Why should you be concerned about population growth?
Population growth stretches natural resources to their limits. Deforestation, poverty, food and water shortages, and climate change are all made worse by the addition of nearly 80 million people a year to the world's population. If current trends persist, there will be 2.5 billion more people on the planet by 2050. That projected population growth raises many of questions about your future and the planet we inhabit.
Most importantly, will we be able to feed the 9.2 billion people who will be living on the earth in 2050? This year, for the first time in history, over 1 billion people go to bed hungry every day. We know that climate change, rising energy prices, and growing water scarcity will make it harder, not easier, to grow the crops necessary to feed an expanding population. Mounting soil erosion and the loss of farm land will also add to the challenge of boosting food production.
And it’s not just food that’s potentially in short supply. Water scarcity is a growing concern. In many parts of the world today. In some areas, lakes are going dry and underground water supplies are being rapidly used up. And climate change, of course, will make the water situation even more critical. As the water supply shrinks, the population is growing. Will the world have enough water for this growing population? Some experts predict that future wars will be over water.
.....Will governments take drastic step to reduce the chance of conflicts, wars and other problems? ..Have governments started to do this?
Population growth stretches natural resources to their limits. Deforestation, poverty, food and water shortages, and climate change are all made worse by the addition of nearly 80 million people a year to the world's population. If current trends persist, there will be 2.5 billion more people on the planet by 2050. That projected population growth raises many of questions about your future and the planet we inhabit.
Most importantly, will we be able to feed the 9.2 billion people who will be living on the earth in 2050? This year, for the first time in history, over 1 billion people go to bed hungry every day. We know that climate change, rising energy prices, and growing water scarcity will make it harder, not easier, to grow the crops necessary to feed an expanding population. Mounting soil erosion and the loss of farm land will also add to the challenge of boosting food production.
And it’s not just food that’s potentially in short supply. Water scarcity is a growing concern. In many parts of the world today. In some areas, lakes are going dry and underground water supplies are being rapidly used up. And climate change, of course, will make the water situation even more critical. As the water supply shrinks, the population is growing. Will the world have enough water for this growing population? Some experts predict that future wars will be over water.
.....Will governments take drastic step to reduce the chance of conflicts, wars and other problems? ..Have governments started to do this?