Having a Baby

Between 1950 and 2008, the world's population more than doubled, growing from 3 billion to 6.9 billion [source: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources]. According to experts, we're looking at reaching a number close to 9.5 billion people by the year 2050. Even with healthy ecosystems and crops growing at full capacity, Earth can only sustain a limited number of people. As the population grows, so does the carbon footprint that humans leave on the planet. More people mean that more wild land needs to be converted to farming land, more pollution is created and more natural habitats are invaded. As cities grow to accommodate the ever-increasing population, natural spaces get smaller, affecting the animals and plant life in them.

With babies born every minute, does the Earth have more people than it can sustain? Talk about it!

It depends ... one must consider Earth's carrying capacity and the potential for science & innovation to increase that carrying capacity in the future. The scientists of the United Nations currently put Earth's carrying capacity at about 9 1/2 billion. What do you think?