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Paulo Santos / Reuters
Roman Catholic pilgrims press together while following the image of the local saint, Our Lady of Nazareth, as it is paraded Oct. 11, 2009, during the annual Cirio de Nazare procession, the country's biggest religious festival, in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River. More than 1 million Catholics, many from communities along the Amazon River's tributaries, converged on Our Lady of Nazareth basilica to participate in the event.
Reuters
People crowd in a swimming pool to escape a summer heat wave July 4, 2010, in Suining, China.
As the world population explodes, so does the growth of cities, especially in Asia and Africa.
Globally, one in two people lives in an urban area, a milestone reached in 2007, says the United Nations Population Fund, the agency that predicts world population will reach 7 billion on Oct. 31.
In about 35 years, two out of three people will live in cities and towns, the agency predicts.
Nicky Loh / Reuters
Motorists crowd at a junction during rush hour in Taipei on Oct. 29, 2009. There are around 8.8 million motorcycles and 4.8 million cars on Taiwan's roads. Nearly all motor vehicles and inhabitants are squeezed into a third of the island's area, resulting in high concentrations of polluting emissions in the places where people live and work, according to official reports.
Morris Macmatzen / Reuters
Sunbathers and roofed wicker beach chairs line up along the beach on the bay of Travemuende, a popular holiday resort at the Baltic sea near the northern German city of Luebeck, on Aug. 5, 2007.
The fastest growth is seen in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the world's highest birthrates and deepest poverty. The regional population of nearly 900 million could reach 2 billion in 40 years.
"Most of that growth will be in Africa's cities, and in those cities it will almost all be in slums where living conditions are horrible," said John Bongaarts of the Population Council, a New York-based research organization.
Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters
A man walks on a pedestrian bridge overlooking traffic in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sept. 18, 2006.
Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, with an estimated 15 million people and a 6 percent growth rate, is expected to overtake Cairo soon as Africa's largest city. Problems with traffic congestion, sanitation and water supplies are staggering; a recent article in UN-Habitat said two-thirds of the residents live in poverty.
India is Asia’s second-largest country with 1.2 billion people, but by 2030 it may surpass No. 1 China, now with 1.34 billion people.
Reuters
A view of a residential building in Shanghai on March 18, 2009.
Reuters
Job-seekers crowd a job fair in Wuhan, China, on March 17, 2007. Unemployment could be long-term trouble for China, with the number of jobless urban residents alone exceeding 15 million, the China Information News quoted a senior official as saying, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Across India, teeming slums, congested streets, and crowded trains and trams are testimony to the country's burgeoning population.
At 6 p.m. on a typical evening in Mumbai, India's financial hub, 7 million commuters swarm out of their offices and head to railway stations for rides home on an overtaxed suburban rail network. Every few minutes, as a train enters the station, the crowd surges forward.
Every ride is a scramble. Each car is jam-packed; sometimes, riders die when they lose their foothold while clinging to the doors.
- msnbc.com editors Natalia Jimenez and Jim Gold, with wire service reports.
For more information: Beijing's 'hubs' haven't curbed population pressures
See more images and posts related to the seven billion population milestone
K.K. Arora / Reuters
Hindu devotees travel on a crowded passenger train to take part in the "Guru Purnima" festival near Mathura, India on July 24, 2010.
Leave a Comment:
Please STOP having children. There are more than enough to go around already!
Or have only one child. Most important, stop having, like 9-15 children. seriously.
Insanity. What education (and logic) couldn't do - starvation and plagues will. The earth itself is groaning.
Entire cultures content to be sardines.
it s not our business what 7 billion people look like!
it s not our business to tell them to stop having children!
it s our businness to beat that!
Back when I was having children, many of us believed in ZERO POPULATION GROWTH. I towed the line and had ONE child because I did fear overpopulation. Well there is a downside to my decision. The X generation is smaller and they will be the ones paying for all the retired boomers which comes to 75 million. The X and Y generation have no idea the taxes before them. The more social programs promised the higher the tax burden, or the higher our debt rises.
"theboys" example is a perfect one of short-sighted simplistic thinking.
That same logic would suggest getting another credit card to pay for the one you cant afford instead of actually paying the bill and experiencing the actual loss while it's small & manageable - as opposed to simply putting off for the future and letting it get larger & larger until you CAN'T deal with it even if you wanted to. Way to go Einstein...it's reasoning like yours that put our planet in the situation it is today.
Solution for the world: give ALL 16yr old boys a vasectomy...and offer free-reversal any time after the age of 25, with a 6 month waiting period between request & reversal - problem SOLVED
But no one would ever agree to such an idea...and THAT is why we will suffer BIG time down the road.
I agree the fact that some women in the U.S. have 5 or 6 kids by 4 or 5 different fathers,just so they can get more welfare and government assistance is sickening.If you are on welfare you should be limited to the # of children you have ,like maybe 2 or 3,not 5 or 6 and the expectation of the governmnet to be your main source of income.Believe it or not this problem is rampant in the united states
Yeah, population control is working really well in China. They don't have a billion people. And everyone there is loved and respected by their government. We should copy what they're doing here in the U.S. then the world live under a happy rainbow, just like John Lennon wanted. It's so simple. Why can't everyone else see how obvious it is like you and I can?
P.S. I only have 2 kids, because I can only afford 2 kids. Single children are weird and have no social skills. Prove me wrong.
Maybe the most ridiculous comment I read.
"Single children have no social skills"...? Really? I would love to see your evidence of that being the case, Dr. Social skills are adopted by children because of their OVERALL environment, not just inside the walls of their homes.
Maybe you should try to prove yourself "right" before anyone else needs to prove you wrong.
And, yes, your sarcasm is noted (and actually appreciated) in your other comments.
Stop sending food aid to other countries and send birth control!
Hummanity needs to think about quality of life over breeding like cockroaches!
Problem is, third world people tend to see the West's attempts to teach them family planning as thinly veiled genocide. I've seen documentaries where people really say this - and these are usually people living in the squalid slums like in these pictures. I saw one with a group of Indian women saying children and the ability to give birth were all they had, etc.
Perhaps China had it right after all. Limiit families to one child, male or female. More than one child would mean the family would not get income support or state medical care for the second child. I used to think this policy was ruthless, but given the overpopulation of the planet, perhaps we must consider such "solutions."
I agree and I'm pissed off! I have a solution; everyone who thinks there are too many people on this planet, shoot yourself in the head. It's easy to think people are cockroaches when you look at 8 pictures like these. I could show you pictures of Wyoming or Montana that would make you forget which millenia you're in.
If I lived in a 3rd world country, I wouldn't want to bring children into it.
It's sad that India has been a third world country for so many centuries. We should adopt the cast system too, it's worked so well for them.
How can there be a problem if it is God's command to “go forth and multiply.” (Gen. 1:28)
/sar
Isn't "God" supposed to be all knowing, maybe the bible is a scam?
No ... the bible wouldn't lie, now would it. I mean, come on ... you mean something thrown together by approximately 36 people over roughly 1,600 years could be simply a partial biopic/novel of sorts ... and no one made a mistake while interpreting. No, say it ain't so.
Yet, we could screw up a childhood game of 'Telephone' with 12 other kids ... It starts out Suzy wears a blue polka-dot dress, and ends up Tommy wears black, striped pants. Ya know?
God always promised to provide for his people. The end times are now, they started in 1948 when Israel was revived 2000 years after being destroyed by the Romans, this is what Bible Prophecy predicted. The generation that witnessed this in 1948 would not pass until all the end time prophecies are fulfilled.
When the full number of gentiles comes in, the church will be raptured, morals will become immortal. Those unbelievers and evil ones left behind will be disciplined by the war of Armageddon where 1/3 of man and all life on earth will be destroyed.
Think the earth is becoming uninhabitable? Ironic how Bible Prophecy is dead on with accuracy about the time of the end. As a scientist, you do not discount something you cannot prove. If you cannot prove that God doesn't exist, don't discount it...
Is that you Michael Bay?
Oh you silly people, there is no such thing as Armageddon. You have been mislead into believing this is true. Everything here is but a dream thought up in the mind of God. None of it is real. The only thing real is your spirit, not your body. That is the real truth. Look it up. Do you think you are a car when you get in it? Of course not. So, stop thinking you are your body. It is but a vehicle used to house the spirit. None of man's laws are the truth. Only the laws of the Universe are real. "As above, so below." You are no different here than you are in spirit (heaven). Stop believing everything you hear, and read, and see. The only thing real is "love."
So, basically, stop judging others and look in the mirror. But then, you don't know any better. It is what you humans have been taught to believe. That is your curse.
"Never underestimate man's desire to suffer."
Silly people. Open your eyes to the truth, not the blind truth you've been taught. And, show some compassion for others and you shall have it in return.
Thank you.
So I guess that also applies to:
aliens,
sasquatch,
Yeti,
chupacabra,
easter bunny,
Santa,
toothfairy,
etc, etc.
;-)
I disprove any fool who thinks a value (moral) will become immortal. And Christians 'prove' that God exists every day by thinking that 'little Bobby's tumor was benign ... because God wanted him here on earth.'
You got it drifter!
I think the instructions to "go forth and multiple" has been grossly interpreted. It may very well have meant to reproduce enough to replace yourself. Keep in mind also that before medicine, people had many children as spares. Sorry to be so blunt, but true.
I think you have it backward, William.
In science the one who makes the claim is expected to prove it. You claim God exists, fine. But you can't turn around and say that because someone can't prove you wrong that you are somehow correct. A lot of people lately like to pretend to use scientific method to make their religious beliefs more credible. No one has to prove God doesn't exist, because the faithful are the ones making the argument for His existance.
The best explanation I ever heard was from a freind once who said, "I can't prove God exists, but faith in God is simply what I believe in my heart to be right." Believers who make statements like that get a lot more respect than those who challenge others to prove them wrong.
Kudo's Dave,
Finally........a post worth reading.
No we are quoting fictional books for the reason we should have 9-15 kids?
There are things God intended man to do. Everything for his own well being and others. Man was given freewill. Many good things to show how intelligent man is. Also, choices to do evil. Then there's us regular people. Making mistakes, wanting to be better. It can be that simple. Taught wrong from right. The choice becomes do we rule ourselves or allow (if we believe so) the Creator to direct us. God's intention is looking to the future to His promise of a new world here on the earth that we were given to take care of.
Where i live they pay us free money for how many kids we have. So people have 5 kids each because that is where the payckeck is at its best. Then we dont leagally marry our husbands so they can provide extra support or get their own smaller check. Why on Earth would we stop having our little paychecks?? I cant believe the fools i see going to work every day to get checks. Idiots dont know that money is free in America?
So.......you just stopped in here hoping to find a link to another government hand-out program that you may have missed somewhere?
People are like goldfish. They are disgusting creatures.
So what does that make you?
All living things are disgusting. And beautiful!- except maybe you and me.
Okay people, adopt a kid, or accept that your five plus kids (make that 5=7 for the fat kids America produces) are going to die in a massive plague or food supply problem.
I don't know where you live - but where I live fat kids are a rarity. And not all of us have 5 kids. In fact, we have one. And that's all we're having. Because we support ourselves and our child & that's all we can afford. Too bad I'm paying to support so many lowlifes who keep pumping out puppies just so they can get more money in their d*mn check from the government...
I was using hyperbole to give strength to my post. I live in Atlanta ... so I'd say three kids is roughly the average. And yes, a lot of them are little tubs of lard.
I don't have any. Gay people are not ALLOWED to. Many of us would love to adopt though. Hey, I was just kidding we are not allowed to. We are not able to. HEY! I was kidding about that too, but not about many of us adopting, especially those straights would throw away (deformed, crack babies, AIDS babies) or those thrown out of the family because they themselves are thown out for any number of reasons. And no, not to recruit.
JJ - if someone wants to have three kids AND can afford to support them, that doesn't seem like going overboard to me. So, you NEEDED hyperbole to make your point. Because you really didn't have one.
And the same holds true for the "childhood obesity" epidemic nonsense. I'm not saying that there aren't too many fat kids in SOME regions - but it's a myth that the whole U.S. is suffering from an "epidemic." It's just not true.
your a real idiot
Its OK to have children as long as you cam properly provide for them....its the people on Jerry Springer & Maury who don't eben know who the father is that pi$$e$ me off. Am I a bigot???....probably...but then I didn't start out that way. The low-lifers made me that way.
Me too...
You're right! We should forcibly sterilize people we deem to be "undesirable."
.....Oh wait, the nazis already tried that.
All good efforts to save the environment and promote the general welfare of the people pales with the single, massive problem of over-population confronting us...the earth can't support the population tsunami engulfing the world. We are part of this earth...the potential expression of all that is good. The unanswered question is whether we as humankind are just animals subject to the evoluntionary laws of natural selection and subsequently face a massive dieoff from overpopulation or are we evolution aware of itself, capable of understanding, living within, and, in certain well understood situations, directing the natural laws that govern this earth. One thing, for sure, it (population growth) cannot continue on its current trajectory. Like it or not, the living earth and its environs will correct the situation. I fear it may take a massive, horrendous human dieoff to wake us up and put the earth back in balance. One thing for certain, the earth has enough time left on it for other more compassionate and rationale species to evolve.
Huh! ......and here, for a moment, I thought these were photos of folks lining up to buy the newest iPhone model!
Scary "stuff", alright!!
Uh - stop fu***ng already? Fat chance. Doomed, doomed we're all doomed I tell you. Seriously this is the variable in the equation that all the politicians leave out of their economic plans. Particularly the guys who claim we can go back to some idealized past. Too late. Too many more people. P.S. It is also the variable the climate change deniers leave out of their "We're not doing it" argument.
Asians and africans got to stop fooling around.. 75% of the population lives there.. No population problem in Americas(N,S),europe or middle east.
Seven billion people? There goes the neighborhood. Better start planting a garden.
And now the Conservatives among us would outlaw birth control because it is hormonal based and it works by preventing a fertilized embryo from implanting into the uterus wall, thus it will become murder with this move to claim life begins at fertilization. So grab your socks America, here comes another population explosion in our country as well. Go figure.
What conservative wants to oulaw birth control. Oh you mean birth control by abortion (aka. murder)... yeah we want to outlaw that. Oh wait, it's already outlawed... except that abortion is the exception to the law.
If life life doesn't begin at fertilization when does it begin? Oh at birth. So let me get this straight... ebryo = no life, birth = life... so we have life from no-life... confusing...
"Liberalism is a mental disorder"
@mark, what about when a woman is raped and then gets pregnant?or if a woman could possibly die giving birth, or the child could be born with painful deformities??would the tax payers and conservatives want to help pay for these children to to be taken care of??please tell me how ppl or another female can not think a woman has the right to choose when these things are a possibility..i hear alot of men complaining about abortions and i think they need be more sensitive and understanding to what a woman goes through..they have no right to judge unless they are the parent..lets keep religion out of it..i could never get an abortion, but that's my choice...
Even Herman Cain agrees with beinghuman4life!
Spoken like a true goldfish...
If you covered the entire inhabitable space on the planet with the people we currently have on it, there would be 1 person every 100 feet, in all 4 directions.
Feeling claustrophobic?
That is not true.
Chinese mothers are telling their kids to clean their plates, there are starving kids in America.
Well one thing for sure..SEX is alive and well on planet earth! Rich or poor.
Nature will level the playing field soon and it WILL BE UGLY!
that is a fact but, folks don't deal well with facts though...
Have you ever heard this quote?
"Have you ever heard og global climate change?
The Earth has a fever, and we are her illness."
Here we are destroying everything and everyone around us .
Why can't we just leave the world in peace?
If you haven't had kids, I'm happy for you.
For those who have, make sure you tell your grandchildren to watch out.
If you want kids, adopt.
There are so many kids out there, missing a family.
We need to start caring or else there is no point in living.
Sorry for my doom and gloom.
Zabcia... "we are her illness"...LOL Who said the earth was female. Last time I checked the earth was a Planet!
What about all the lies the environmenal scientists were telling the world about so-called "man- made" global warming. Guess when you have worshipped at the alter of Algore you can't be confused with the facts!
"Liberalism is a mental disorder"
Give us the facts Mark. Transportation, factory and power plant emissions don't have effect? Agricultural runoffs end emissions don't have effect? Clear cutting rain forests don't have effect? Give us the facts Mark.
Guess when you worshipped at the alters of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity you can't be confused with the facts! You know, I repeat this because it goes both ways.
Conservatism is a mental disorder
Mark
u never heard of mother nature?
lol
Interesting facts.
@anAntisocialist - If your point is that there is plenty of land to go around, you are not giving enough consideration to sustaining life. These facts you site do little to prove your point. Imagine if all of humanity were merged into a single organism. A giant per se. If an organism the size of Texas was roaming about on the face of the Earth what does it eat? What does it drink? There is a finite amount of fresh water on the planet and salt water is fatal if it drinks it, therefore it could not drink seawater, it could only drink from freshwater lakes and streams. Much of the land surface IS NOT fertile and therefore is not used agriculturally for food production. Add in pollution and waste disposal, there is little on Earth to sustain it. Going back to your point, all of humanity fitting into a space the size of Texas, so what? How will something that large stay alive? We are already maxed out.
This is absolutely a stupid article. This is the same thing we heard and by the same propagandists in the 60's and 70's. Do the math: Group the world's population into "families" of 4. Now give each family a 1,200 square foot house. ALL of that will fit into Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Stop listening to these fools.
Hey peeps,
Would you all hush up about TX. We've got plenty of wackos and inbred's here already.
For starters, we've got Rick Perrry......need I say more?
Except most of these people don't have a 1,200 square foot house. That's the problem. Most live in squallor and poverty.
what could they do too maintain a 1200 sqft house? You can't just put a house anywhere an thats it!
You are QUITE wrong. India was in that category (extreme poverty), but through education and the free markets they've grown into a very strong economy and growing every year WITHOUT the doom and gloom predicted by the same usual suspects: Liberals who want you to "just let them run the world".
You're missing the point. There is PLENTY of room on earth for MANY more people. What creates the problem is GOVERNMENT interference and control. Virtually all of the depressed nations are those run by dictators or top heavy government.
Rich people have properties and investments, poor people have children. For the poor, the most effecive means of insuring against old age and porverty is to have children. The more the better. It's the whole pyrimid scheme. But too many mouth to feed impoverish all, which in turn drives people to have more children. It's a vicious circle. The most effective population control is bring people out of the desparate poverty. To provide social safety net, so far are only provided by themselves in the form of more children.
Jester the problem is....is that people really don't understand what the TRUE definition of poor really is... theres POOR an PO! just cause you have a Home & a Steady JOB does'nt mean your not POOR..You just aint PO! for now..
Looking at those pictures, all I can think of is Daniel Boone wanting "elbow room."
soyleant green anyone? :P
Condoms anyone??
Perhaps forced abortion is the way to go after all.
I've always thought our tax system is backwards. People should pay MORE taxes for each kid they have, not get a DEDUCTION! However, good old Corporate Greed keeps that from happening since our economy is based on consumerism. A stable population isn't as profitable as one that keeps expanding. We need to give more tax breaks to those with only 1 or 2 children (reward people for being environmentally and socially responsible) and penalize the rest.