our population continues to rise.
“The top-three grain producing countries of the planet, India, China are the United States, all have unsustainable pumping for irrigation and water tables are sinking in these countries dramatically. In India, the water table is sinking by about 10 feet a year. And more and more farms are turning to desert as farmers can no longer reach the water, there are about 150 million people in India now being kept alive through unsustainable pumping of underground aquifers. When that water returns out, those people will face immediate starvation.”
“In reality, the problem we have is not climate change, it’s not water shortage, it’s not loss of biodiversity, it’s not degradation of soils. It is overuse of the Earth’s resources by the human endeavor.”
"Continuing growth of the human population is the most serious environmental problem for our planet and for our nation. The consequences of that growth are all around us—loss of open space, air and water pollution, and never-ending sprawl. Habitat loss due to population growth is by far the greatest threat to wildlife. We simply must face up to this paramount issue.
Rising consumption today is a far bigger threat to the environment than a rising head count. And most of that extra consumption is still happening in rich countries that have long since given up growing their populations
Population growth stretches natural resources to their limits. Deforestation, food and water shortages, and climate change are all intensified by the addition of nearly 80 million people a year to the world's population.
According to the United Nations, the