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The earth faces a crisis of staggering dimensions . Biolo–
gists and population e xperts speak of the " Death of the Earth."
Warnings of impending global lamine, killing hundreds of
millions, hove been sounded. But why? Just where do we
stand, today? How urgent is the crisis? What really lies ahead?
Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich
of
the Department of Biological
Sciences, Stanford University, author
of
The Population
8omb,
recently addressed a " World Hunger Conference" in Ana–
heim, California . He spoke emphatically
of
the grave tragedy
that líes ahead
-
unless massive action is token now.
Dr. Ehrlich has condensed that address for inclusion in The
PLAIN TRUTH . In this article, we present his frightening
warning, which deserves immediate attention and adion!
by
Paul R. Ehrlich
A T THE MOMENT
we have 3.6 bil–
.f1
lion people in the world. We
are adding 70 million more
every year. That number will soon
increase to 80 million more people
annually.
In aU the wars of the United States
- that is, the Revolutionary War, the
War of 1812, the Mexican War, the
Civil War, the Spanish-American War,
World Wars
1
and 11, Korea, and the
Vietnam War - we have had roughly
600,000 battle deaths. World popu–
lation growth malees up that number
every three days.
Jf
cu~rent
world population growth
rates are projected, preposterous figures
are reached almost instantaneously.
If
we continue growing at the cate we're
growing now, there will be seven bil–
lion people in the year 2000. About 900
years from now there would be a thou-
Ambouodw Col/ege Pnoto ond
Wido World
Pn<>to
sand people per square foot of the
earth's surface; about a thousand years
after that there would be a weight of
people equivalent to the weight of the
earth; and a couple thousand years after
that the entire universe would be solid
people, and the baH of people would be
expanding at the speed of light!
But we are already in grave trouble
right here and now. The world popu–
lation is doubling at a rate of once
every 35 years.
Doubling Populations
In the so-called underdeveloped coun–
tries - which would be much more
honestly called the never-to-be-developed
countries - the population doubling
time ranges around 20 to 25 years.
Contemplate for a minute what it
means for a nation to double its popu–
lation size in 20 years - as, for
instance, Honduras is doing at the
moment.
lf
those people are going to
maintain their present quality of life,
every amenity for the support of people
in that country will have to be essen–
tia!ly duplicated
in
20 years. That
means where there are two dwelling