[1] Take this "pop"(-ulation) quiz: If all the people in the world stood shoulder to shoulder, they would fill: 
a. the state of California. 
b. all of Asia. 
c. the island of Bali, Indonesia. 
d. the entire United States. 

[2] Surprisingly, the answer is c-all the people on Earth could fit on the small island of Bali. Even though the world's population soared to a whopping 5.84 billion by mid-1997, Bali has enough room for each person to occupy less than one square meter--about the size of half a bathtub. (But would
you really want to live in a square-meter box?) 

[3] You might think that means there's plenty of room for more people in the world. But "think about food and water," says Carol Clark, director of the Population Institute in Washington, D.C. More than 14 percent of the world's population go hungry every day. "Earth just doesn't have enough living space for everybody." Demographers (scientists who study population statistics) are now predicting that the world's population will nearly double by 2050. Can our planet sustain such a growing crowd? That question has sparked a heated debate among experts. Some believe that a growing number of human beings will surpass (or may already have surpassed) the planet's capacity to provide resources and absorb wastes.

[4] Others theorize that more people will simply increase the pool of human ingenuity and possibilities for creating new technologies to overcome environmental crises. What do you think? Read on and decide. 

GROWING CROWD 

[5] Populations grow when the number of births exceeds the number of deaths, explains Clark. Consider this: Every day, about 382,650 babies are born worldwide and 144,902 people die. So on average, 237,748 more people inhabit the Earth each day-86,778,020 each year. That's like adding the population of an entire United States to the world every three years! 

[6] While population growth has stabilized in developed countries like the U.S., about 90 percent of the growth is occurring in developing countries, like China, India, and Nigeria. But that doesn't mean overpopulation is their problem. 

[7] "What happens in India affects us over here [in the U.S.]," Clark explains.  People from other countries are trying to get into the U.S. to escape overcrowding, extreme poverty, and hunger. 

FOOD FOR ALL? 

[8] When you stroll down a well-stocked supermarket aisle in the U.S., it seems hard to believe that about 840 million people worldwide, including 200 million children, do not have enough food to eat each day. Females require an average of 2,200 calories a day minimum, while males need about 2,500
calories. (Caloric requirements vary by age, gender, physical activity, and other factors.) 

[9] Believe it or not, the world's 1 billion farmers produce about 3,800 calories of grain, meat, and other food products per person per day-more than enough to feed everyone under the sun. Over the past four decades, the world's food supply has grown even faster than the population, thanks to fertilizers, pesticides, and improved farming techniques. Biotechnology altering the genetic makeup of plants so they become more fruitful and resistant to drought, insects, and disease also has increased crop yields. 

[10] So why are so many people still starving? The answer is pure and simple:  distribution--getting food to the right places. Many poor countries do not grow enough food to feed their own residents. And their governments can't afford to pay for imported foods. Wars, inadequate transportation systems, as well as droughts, floods, and other natural disasters also affect the food supply. 

[11] So while malnutrition (lack of adequate food) has decreased worldwide, some 43 percent of the people in sub-Saharan Africa and 22 percent of people in South Asia still go hungry every day, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS 

[12] Even if getting food to the hungry were not a problem, population experts still worry: What effect will billions of people have on the environment?

[13] Every day, each of us taps into Earth's resources, not only for food and water, but also for energy, land, shelter, clothing, and other life necessities.  The U.S., with only 5 percent of the world's  population, consumes 25 percent of the world's fossil fuels. As our need for living space increases, we move into the habitats of many other species, endangering their survival. At the same time, we pollute land, air, water, and even outer space. 

[14] The world's growing population is putting incredible stress on resources and intense pressures on the environment, says Henry Kendall, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We are putting our future in danger, he warns. 

[15] To put the problem of overpopulation in perspective, just imagine if the number of kids in your school doubled. What difficulties might that cause? Picture the lunchroom menu, hallways between classes, the library, the bathroom! Debate the pros and cons of a more crowded school with your classmates. Come up with a plan to accommodate the larger population.