At present the earth houses more than 7,000 million people and it is calculated that by the end of this century the 10,000 million.
It is true that in countries like Spain the number of children per couple has decreased dramatically due to factors such as the economic crisis or the insertion of women in the world of work. However, in other countries the birth rates have remained equally high and that, together with the increased life expectancy In most countries on the planet, it has led to the population continuing to increase gradually.
But, although it is difficult to imagine, everything has a limit and reach a point where the Earth cannot contain any more population. This depends on a series of factors, the most important being those related to one of the most primary instincts of the human being. And no, don’t think badly, I mean the feeding.
How much population fits on Earth? The answer is in the food
As I was saying, our planet has a large expanse of Earth in which many more people can live. In fact, today there are a large number of depopulated areas, so it could host a notable increase in population. But what about resources? As much as science and technology advance, humans will always need to eat and, although we often only see the food that arrives at the supermarket, that result harbors behind it a series of processes that require the use of large tracts of land.
For example, to be able raise cattle enough to feed a population of 10 billion people, it would take an area of land the same size as the African continent and to cultivate plantations that can supply all these people it would be necessary to occupy an area equivalent to the size of South America. Imagine the amount of habitable planet we just lost with those calculations.
To top it off, the I usually of the crops will gradually degrade, so it will be necessary to change it from time to time, requiring the occupation of new extensions.
How would pollution affect the number of people who fit on Earth?
Also take into account the contamination; since, as you know, it is the factor that is doing the most to change the planet on which our descendants will live.
To give you an idea, the global emissions of carbon dioxide per person they are 5 metric tons per year, but if you look at United States that data rises until reaching the 17 metric tons. Imagine now that the population increases, as predicted, in 3,000 million people and that they all lead a lifestyle similar to that of Americans. These emissions will be so large that the global planet temperature will increase to two degrees centigrade, assuming very notable changes in the meteorological conditions and, with it, in the quality of the crops.
Also, currently the 30% of available water of the planet is invested in human consumptionand the rest in tasks such as farming; but, still, the water available in countries like Ethiopian It is not clean enough to be consumed, so if the population increases we will find more similar cases.
So, will the predicted population increase fit? It seems to be a goat, but the quality of life of all these people it will be able to suffer a lot compared to the current one. But don’t fear, science is already at work to solve some of those problems and, meanwhile, we can also do our bit with tasks such as reducing polluting emissions. After all, the best we can give our descendants is a planet on which to live.
