World Population Reaches 7 BillionFollow

A rising population puts enormous pressures on a planet already plunging into environmental catastrophe. Providing food, clothing, shelter, and energy for 7 billion people is a task of startling complexity.

The world's agricultural systems are already dangerously overstretched. Rainforests are being cut down to make way for new farms; groundwater used for irrigation is being depleted; greenhouse gases emitted from agricultural activities are a major factor in global climate change; fertilizers are poisoning estuaries; and countless species are threatened with extinction as we grab their land and water and destroy their habitats.

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So the arrival of the 7 billionth person is cause for profound global concern. It carries a challenge: What will it take to maintain a planet in which each person has a chance for a full, productive and prosperous life, and in which the planet's resources are sustained for future generations? How, in short, can we enjoy "sustainable development" on a very crowded planet?

In the minds of most people (here in Florida at least) the year is still 1955, and life works exactly as it does in the board game of the same name.

I think it's the opposite, we're too adept at changes which both increases our population and reduces the fatality rate so we end up with people living much longer and more babies being born. This is exactly why people hunt deer.

The easiest way to prevent overpopulation is to raise the standard of living and increase access to reliable contraception.

I don't know about that, I can think of numerous cheap ways to increase infant mortality.

Are you calling Usagi cheap?

I've always thought that the root of every major problem is this. We cannot continue all of our "time tested" practices because they are not working or will soon no longer continue to work. In the minds of most people (here in Florida at least) the year is still 1955, and life works exactly as it does in the board game of the same name. When I think of problems with the economy and infrastructure, it all seems to boil down to overcrowding and lack of resources caused by our inability to adapt to the changes brought about by our growing population.

And which kid is the smarter one - the kid that explores the zip tie and starts to figure out how it works or the kid that just sits there and drools?

We've already got a generation of couch potatoes?

Do we really need 70 and 80 year olds in old people homes?

I'd rather have the one able to adapt to surroundings and take advantage of the tools available to get the job done right. A pen will do just fine.

Have fun carving out the grocery list with your leatherman (don't forget the tampax).