Planet's Population to Hit 6.5 Billion Saturday

[cal04]

A population milestone is about to be set on this jam-packed planet.
On Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the population here on this good Earth is projected to hit 6.5 billion people.

Along with this forecast, an analysis by the International Programs Center at the U.S.
Census Bureau points to another factoid, Robert Bernstein of the Bureau's Public Information Center advised LiveScience. Mark this on your calendar: Some six years from now, on Oct. 18, 2012 at 4:36 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Earth will be home to 7 billion folks.

These are estimates, of course, but clear trends emerge from the data behind them.
Population profile A report issued by the Bureau in March 2004 noted that world population hit the 6-billion mark in June 1999. "This figure is over 3.5 times the size of the Earth's population at the beginning of the 20th century and roughly double its size in 1960," the study explained.

Even more striking is that the time required for the global population to grow from 5 billion to 6 billion—just a dozen years—was shorter than the interval between any of the previous billions. On average, 4.4 people are born every second.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060224/sc_space/planetspopulationtohit65billionsaturday

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. That's enough

Don't you think?

[leeroysphitz]

6. Oh no, no. Our planet could sustain up to 18 billion if we all

pitch in and go at it with a little discipline and planning. :sarcasm:

[Double T]

2. Overpopulation is the first greatest potential threat to the.......

continuation of this planet. bush is probably the second.

[rucky]

21. Scientists agree

with the first one, at least:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article337005.ece

Overpopulation 'is main threat to planet'
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 07 January 2006
Climate change and global pollution cannot be adequately tackled without addressing the neglected issue of the world's booming population, according to two leading scientists.

Professor Chris Rapley, director of the British Antarctic Survey, and Professor John Guillebaud, vented their frustration yesterday at the fact that overpopulation had fallen off the agenda of the many organisations dedicated to saving the planet.
...

[rman]

3. confiscation of wealth is the greatest threat to peace and prosperity

[Lorien]

18. Climate change-due in large part to overpopulation-is the greatest threat

Wealth? Try destabilization on every continent when "unusual weather" across the globe causes massive crop and forest failures, as well as year long droughts. Most wars are fought over resources.

And this won't be happening one hundred years from now. You'll see it starting in the coming decade.

[rman]

20. "Most wars are fought over resources" And wealth = resources * labor

So wealth and disribution thereof is a major factor.
It's true that climate change is likely to cause much disruption. But the whole overpopulation-meme originates from before when climate change became a hot topic. The overpopulation-meme is particularly popular with the RW, and most of them don't believe in climate change.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

4. Wow, And That Rate Is Even With Legalized Abortion

ok, maybe that's a bad joke. I dunno.

[Double T]

5. It is, but you are allowed unlimited 'joke mulligans' here at DU......

........thankfully.

[The Stranger]

7. Kick and recommend for greatest.

Someone was bashing the Zero Population Growth crowd recently, but we have overstayed our welcome, destroyed the greatest gift ever given.

[cal04]

8. MSNBC front page Had to add this

[Ksec]

9. Jeebus. Thats a lot of people.

3 and a half times more than at the start of the 20th century? How long can THAT kind of growth be sustained?

[Jamison]

11. It can't.

If it continues on like this for another half century we could find ourselves living in the world of Soylent Green.

[Deja Q]

16. I've accepted my fate. And too many people in general are too timid to

even think at all. Hence the building of new jails. Gotta put the rabble somewhere...


OTOH, having a few interesting corporeal problems makes my acceptance of my fate a bit easier to grasp. Ironically, I count my health as a blessing...

[Deja Q]

14. We can't even support THREE billion, never mind 6...

And to think the US is being torn apart despite only having a third of ONE billion... and how we're helping these grossly overpopulated countries (whose living conditions are not very good) become even more ripe for breeding. Especially a couple of countries that are known for pissing on human rights. Google's finally realized that Americans don't have carte blanche over there and that maybe, just maybe, corporamerica isn't transcendentalism!

The more resources that are freely available means more people will take advantage of them and the more people will take them for granted.

Rather how we got into this mess in the first place.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. We can trace virtually all the existant probems to overpopulation.

[Deja Q]

15. Or greed.

Depends on the issue. But like global warming and scores of others, people complained in the 1970s but did sod all about any of them. x(

[Odin2005]

12. The 3rd world is going to stay poor untill we get the population down.

To give everyone a western standard of living we would need five whole earths, and that's BEFORE peak oil...

[Deja Q]

17. Tell that to the prosperous Chinese and Indians...

Two grossly overpopulated countries, now feeling really prosperous with plenty of goodness for all. And when there is no constraint (regulation) on resources, resources get abused. (nor is humanity unique; put two guppies (1M 1F) into an aquarium. Keep feeding them and they'll keep f'ing and make hoardes of baby guppies. Now they eat some of their young too, but in a short period of time the tank is infested with the critters. (now replace guppies for snails and wince!)

Who needs the Playboy channel? Just throw a few webcams their way (they can set them up too for pennies on the dollar!) and watch 'em screw like bunnies whose larder has a lifetime supply of carrots.

[Deja Q]

13. Damn fuckers have nothing better to do?

In 1975, people were scared over THREE billion and how Asia alone would have over FOUR billion by 2005.

Seems they didn't do much about it either.

So why can't I get any? I'm more responsible than 98% of this wretched species combined. x(

[Baclava]

19. It's time to terraform other worlds!

The swarm must have new breeding grounds!
We must reach out and colonize all worlds in our path!
More females for our breeding pens!

We are Human! Assimulate or die!