Can we sustain this kind of growth?

As our planet rapidly approaches the addition of another billion people (to total 7 billion humans), does anyone see any possible, logical, rational way of continuing this geometric progression of humanity without it all ending in disaster?

Let's forget about the fact that 1.4 billion people on our spaceship Earth now live in abject poverty. Let's even forget that we are already see the beginnings of starvation coupled with new outbreaks of deadly diseases as a result of the worldwide economic downturn.

In the U.S. and the other "overdeveloped" nations our social systems are overloaded and faltering more each year. Example: Los Angles County, has 10 million people. A full 20 percent (2 million) are on some sort of governmental aid. As population continues to expand; so do the problems of water, education, jobs, transportation, global warming, pollution, energy, health care, sewage treatment, etc.

Let's just take one problem, education. Historically the U.S. has always had a goal of free public education. As an extreme example, what if Ms. Suleman, had lived in Schaumburg rather than California? If so, she would have presented grade school Dist. 54 with a bill of about $1.68 million and high school Dist. 211 with a bill of about $1.2 million to educate her 14 children.

How much more population strain can our environment, natural resources, social services, and ultimately, planet Earth endure? Let's all remember that the Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth. The Earth will ultimately go on; whether or not our species continues on or not.

Jim Peterson

Hoffman Estates