Not since the demise of dinosaurs has there been an extinction rate that parallels what we may be soon facing. If that rate continues at its current pace, the population of the world will double in 40 years. That would put the world population at 12 billion. As we look at the number of environmental problems that we face today, imagine the magnitude of them in a world of 12 billion people. As the population continues to increase, so does human impact on the environment.
More people require the use of more fossil fuels and the production of more food.
Increased use of fossil fuels will only exaggerate some of the environmental problems discussed earlier. Production of more food means the loss of more topsoil and the extinction of more species. If we look at the big picture, population growth is the single most important factor in how we impact our environment. Solving Environmental Problems In the face of all the problems that we have discussed, we must continue to strive for ways to improve our management of the earth s resources. The most difficult, and at the same time the most important, part of solving environmental problems is to deal with population growth.