Geographical Knowledge Sphere
The geographical knowledge sphere concerns the preservation of geographical, physical and continental regions of the entire earth. Emphasis is on international issues and relationships concerning nation-states’ territorial boundaries and conflicts, population and immigration challenges, and property ownership and resource rights.
The authors of the Millennium Project, 2009 State of the Future, ask: How can population growth and resources and balance? Here is what they have to say:
The world’s population is 6.8 billion. It is expected to grow to 9.2 billion by 2050 and could reach 11 billion if fertility rates do not continue to fall. If the rates do fall, then world population could actually shrink by 2100, creating an elderly world difficult to support…To reduce the economic burden on younger generations and to keep up living standards, people will work longer and create many forms of tele-work, part-time work and job rotation.
Nearly a billion people are undernourished and hungry. A quarter of all fish stocks are overharvested; 80% cannot withstand increased fishing pressure. Food prices rose 52% between 2007 and 2008, fertilizer prices have nearly doubled over the past year, and 30-40% of food production is lost in many poor countries due to lack of storage facilities. A food crisis may be inevitable.
To keep up with population and economic growth, food production should double in 30 years and animal protein may increase 50% by 2020, which increases demands on water and land, further increasing prices and competition between urban and rural requirements… Over half of humanity lives in urban areas today, which is expected to grow to 80% by 2030. During the same period, the 1 billion people living in slums today could double.
The challenge will be addressed seriously when the annual growth in world population drops to fewer than 30 million, the number of hungry people decreases by half, the mortality rate decrease by two-thirds between 2000 and 2015, and new approaches to aging become economically viable.
[Editor’s Note: Who in the world owns this problem? Individual countries? Geographical regions? The developed nations? The United Nations? Everyone and no one? Capitalists? God? Should those now living commit to a strategy of zero growth so that most people now on this planet experience a life worth living? Maybe everyone in later generations should be satisfied with leftovers!]