The rate of growth has stabilized in “Western” countries, Europe, the US, etc. It has even dropped in Central and Eastern Europe, South Africa and Japan. It remains high the Muslim Middle East, Catholic Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

I will guess that religious opposition to birth control, tradition bound family practises, and a lack of sex education in poverty stricken areas of Asia and Africa, are the primary reasons the birth rate remains high were it does.

I am optimistic about mankind’s survival, 10,000 or more years into the future. I do agree that if we don’t make dramatic changes in the way we live, and I am don’t see much evidence that we will, there will be severe consequences to future generations. Perhaps some plague, or environmental catastrophe, will wipe out large segments of the world population, as the black plague did in the middle ages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth

“The actual annual growth in the number of humans fell from its peak of 87.5 million per annum in 1989, to a low of 76.4 million per annum in 2002, at which it stabilised and has started to slowly rise again to 79.4 million per annum in 2007, and 80.2 million per annum in 2009. Growth remains high in the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Some countries experience negative population growth, especially in Central and Eastern Europe (mainly due to low fertility rates and emigration) and Southern Africa (due to the high number of HIV-related deaths). Japan’s population began decreasing in 2005[9] and some Western European countries are also expected to encounter negative population growth.”

Technologic and economic changes mean we humans now are capable of seriously altering the delicate balance our planet needs to keep ALL living organisms in a harmonious balance.

Before i was born mankind merely had the ability to destroy his local environment and he would then move somewhere ‘nicer’ that he had not polluted or over-used beyond it’s capacity to regenerate.

Today he is finding there are far fewer places to run to and there are no longer enough natural resources easily obtainable from other countries or his own to support his extravagant, wasteful lifestyle.

Even so, many of us do not see the lessons being taught us by nature and believe ‘all will be well’ and things can go on – or even improve – so i’ll just keep on doing what i always did.

Some are waking up but in the main it is too little way too late.

As bad as it is becoming with 6.5 billion of us and about 20% of those having a ‘developed’ lifestyle’ it will be five times worse when there are 10 billion of us and 50% of those having ‘our’ priviliges.

This is likely to happen in our children’s lifetimes, possibly even our own if we live another 50 years – i pity them, and moreso the billions that will die or lose it all, as a result of our ignorance.

The good news? in a thousand years or so the earth might once again recover enough to let a new bunch of species evolve to take the places of the ones we wipe out in our decline.

i’m not currently too worried about our planet’s future survival. Just man’s.

<B

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Zille

“Zille’s work as mayor, and in particular her successes in tackling crime, drug abuse and unemployment in Cape Town, led to her selection as World Mayor of the Year in 2008 – from a field of 820 candidates. She was also chosen as Newsmaker of the year 2006 by the National Press Club in July 2007″

Zille’s response to the issue:

“[T]he (male) gender commissioner has remained silent about the extreme sexism of the ANC Youth League and the Umkhonto we Sizwe War Veterans Association that both accused me of appointing men to my Cabinet in return for sexual favours. Contrast the commissioner’s silence on this issue with his vocal threats to take me to court to impose quotas on the Western Cape Cabinet. His obsession with quotas is actually a useful diversion from the real issues that oppress women in South Africa.”

In the long run I don’t think quota’s work. Real progress is made when every person has the same opportunities regardless of sex, or race, or religion.

Of course the town, Hope, Maine, consisted of about 10 families on one street, with a “general” store.

But there has been a big uproar here in SA this week because the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille (also the [female] leader of the official opposition party) chose an all male provincial cabinet. Something about setting a bad example on gender issues. I say, male or female, as long as the job gets done;)