Every living creature needs food, energy and other resources. Over the last few hundred years, human beings have grabbed many more resources than any other group of living creatures. Today, there are so many beings that we are pushing other creatures off the face of the earth and threatening the carrying capacity of the earth.
- In 1750. There were 791 million people.
- In 1850, there were 1262 million people (1.2 billion).
- In 1950, there were 2521 million people 2.5 billion).
- In February 2008, the human population was around 6.7 billion.
- By 2050, it is expected to much 9 billion. Looking at that rise, you know why it’s called the population explosion!
It’s just a little over two centuries since the first billion in 1804 and we’re headed towards 9 billion, testing the carrying capacity of the earth. According to a report of the United Nations on population released in late 2004, between 2000 and 2005, world population has grown by 77 million people a year. Just six countries contributed about 38 million. India tops the list with 12% increase. China is a far second with 12%. If this growth rate continues, India will become the most populated country in the world by 2035.
The United Nations fears that in the near future, cities will house half the world’s human population. The major growth will be in Asia and Africa. In Asia, about 1.6 billion people lived in cities at the start of 2008, by 2050, that would become more than double.
- Every 4 of 10 Chinese live in cities. By 2050, that will be every 7 of 10.
- In India, only 30% live in cities. This will rise to 55 % by 2050.
Each new human birth means more demand for resources and causing of more population and less space and resources for other forms of life. This is a whole is known as population crisis.
Will the earth tilt to one side?
Imagine the map of the world like a flat see-saw. The side with Asia should hit the ground. Asia has more than 6 out of every ten people on earth or 3.8 billion people. Africa, with 840 million or 12 % of the population, comes a distant second. Europe has 710 million people or 11% of the world population. North America has 8% or 514 million. South America has a little over 5% or 371 million and Australia has a little over 20 million.
Even in Asia, the see-saw tilts heavily on the side off China, which has 1.32 billion or one-fifth of the world’s total number of people. India comes next with 1.12 billion, just 3% less.