One in 7,000,000,000

NICOLE MARTINS

Cypress Bay High School

Last week the United Nations Population Fund announced the world population was projected to reach 7 billion people on Halloween.

This milestone is one that comes with mixed emotions. The success of our race is undoubtedly exceptional. However, the sharp increase in global population within the last decades is putting massive strain on our planet. Food production, fossil fuels... everything we depend on Earth for is being used faster than it's being replaced.

Attempting to consider what 7 billion actually means and looks like unfathomable. Especially if you're mindful of the fact that an estimated 9 billion people will makeup the world by 2045.

What does this mean for our generation? Within our lifetime, we are being witnesses to the fastest growth known to history; growth that goes beyond population numbers.