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PLANET EARTH


As scientists discover more about the vastness of the universe and the evolution of our own solar system it becomes more amazing that our tiny planet is so supportive of life. We are just the right distance and orbit around the sun. Through a long and precarious history our magnetic field has protected us from the solar wind, photosynthesis created oxygen and our atmosphere has developed and stabilised. and the long process of evolution has favoured us.


Humans have therefore survived and multiplied so that the world population reached one billion in the 1830’s. Since then the number of people has grown substantially. For every one person alive in 1960 there were 2.5 people fifty years later. Hans Rosling in his book ‘Factfulness’ estimates that we will reach a peak of 11 billion humans by 2100.


His study is a positive appraisal  of  the human situation, showing how most peoples’ lives have improved over recent years. With more people now dying from over eating rather than war.


However, the world population has dramatically increased in a very short term during the lifetime of most adults and it poses a major concern for our children. There are serious challenges to food supplies, health care,  energy generation,  social cohesion and the balance of the eco system between plant, animal and insect species.