| April 13, 2004 |
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NOVA: World in the Balance
In  the time it takes you to read this Pick, roughly 400 babies will be born, edging the world's population closer to the 6.5 billion mark. Incredibly, it took from the start of human history until 1804 for the world's population to reach a billion people. Two hundred years later, it takes only 12 years to add a billion, and we're careening to a whopping 9 billion people by 2050 if the world's families exceed the magical birth rate of two kids per household. Controlling population growth is hampered by a complex global equation of many factors, including social and gender inequity in India and the ravages of HIV and AIDS in Africa. Conversely, the one-child policy and massive pollution of China, as well as Japan's dramatic dwindling birth rates could also put the world's supply of natural resources in peril. Addressing this crisis in developing nations requires education and giving women control of their reproductive legacy. While change may be costly, the price of unchecked growth is much greater. (in Environment & Nature) |
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