The world population reached 6 billion on October 12, 1999, and is
             expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2050! The impact of population growth is
             already felt by a majority of nations. The U.S. population has increased by 78%
             since 1950. Growing at 3,000,000 per year, U.S. population is expected to
             approach half a billion people in 50 years1. A number of factors drive this
             growth. At the most basic level, it is because far more people are born each
             year than die. Advances in nutrition and health care have increased survival
             rates and longevity for much of the world, and shifted the balance between
             births and deaths.
             The demands of increasing population magnify demands for natural resources,
             clean air and water, as well as access to wilderness areas. In the future, when
             there are not enough resources to go around, we will see significant scarcity,
             and a backlash of poverty. A number of problems lie behind scarcity and poverty.
             Ultimately, our own numbers, and the lifestyles many of us choose to live, drive
             all the critical issues we confront. Left unchecked, the combination of
             population growth and consumption- along with increasing inequity between rich
             and poor individuals and nations-will soon threaten not only the well-being, but
             even the lives of a majority of people on this planet.
            
             When population levels reach a critical threshold, we then see both a decline in
             the resource base, and damage to the environment, which supplies all those
             resources. These trends reinforce each other - the damaged environment provides
             fewer resources, and the shortage of resources causes us to further damage the
             environment. World energy needs are projected to double in the next several
             decades, but no credible geologist foresees a doubling of world oil production,
             which is projected to peak within the next few decades. Many `growth' advocates
             will argue that the natural ingenuity of people will overcome any problems that
             populati...