World Population Rises to Seven Billion

This just in: People like to have sex. Apparently, lots and lots of people are having lots and lots of sex, because the world is popping out babies faster than the Octomom can. According to the United Nations, the world population hit seven billion this weekend. It was only 12 years ago that the world population jumped up to six billion, with the birth of Adnan Mevic on October 12, 1999. The UN's Secretary General at the time, Kofi Annan, posed for pictures with Mevic in his arms. This time around, the UN is going for a more subtle celebration. According to rawstory.com, the current UN chief Ban Ki-moon is not going to pose for pictures with any newborns in celebration of the milestone. Ban Ki-moon is more concerned with solving the problems of children born to families that cannot feed them, in political systems where food solutions are not part of the equation. “Plenty of food, but still a billion people going to bed hungry every night. Many people enjoy luxurious lifestyles, but still many people are impoverished,” he said in an interview with Time magazine. The world's population has doubled in the past fifty years, a sharp increase in population that may not be sustainable in the long run. As the number of people on the planet rises, so too do our food needs, water needs, air needs, as well as other basic necessities. As poorer nations become more stuffed with individuals, the pressure to become more Westernized, more urbanized, and more modern becomes greater, as those are seen as the best ways to handle more people in the same amount of space. This increases the usage of resources such as oil, electricity, and natural gas, further shrinking dwindling world supplies. If the current trends hold, look for the world to expand to 10 billion people by 2100, the UN said. With most of the growth occurring in poorer nations (who, by religion, by custom, or by poverty, lack access to basic birth control methods) the world could be in for some major changes, geo-politically. For now, the focus is on the seven billion people that currently dominate the Earth. While the United Nations is more cautious in its approach to the number, individual countries around the globe are celebrating in a number of ways. According to rawstory.com, "Zambia is throwing a seven billion song contest; Vietnam is staging a '7B: Counting On Each Other' concert; Russian authorities are showering gifts on selected newborns and the Ivory Coast is putting on a comedy show." There is no word on whether or not America's rumored celebration, titled "You 7 billion poor people can get off my lawn" is really in the works or not... Like my stories? You can subscribe for my free newsletter here. To comment on this (or any of my columns), visit my user page at Benzinga. You can also reach me by email john@benzinga.com or on twitter @johndthorpe.