Too Many People

2009 and population issues abound. According a report produced by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in New York, human beings have taken more than 83% of the globe's land surface to inhabit, mine, farm, or fish.

This leave merely a few areas suitable for wildlife. Humans also have taken advantage of 98% of the land that can be farmed for rice, wheat or corn. Will sane population policies ever be implemented?

China Flagrantly Overpopulates

From the BBC and the Xinhua news agency:
China's top family planning body has warned of a "population rebound" as couples flout one child policy rules. The widening wealth gap could lead to a rise in birth rates. Newly rich couples can afford to pay fines to have more than one child, while rural couples are marrying earlier.

China is keen to curb its population growth, and the controversial family planning policy, implemented in the late 1970s, is meant to limit urban couples to one child and rural families to two. But rising incomes mean that some newly rich couples in urban areas can easily afford to break the rules and pay the resulting fines. However, the number of rich people and celebrities having more than one child was on a rapid increase, and nearly 10% of people in this category had three children.

In the countryside, too, the rules are being flouted... because of the traditional preference for sons. Experts say this preference has led to the under-reporting of female births, as well as abortion of female fetuses and female infanticide. By the end of 2006, China's population stood at 1,314,480,000, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, with males accounting for 51.5% of the population.

Building Boom and Boom

Buildings to go up like never before: Where is the Breathing Space?
Haya El Nasser, writing in USA TODAY, reports that “residential and commercial development in the next quarter-century will eclipse anything seen in previous generations as the nation moves to accommodate rapid population growth.” This is based on a report from the Brookings Institution. Other findings:

* About half the homes, office buildings, stores and factories that will be needed by 2030 don't exist today.

* The U.S. population is expected to increase 33% to 376 million by 2030, 76 million more people than today.

* To serve that population, almost millions of new housing units will have to be built.

* About 20 million of these units will replace destroyed or aging homes.

“For generations, Americans favored single-family homes on larger lots. Development spread to where land is cheaper but within commuting distance to jobs. Communities must decide if they "want to develop policies consistent with those preferences or constrain them," says John Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "Sprawl is a choice."

Mega-Realities of Life

The five mega-realities of life serve as a framework to understanding change and how we can adjust our thinking and activities to maintain some semblance of control.

Sitting right where you are, what you now know about population — the fact that the world gains more than a quarter million people per day enables you to safely predict the following:

1) Investing in real estate, more specifically a home, will continue to be a sound financial move almost independent of your economic station in life.

2) Adopting a somewhat contrarian mindset will prove to be advantageous. Attempting to head into the city or out of the city at the same time as everyone, or booking theater or restaurant reservations at the same time as everyone else will be problematic or increasingly so as time passes. Commutes in all directions will become more arduous. Hence, living closer to work, living closer to shopping and conveniences, telecommuting occasionally, and shopping online will only grow in attractiveness and utility.

3) Old friends become more valued friends. Anchors such as family, close business associates, former college roommates and those who have shared experiences with us become more important with the passing of time. This is not to downplay the role of new friends, for indeed they can become great friends and eventually even old friends!

Population Woes

On a daily basis, the ever-increasing world population seemingly has little impact on our lives. After all, even though the world gains a million people every four days, what impact does it have on us if 99% of them are in India, or Asia or Africa? Yet, more people every day, in every society, all the time, in our fast-paced, high-tech society predictably yields higher levels of isolation, alienation, loss of identity, and even abhorrent behavior.

Population growth in a fast-paced world translates into more of everything in every direction. Allow me to explain: more brilliant students in school, more utterly hopeless students. More books, more plays, more movies, more philosophy, newer religions, cult groups and those at war with society. More noble thoughts, more deviant thoughts, more channel noise. A smorgasbord of information and entertainment, unprecedented in the history of the earth. Yet we each have a harder time focusing on reliable, verifiable information, and on high quality, socially redeeming, socially rewarding entertainment amidst the bland, the low brow, or the utterly vulgar.

As the U.S. population climbs to 300 million, from a benchmark 160 million in 1960, with it comes more roads, more buildings, more housing development, new zoning, new restrictions, more government, new ways to tax, and more bureaucracy. Everywhere you look, predictably more regulations, witness more forms signed by school children in order to participate in class, sports, extracurricular activities, field trips, and even volunteer opportunities.

More people on less land means predictable appreciation in real estate values. More chasing after the same economic goods. A rise in collectibles from the historic and magnificent to the recent and absurd. Greater levels of materialism and among many, the quest for greater spirituality.

The mathematics of population growth is unknown to most, spectacular to a few, and in most respects, a mystery to everyone. The Indonesian tsunami of December 26, 2004 ultimately claimed 150,000 to 160,000 lives. World population growth (live births - deaths) adds 150,000 to 160,000 people every 16 hours, in a day a quarter million people, and in a month more than seven million to the earth.

In two decades, at least six of the seven million born this month will be clamoring for jobs, some for enough to eat, some for higher education, and many for some the illusive and fleeting notion of cosmic or social justice.

Adjusting to Gridlock

Does it seem as if it's taking you longer merely to drive a few blocks? It's not your imagination--and it's not going to subside soon. More densely packed urban areas have resulted in gridlock. And our population and road use grow faster than our ability to repair our highways and bridges. Three quarters of the nation's 575,000 bridges were built before 1938, and nearly half are structurally deficient. Meanwhile, city planners report that there will be no clear solution to gridlock for decades.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to take personal control. Beat the traffic by getting up earlier, or later. Ask your boss if you can work flextime or at home a couple days a week. If you drive to work, put your CD player to use. I recommend listening to books on cassette, or relaxing with music of your own choice. Commute with people you enjoy talking to, not merely those who live nearby or work close to where you do.

Of course, you can move closer to your job, telecommute, change your job, or self-employ. Otherwise, recognize that gridlock will always be a part of your life.