A LARGER AND LESS EQUAL HUMANITY

Submitted by ub on

Is it lucky seven? Not actually, we are now more than seven billion people and the population on earth grows by roughly the size of the population of USA every three years, but ninety percent of the growth is in developing counties.

The global population has passed 7 billion and the challenge and an opportunity with implications on sustainability, urbanization, access to health services and youth empowerment. It also offers a rare call-to-action to renew the global commitment for a healthy and sustainable world for all.

As more and more people join those of us already here, solving challenges like poverty, discrimination and violence will become increasingly more urgent – and new challenges will arise that demand the best in each of us.

We are now part of a global community where actions taken in one country or region can have an immediate impact on other parts of the world. We have yet to realize the vast human potential among women and girls – who comprise half the world’s population – and the energy and talents of some two billion young people.

This milestone is an occasion to recognize and celebrate our common humanity and diversity. Ensuring the well-being of current and future generations will require unprecedented global cooperation. In a world of more than 7 billion people, incremental actions will create exponential results. Find out how you can engage through 7 Billion Actions, a UNFPA-led initiative to encourage people to reflect on what it means to live in a world of 7 billion people and take action on issues that affect us all.

Scientists say earth's profile is changing dramatically. India's steaming streets crammed with vendors, pedestrians, and iconic Ambassador taxis, Kolkata throbs with some 16 million people—and more pour in every day from small towns. In the mid seventies only three cities worldwide topped ten million. Today there are 21 such mega cities exist, most in developing countries, where urban areas absorb much of the globe's rising population.

In China, they are using every fertile inch, farmers harvest rice in the hills of Yunnan Province. High-yield seeds and ample fertilizer allow China to feed its billion-plus people on less than 10 percent of the Earth's arable land. Producing enough food as global population grows is possible, but doing so without exhausting finite resources, especially water, will be a challenge.

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/