EDITORIAL - Slowly heading for extinction

The world population has attained the seven billion mark courtesy of a baby born in Asia last October 31. It was only in 2000 that the global population reached six billion.

After only 10 years, one billion people have been added to the global population, prompting health experts and the United Nations to issue warning that the world is treading on a disastrous path.

As worldwide population grows at a rapid pace, experts fear the global resources may soon not enough to sustain the earth’s inhabitants. Despite countless scientific advances that greatly increased food production, hunger is still stalking the world.

It’s undeniable that hunger has become the number one problem poor countries are facing today. It has been ripping through many countries in Africa, Asia and South America, killing millions for decades already. And it will surely claim the lives of millions more in the years to come.

Food shortage is also taking toll on developing countries like the Philippines. For years already, low production and swelling population forced the country to resort to importing rice from neighboring countries. Despite being host to the world’s only rice research institute, Filipinos are still grappling for solution to the problem on rice insufficiency.

It’s really ironic that while those rice-sufficient countries learned the techniques of mass production in the Philippines, Filipinos are still having trouble in their effort to produce enough rice. With ballooning population, the country has to double its food importation or face starvation.

With the birth of the seven-billionth baby, the world faces a daunting task of feeding its inhabitants in the face of depleting resources. Amid environmental destruction that triggered various calamities, how to sustain the giant population has become a tough question for world leaders to answer.

As the world begins to run out of its resources, the human race is starting to slowly heading for extinction.