Not a Minor Statistic for Trivia Buffs
A brief article in The Times (April 4) noted that the number of people in the world is now more than 5 billion. Rather than a minor statistic for trivia buffs, I believe this should be front-page news every day, until people realize that we humans are a great threat to all life on Earth, especially our own.
From man’s first appearance on Earth, we took until 1850 to reach 1 billion in number; then until 1930 to reach 2 billion, and only until 1976 to reach 4 billion. It is expected there will be 10 billion people in 35 years, 2022.
Our world’s nations cannot afford to wage war, or to destroy forests and pollute rivers to balance budgets. We must realize that the quality of our lives does not depend on the degree of luxuries we can indulge in.
It is time to concentrate our efforts on reducing population growth, reducing destruction of the environment, and promoting international efforts to provide for earth’s and humanity’s future.
KATHLEEN DIAMOND
Los Angeles
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