Posted on 02/24/2006 4:20:15 PM PST by blam
Planet's Population to Hit 6.5 Billion Saturday
By Leonard David
LiveScience Senior Writer
posted: 24 February 2006
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.
Around the World 261 People born every minute
310 million Population in the year 1000
1.6 billion Population in the year 1900
9 billion Population in the year 2050
106 billion Number of people ever born*
*Estimate as of 2002 SOURCE: Population Reference Bureau
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.
The population on Earth today is nearly four times the number in 1900 [graph]. Behind that phenomenal global increase is a vast gulf in birth and death rates among the world's countries. But according to population experts, this gulf is not a simple divide that perpetuates the status quo among the have and have-not nations.
Birth dearth
"What is worrisome about this demographic divide is not the differences among nations' population growth rates, but the disparities associated with these trends ... disparities in living standards, health, and economic prospects," explained Mary Kent, co-author along with Carl Haub, of a Population Reference Bureau report issued last month titled "Global Demographic Divide."
Kent, editor of the Population Bulletin, and Haub, a senior demographer at the Population Reference Bureau, reported that news of declining population in Europe fueled concern about a global "birth dearth," but there is continuing population growth in developing countries. The question, they asked, is which demographic trend is the world facing?
"The reality is that both trends are occurring," Haub said. "The dramatic fertility decline during the 20th century coincided with improved health, access to family planning, economic development, and urbanization."
Kent and Haub also reported that most countries will experience population growth through 2050, as the world adds a projected 3 billion more people to the total.
Remarkably, despite the many new developments over the past 50 years, one fact looks very much the same, explained Kent and Haub: Populations are growing most rapidly where such growth can be afforded the least—an observation that has changed little over time, they said.
I swear it wasn't me. There's no way I got that gal knocked up.
Are there any other species of mammals that even come close to this number?
I hope there's enough food, water, fuel, etc. to go around.
yea, I didn't put it all the way in
As Sonny and Cher used to sing, "The beat goes on".
If you look at my neighborhood you would guess squirrels. At least 5 for every person.
Mice and other rodents have got us beat by a LONG WAY!
Damn, and I had 1:35 am Sunday in the office pool.
"Man, that water's cold"
"Yeah, and it's deep, too."
I don't believe it. I think we should demand a recount.
The peak is probably pretty near. I would guess about 7 billion, and then a slow decline worldwide.
Ooops - Wait a minute!
This just in from Baghdad,
We can delay the clock by a few minutes!
Not mamals, but the termites and cockroaches reign supreme.
[...but there is continuing population growth in developing countries]
For those worried about the exponential growth rate in world population, if every country enjoyed our economic and political situation then the world population would stabilize at a constant. The United States population would be a constant now if it weren't for millions of immigrants coming here for our greater economic opportunities.
Spread free markets around the world and our borders are no longer an issue.
Jackpot!!!!
It's termites. (and, they fart a lot causing global warming)
Will my child support payments go down?
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