Current Physical Issues
Water & Air Pollution

As the world population grows, one of the greatest concerns must be pollution. With 6,248,050,000 people on the planet according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the impact on the environment must be called significant.  In the last few decades, many organizations have been keeping a close eye on the environment. 

In the U.S., government groups such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State Departments of Environmental Conservation have worked  with independent watchdog groups like Greenpeace, Earth First, The Audubon Society and the Sierra Club over the best method of protection for both the environment and human health.

Many big businesses have been slow to adopt new environmental regulations because they of concerns it will be too expensive to make the necessary changes.  In several cases, government regulation and intervention has been necessary to compel a company to clean up toxic or hazardous waste sites.  In fact, since 1980, the EPA has overseen the cleanup of over 1,300 hazardous sites across the country.

Shifting Populations

One major concern for researchers is the rapidly growing world population.  In developed nations, the average birthrate is between 1 and 2 children per woman. That means countries like Spain and the Czech Republic are experiencing a shrinking population.   In under-developed nations, the birthrate is about 4 children per female.  In some Africa nations, women are bearing 7 children, on average.  The birthrate in the United States is below the rate of replacement, meaning more people are dying than being born to replace them.

China and India already account for over 20% of the world population.  In other words, 1 person out of every 5 in the world is either Chinese or Indian.  In less than 20 years, 1 out of every 4 people will be from India or China, with Africa contributing to the largest percentage (est. 35%) of global population increase.

Energy Problems

As worldwide populations grow, demand for energy will surely increase.  Even in the most developed nations, energy demand sometimes outpaces the supply available, leading to blackouts (total loss of power to everyone) or brownouts (partial loss of power to homes and businesses).  Such happenings are expensive for both companies, who lose money during the down time, and citizens, who may lose food they cannot afford to replace.

In the U.S., plans have been made to make sure the energy demand never exceeds the energy supply. New (nuclear, steam, and hydro) power generation  plants are being built.  New alternative forms of energy such as solar and wind power are being explored.

New mining and drilling is taking place to restock supplies of crude oil, natural gas, and coal, but fossil fuels, as they are known, also produce great amounts of pollution when burned.  So, unfortunately, there is a trade-off for having cheap fuel around to use.

Urban Issues

As you could expect, urban and rural populations often face different kinds of problems.  Cities (2,500 or more residents) must deal with congested traffic, for example, or high populations in need of housing and adequate food supplies.  Along with high population comes overcrowding, as the limited space is rapidly used up. Overcrowding, crime and waste disposal are three of the major concerns in urban areas today.  Data shows that the these three serious issues often go hand-in-hand with high population density.

Current Human Issues
The Baby Boomers

The term Baby Boomer is used to describe middle-aged Americans.  Economic prosperity followed the end of World War Two, which resulted in many jobs and increased income for workers. Because of this, many people felt comfortable having large families.  The sharp increase in the number of children born between 1946 and 1964 created a baby boom.  That means anyone (in the year 2002) between the age 38 and 56 falls into the Baby Boomer category. About 77,000,000 Americans fall into the Baby Boomer category.

The Graying of America

At this time, more than 12% of all Americans are over age 65.  Because of the large Baby Boomer  population group,  about 35% of Americans will be eligible for  retirement (or already are retired) in the next twenty years.  To put that into a different perspective, that translates to about 100,000,000 people. 

The number of retired or ready-to-retire Americans is significantly higher than the number of Americans who will be left in the workplace.  Because retirees will outnumber workers within the next two decades, it has been said that without significant planning, Americas elderly are in danger of losing Social Security benefits in the next twenty years.  The federal government has discussed several reform options for Social Security and Medicare funding, but political rivalry has prevented any agreements.