World Population Now at 8 Billion—Is that Good or Bad?
(IntegrityPress.org) – It’s no secret that modern medicine and other innovations have helped humans live longer, healthier lives. This news is good on an individual level, but it poses certain challenges to Western society as a whole. Our elderly populations have expanded rapidly, leaving working-age people with more to do to keep up. As the earth’s population passes 8 billion, is it time to ask whether enough is enough?
The planet passed this momentous milestone on November 15, according to official population estimates. The United Nations (UN) marked the occasion with an event called “Day of Eight Billion.” The UN’s official report on the development noted that while population growth has been rapid of late (it took us just 12 years to get from 7 billion to 8 billion), it is slowing down. Projections estimate we will not reach 9 billion until 2037.
Today marks eight billion people on Earth https://t.co/dD4EcpXnlX
— Rebecca Forsberg (@kaosteorin) November 15, 2022
Much of the planet’s current population growth is coming from a small number of countries. Problematically, these are predominantly countries with low income per capita, meaning they are ill-suited to support their growing numbers of inhabitants. Another issue is rapid population growth in poorer countries negatively impacts the environment.
Do you think ongoing population growth is a good thing or a bad thing?
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