Population Not Da Bomb

The environmental outlook for our planet is bleak if we cannot control mushrooming birthrates, according to the United Nation's annual "State of the World Population" report, released today. The study predicts that world population could grow from 6.1 billion to as many as 10.9 billion people by mid-century, unless dramatic gains are made in women's education, health care, and access to birth control. All the projected growth would occur in developing nations, creating widespread poverty and environmental degradation. The report takes the developed world to task for failing to adequately bankroll measures designed to curb world population growth, and cautions that humanity could be on a "collision course" with the environment.