Population growth strains global resources
Email Comments (4) iPod-friendly Print By Jack Z. Smith - McClatchy Newspapers

June 23, 2008


Amid the furor over sky-high oil prices and $4 gasoline, the news media have given minimal attention to an increasingly significant factor contributing to rising energy prices: the relentless uptick in global population.

We’re adding 77 million energy-consuming people to the planet every year. That increase is more than triple the population of fast-growing Texas, the second-most populous state in the world’s third most-populous nation.

The bulk of the global population jump is in developing countries where energy consumption rates also are rising the fastest. That phenomenon not only is fostering greater worldwide demand for fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal), but also squeezing precious fresh-water supplies and steadily decreasing land available for crops at a time when food prices are soaring.

Given this backdrop, it was pleasing to see a news article outlining Egypt’s intensified efforts to rein in its rapid population growth at a time when the government is dealing with lengthy bread lines and riots over flour rationing.

In only about 25 years, Egypt’s population has roughly doubled, to 81 million, making it the most populous Arab nation and the 16th most populous of the world’s 200-plus nations. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has launched a new family planning campaign based on concerns that the nation’s population would double by 2050 based on current growth rates.

The slogan for the $80 million campaign is simple: “Two children per family — a chance for a better life.â€