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http://theorion.com/opinion/article_40959bd0-ff7c-11e0-9026-001a4bcf6878.html
Earth reaches 7 billion mark; planet overpopulated, strained
Jake Buffenbarger
The world did not end Friday, nor will 2012 bring about fire and brimstone, like so many claim it will. However, there are threats to the human race not being talked about by religious fanatics but instead by educated men of science.
By the end of the month, the world’s population will reach an astonishing 7 billion people, according to estimates by the United Nations.
In the past 100 years humans have experienced unprecedented exponential population growth due to advances in food production and distribution, according to Yale.edu.
Although the abundance of people may seem like a blessing, it is in fact a threat to our species as a whole.
Resources are already strained enough as it is with the current population.
Generally, developing countries have much higher growth and death rates than developed countries. Countries that have low child survival rates do so because of a lack of modern medicine, family planning and a natural human tendency to not put all of our eggs in one basket evolutionally. Due to the hardwiring of human brains, adults in countries with high child mortality rates make up for the potential loss of their young by having multiple offspring. This gives them a better shot at passing on their unique genetic code, which is the primary objective of all life.
The global population will grow to a staggering 9 billion by 2050, according to a 2009 United Nations press release.
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