Population growth - A growing problem

IT seems completely unnatural to do anything other than celebrate when an increase in population is recorded.

However, the escalation in human population is so challenging that yesterday’s news from the Central Statistics Office, that we registered the highest birth rate in 110 years last year, must get a qualified welcome.

No matter how hard-wired we are to go forth and multiply we must also accept that there is a finite number of people that our planet can support.

The UN projects that world population will swell to 9.1 billion by 2050.

Today’s population is 6.8 billion and already international agencies are pessimistic about maintaining adequate food, safe fresh water and other critical resources for this number.

This is yet another challenge we cannot avoid no matter how we might wish we could.