Earth: 6 Billion Served

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 11, 1999 / 9:20 AM EDT / CBS

In the nearly 40 years since President Kennedy took the oath of office, the world's population doubled to six billion - a milestone many experts did not expect, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.

In fact, according to a new report by population experts, the birth rate has slowed or stopped in Europe and Japan and most of North America except for the U.S., where immigration continues to drive population growth.

The U.S., Indonesia and Brazil have greater populations than other countries in the poorest regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa and in parts of south and west Asia. One billion people live in dire poverty.

According to the United Nations, the world's population will reach 6 billion around Oct. 12, 1999.

Alex Marshall, who tracks trends, says the crisis the world faces is not just one of numbers but of sharing resources.

"If you provide people with the basics of a decent life, they will act responsibly and that means they will act responsibly in terms of the number of children they have," Marshall said.

Stirling Scruggs, Director of Information for the U.N. population fund, told CBS This Morning he wants people to focus on the 365,000 people born everyday and the lives they will live.

"A lot of them will be born in developing countries and some will be born without safe housing, food, basic health care and basic education," Scruggs said.

He said water and food might be severe problems as the population grows, given irrigation problems and inadequate distribution of resources.

AP
Stirling Scruggs, Director of Information for the U.N. population fund

Scruggs said the U.S.- which represents about four percent of the global population and consumes about 30 percent of the world's resources every year - has "done much better since the Clean Air Act, but we still need to do more."

He recommended action to stop burning coal that causes acid rain, protecting water sources and an increase in recycling.

"I don't think people will be willing to do away with their standard of living," Scruggs said, "but we've certainly got to do a better job than we are today."