Rising global populations spell a major threat to all that we hold dear – our own existence is under siege when resources dwindle and space shrinks. Thanks to technology and advances in medical science, the world is simply bursting with people. As cynical as it sounds, the biggest threat to world peace today is not through terrorism or economic fluctuations, but over population. The US Census Bureau states that there are about 7,113,749,767 people in the world today. One million more people are added to the world population every five days. That is a staggering statistic – and countries must deal with this phenomenon with a few ways – * Greater investment in affordable housing. Governments and real estate developers around the world are waking up to the need to house growing populations. The population of a certain city or country may rise with migration too. Thus, there is an urgent need to create affordable housing units that are driven by touchpoints such as future growth, sustainable building practices, and partnerships between real estate developers, the end users, and the Government alike. * Measure environmental costs and impacts. As the global population grows, the Government administrations need to map the environmental costs of procuring and providing more power, gas, water and infrastructure to meet the rising need. Putting a cost on the impacts of high population on the environment and measuring their impacts can help Governments frame future policies for sustainable growth. * Increased emphasis on renewable sources of energy. Many countries around the world have good reserves of fossil fuels, water, and natural sources of power. But developing nations are already on the brink of an energy crisis, with no solution in sight. This could well be the situation of the entire planet, if we continue to use fossil fuels and plunder the Earth’s natural resources for our own needs. A sustainable solution? Use renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy, and have real estate developers create housing out of biodegradable materials. * Rewarding parents that have not more than two children. This might seem like a harsh measure, but it is time to curtail populations by incentivising a lower birth rate. That is not to say that parents must consider not having children, but they can try limiting the number of children to two. Though larger families may not be penalised in any way, offering Government incentives to smaller families may actually limit the population. * Pay heed to the needs of an aging population. With the big strides that medical science has taken in recent years, combined with changed genetic makeup among the races, most people are living longer than they used to. Average life spans have increased around the world. This means that while newer human beings are being born, older populations continue to thrive – thus creating a double whammy for the planet. The needs of the older populations – financial, medical and emotional – must be humanely and justly met.
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September 2016
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