We live in a time when we we all ar founding out, the World it’s not as big as we thought, and furthermore, has a human population of over 8 billion as of 2023, with an overall population density of 50 people per km2 (130 per sq. mile), excluding Antartica. Nearly 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, with almost 2.8 billion in the countries of India and China combined.
The percentage shares of India, China and rest of South Asia of the world population have remained at similar levels for the last few thousand years of recorded history. The world’s literacy rate has increased dramatically in the last 40 years, from 66.7% in 1979 to 86.3% today. Lower literacy levels are mostly attributable to poverty. Lower literacy rates are found mostly in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. The world’s largest ethnic group is Han Chinese constituting over 19% of the global population in 2011. In terms of the largest number of native speakers, Mandarin is the world’s most spoken language.
The world’s population is predominantly urban and suburban, and there has been significant migration toward cities and urban centres. The urban population jumped from 29% in 1950 to 55.3% in 2018.[7[8]
Interpolating from the United Nations prediction that the world will be 51.3 percent urban by 2010, Ron Wimberley, Libby Morris and Gregory Fulkerson estimated 23 May 2007 would have been the first time the urban population outnumbered the rural population in history. India and China are the most populous countries, as the birth rate has consistently dropped in wealthy countries and until recently remained high in poorer countries. Tokyo is the largest agglomeration in the world.
the World Economic Forum has singled out 10 key global challenges that, if they are to be addressed, require cooperation from the public and private sectors.
I will not mention every one, you can google it if you care, to, in order to be brief, and to the point.
By 2050 we likely will have 9 Billion people to feed, and shelter, and everything else that goes to support a person through his/her life, not just food, work, shelter, medicine, education, the list will be all the necessary things we all need to survive, be this clean water, or clean air, and whatever we consume like a plague of ants, like Marabunta do, it refers to a large group of ants, but specifically refers to a type of ant also known as siafu (its name in Swahili), warrior ants or legionary ants. They are the marabunta ants, which are surprising for their organization, behavior and way of attacking their prey. These insects gather in colonies of up to 20 million individuals that can be distinguished because they move en masse. In this way they search for food and destroy everything in their path, including small animals. Some people like to say we as Humans are pretty much like them in our beahavior, as consumers, remember those short films of people going to a sale, and charging into into a store all at the same time, and running all over people, for some cheap goods?
Well, that can get even worst with a lot of more people people around the Globe all competing for the necessary stuff, we all need to survive, and stay alive. With more people around and our own instinct to survive, that can get real ugly,
“Think globally, act locally” urges people to consider the health of the entire planet and to take action in their own communities and cities. Long before governments began enforcing environmental laws, individuals were coming together to protect habitats and the organisms that live within them. These efforts are referred to as grassroots efforts. They occur on a local level and are primarily run by volunteers and helpers.
I was a teenager on the sixties and for quite sometime you saw an enviromental counsciousness arise within the young people over the World, and things looked very bright, then, now things are not so clear, even if more awareness exist, and we are warned at every moment from all the media corners, the fate of the world and from all of us, continues to be even more dangerous, urgent, and pressing.
“Think Globally, Act Locally” originally began at the grassroots level, however, it is now a global concept with high importance. It is not just volunteers who take the environment into consideration. Corporations, government officials, education system, and local communities also see the importance of taking necessary actions that can impact positively the environment.
We live in a Universe full of Galaxies and stars, of inimaginable proportions, however this little tiny planet we call Earth. and many ancient cultures named it Mother, Earth, by many names. Still it’s our only Mother, and she nurture us, and give us life, since it’s beguinings. Well so far it’s the only one we got, at least untill now. Let’s make our best to keep it nurturing us.
Kone, Krusos, Kronos 
9 billipn humans are just too much for Mother Eatth! Everybody knows it but no politician whereever dares to mention this clearly and as a matter of urgency; For other species time is already running away. This can’t work 😡
I definitely agree with what you say, and strong measures should be taken worldwide, but of course that remains to be seen!
It looks and feels like being on a downhill train, windows shut, eyes closed, with failing, or absent brakes.
It seems so, obviously there will be big problems, if strong measures are not taken, without being selfish, somehow, because of my age, I hope I don’t see it.
Thank you for this post, it coalesces nicely with a post I have been working on and will publish by the end of his weekend or on Monday. These are important points of discussion: environmental damage, population densities, food production capacities and what is called sustainability.
I would answer your question as follows very briefly, but in my upcoming article it’s more developed:
Global solutions for local problems don’t work very well and often cause more problems than there already were. Local solutions for global problems don’t really work very well either, because everywhere globally is not the same. The best approach is local solutions for local problems because local people know and understand their local environments, contexts and the local complexities the best, so they know (through practice – trial and error) what works and what doesn’t.
The problem with global solutions for local problems is that global solutions are formulated as one-size-fits-all solutions, so they often fall short or fail to address unique local problems.
I agree with you Jean- Jacques, that’s why I mention ““Think Globally, Act Locally” originally began at the grassroots level.” The fact that I add, that today there seems to be a general agreement by Corporations, government officials, education system.”
I should put on boldletters the word “SEEMS” in bold letters, since we know full well how they like to give lip service, to it, more than what they do, specially by corporations who are the worst polluters, however we cannot let the individual as blameless, when he is just a consumer, and obedient polluter of the environment, we all have a responsability on the matter. And therefore aggree with your statement.
However in my view there is a need for less people troddening the planet and for that we need a Global action, and there is were the problem lay, since every country, and every comunity itself, will need to do its part, and that looks very unlikely. But I agree with you.
Thanks for the expanded reply Mr A, it’s not that I disagree with you – I think you made a good summary of the realities of the situation. I think that unfortunately the environmental concerns that people naturally have (most people would feel that the environment must be protected) are being used to promote policies that cause even more damage to the planet, but people cannot see that – for example all the ‘clean’ and ‘green’ devices (you know, the sun-panels that are made with coal and transported with fossil fuels – same thing with the tower-mounted wind propellers that can’s actually be recycled and have to be reinstalled every 20 years or so, but this is a big subject which is why will dedicate two essays to it.
One thing I discovered in recent years is that we all have blind spots – including me – we all tend to believe what everyone does on any particular subject until we actually make the effort to take a very close look at what ‘common knowledge’ tells us, and very few of us make that effort. In that sense we are equally responsible, because the outcomes of the causes we campaign for are often more detrimental than if nothing was done. So I fully agree with you on that. Thanks for the thoughtful discussion!
I understand, the way to hell it’s paved with good intentions!
And today a lot it’s put outhere, and we even do not have the time to figure out what’s the best option to procede?
Hardly a day go by, that you do not find some new piece of information that’s telling you things are going worst than ever, when talking about protecting the environment, and what actually its hapening!
After a while it’s like a cacophony, where you cannot figure out what to do, or how to do it, because the noise, its so loud!
And therefore aphaty, and indiference sets inn.
Take care Jean-Jacques.
Perfectly expressed! Recently I’ve been trying to sort the wheat from the chaff in the cacophony and I regularly asked myself why do I even bother?! because it’s such a massive task and I’m not sure most people even care! Nevertheless somehow in my combination of stress and boredom (somehow contradictory but I have them at the same time..) I wrote something about it – as we tend to do when we are frustrated. Wishing you a good weekend Mr Anaya.
Exactly, I feel the same way as you do!
Take care Jean-Jacques!
Hi, B.H.! I hope you are well……..!
I agree. Except I think most people care…but are unable to care the way they’d like because they’re just trying to survive. So in surviving and not having the time/energy/resources to become activists, even on the smallest level, it gives the appearance of not caring. I feel like I’m in that group most of the time, too, since my husband and I are both writers (apart from Hollywood writers) and have seen little return for our efforts. Donating and signing petitions seems to be the peak, sometimes, of what we’re able to do.
Also, the US’s new bans on abortion and laws for forced birth won’t be helping the world’s numbers go down. A sane person would ask: why make this rule now, considering the billions of people on earth? Does that really help? But one would have to study the history of the US, especially race relations, to glean that answer. One which resides, unfortunately, not on the side of “ethics” or “morals” but with a desperate attempt to boost diminishing Caucasian numbers.
I hear you!
I am too old, and I feel the way you do, unable to do much to stop it, or to do any siignificant action, that will do something towards a better future, except to bring counsciousness to the few, who may read me, but also traped with their own individual problems we all face, as humans, who says life it’s easy?
If any consolation, figure out, that we will not be here to see it, as a sort of Soylent Green dystopian scenario!
But also, I reflect, we all, as mankind, we are not, really the ones who will have the last word, on that issue.
The same way we did no have it, from our humble beginings.
Love to be in touch again with you!
Thanks, B.H. I miss hearing from you, too, and so glad you’re back! 🙂
It’s a terrifying time to be alive right now. I think we are sadly in the process of not only killing our planet but ourselves. I’ve always been glad I never had children, and I am even more so now as I see this slow destruction of humans toward the earth. A great post, though it saddens my heart. I do everything I can to recycle, reuse, conserve, etc., but it is so disheartening to see the selfishness of so many others. I hope you are doing well.
I feel that we live in difficult times due to several factors, for one our age, we have lived a lot and we have seen too many things, at the same time that we have witnessed a radical change in our lives, due to the fact that things have changed too much before our eyes, and not to improve, and this makes us cynical, and skeptical, that the future will be better, in fact I think, that the only thing we want is to disconnect from the world, and live in our little niche that we have built, around us, in fact, ask me since when did I stop watching the news?
When before it was the first thing I did, when I got up.
Now I only read books, and I leave the house two or three times a week, to meet my son, who lives here, and one or two friends at the Cafe and talk, about anything, I think we do it, just so as not to be totally isolated, and entertain ourselves a bit, while we calmly wait for the end of life, which we already know will not be far away, to arrive.
Of course I am talking about how I feel at my old age, know well, people younger than us feel totally different, according to their age, and expectations.
Best wishes to you dear!
My physics and engineering background has always left me looking at such matters from a dry mathematical perspective. That said, however, I understand how we humans are motivated primarily by emotion. So I was truly surprised when the Earth hit 8-billion to the sound of… crickets. It doesn’t strike me that those in charge really seem to care. Or perhaps they simply suffer from the same denial.
Meanwhile, we’re being sold “solutions” that aren’t with smoke-and-mirrors… electric cars and LED light-bulbs, solar-power and carbon taxes, turning corn into fuel, and technological vaporware… and hand-waving distractions about “equity” while entire populations flee already failed states. The Haber-Bosch process alone accounts for two-thirds of the world’s current population… probably more. Billions of lives perched upon a single, fundamentally non-renewable, petroleum-based technology. And probably half or more of the world’s population is now drinking and/or irrigating with water from fossil aquifers deposited in the last ice age. Yemen as a habitable land exists 100% on fossil water, already depleted around its towns and coasts.
I’ve written enough articles on the topic from various angles that I could probably have an entire category for “Overpopulation”. But it strikes me as something that falls squarely into the realm of *that which must not be acknowledged*. Perhaps it’s because it requires addressing controversial topics, like personal responsibility, human-rights, and exploitation. Wealthy nations are so because of the “growth model”, and that requires that there’s a pyramid-scheme of people who can be increasingly exploited. But try telling the starving kid who dug out the 8-kilos of cobalt in a Tesla’s batteries that he’s, “saving the world”.
I agree with you and everything you say its the pure truth, too much complacency, at a Global level, too many things are said, and we read about the problem, but practical, and to-the-point solutions, are conspicuous by their absence!
While the world goes to hell!
While community dialects may not be widely recognized, they play a crucial role in preserving the cultural heritage and identity of their respective communities in India. Their significance lies in their ability to encapsulate the essence of regional history, cultural values, and collective memory, fostering a sense of belonging and unity among their speakers. Embracing and safeguarding these lesser-known languages is vital to sustaining India’s linguistic and cultural diversity, enriching the nation’s cultural tapestry and reinforcing the bonds of its diverse communities.
Thank you for your response, I appreciate it, where I live Mexico, we have Spanish as our main language, but also the government also recognizes 63 indigenous languages spoken in their communities out of respect, including Nahuatl, Mayan, Mixtec, etc. And those lenguages are still spoken on their local comunities, through Mexico.
Saving our species and the planet will require a collective desire to renounce inequality in all its forms from those with power over others. I’m not sure we’ll ever get there, but as individuals we can strive to live in harmony with the world and try in our little ways to make it a better place when we leave it than when we arrived.
I totally agre with your view, it’s that or we all will be in great trouble, so let’s hope, if not all, at least enough of us to make a difference.
I remind myself of Haudenosaunee Seventh Generation Principle: decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. Wishing you a wonderful new year and hoping this finds you well.
“Standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Comes to mind with your comment, we all depend on past generations, and we are grateful for their care, whose benefit we enjoy.