How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?

Wed 07 Dec 2011, 11am

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Esteemed naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough takes a look at the problems we face as a continuously growing species. On a journey from Mexico to Spain, China to Rwanda, ecologists, demographers, farmers, engineers and family planning clinicians report on the enormous challenges of dealing with humans in ever increasing numbers.

With our population growing at an alarming rate, David Attenborough asks: how many people can live on planet Earth?

howmanypeoplecanliveonplanetearth

From the drought-stricken Colorado River, which isstruggling to irrigate the farms upon which millions ofAmericans rely, to Mexico City, trying to cope with waterrationing, the program reveals how scarce resourcesare affecting people all over the planet.

But this future is not inevitable. Experts discoverthat while countries as diverse as Canada, Turkey andRussia negotiate rights to sell freshwater to the world’sever-expanding dry-lands, the richest countries in theMiddle East are piloting solar desalination plants toprovide fresh water and irrigate farms in the desert.

Improvements in social policy and globalcooperation also offer hope. Research has shown thatwhere women are emancipated and literate and wherefamily planning is freely available, birth rates decrease.

But should population control be the duty of each oneof us? David Attenborough asks whether we should allcommit to smaller families for the sake of all humanityand the survival of planet Earth.