The World’s population is expected to rise to about 9.1 billion from the present 6.8 billion people.

Sir David Attenborough, famous environmental expert and BBC presenter of nature films, says 9 Billion people by 2050 will have a highly destructive effect on the Earth’s eco systems.

Sir David is patron of the British Optimum Population Trust (OPT) which has been pleading for reduction of the British population by at least 0.25 per year. Keep it to two children only, it advocates to new parents.

Reportedly Sir David has his critics, who find reducing population advocacy hard to swallow.

And, yes, there is a danger of forced population reduction measures, such have been operating in China. In general these have left uneven demographic scars with a lopsided male/female population ratio. In particular many Chinese parents must grieve for the children they never had.

But the Optimum Population Trust says it opposes forced population reduction measures.

Climate change is at the top of the public’s agenda right now as a major global threat to life on Earth. But are we ignoring the world’s population explosion as another global threat?

Yet, underlying deep approaches to climate change bear simularities to dealing with over population. Education is a known powerful tool to lift people out of poverty and reduce numbers of children they have.

Education, about our human nature as interdependent with each other and our environments, is essential to a truly sustainable world, in which it great to live and grow.

The double whammy climate change/over population is a powerful stimulus towards a better world, or an abyss. (Still) our choice I think.

Population Clocks

World 6,773,447,266

08:48 GMT
(EST+5) Apr 15, 2009

We may install any amount of solar panels, build our own wind generators or convert our cars to electric… But without that vital ingredient: a change in thinking about ourselves and our place on Earth, we would still be in great trouble.

What do you think?