Summit to Save the Earth: Population

The Uninvited Guest

By EUGENE LINDEN Monday, June 01, 1992
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    Seafood will not be limitless either. Some scientists estimate that rising demand will exceed what the oceans can produce by 20% in as little as 20 years. One sign of how badly the seas have been overfished is that populations of bluefin tuna have declined 94% since 1970.

    The world has already overshot the saturation point in its ability to process many wastes. For instance, a doubling of human population would be likely to boost the concentrations of nitrates in rivers 55%. Nitrates, which get into the water from air pollution and fertilizer runoff, are among the most difficult contaminants to remove. The chemicals cause human diseases and promote water conditions that kill fish and other aquatic life.

    Earth Summit enthusiasts argue that efforts to raise incomes and educational levels for the poor will have the side effect of lowering population growth. In the fastest-growing countries, however, population increases prevent development by sopping up investment capital that might otherwise improve lives. If the summit is to be more than a bureaucratic sideshow unrelated to the forces threatening the globe, it will have to do more than offer camouflaged references to the population explosion.

    CHART: NOT AVAILABLE

    Source: UN Population Fund; Caption: WORLD POPULATION

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