The Unknown Zone: 10 Things the World is Running Out Of

In the 1900s (a simpler time), it was estimated there were only 1.6 billion people on Earth. By the 1950s, we’d doubled that number, and by the 2000s, we’d managed to hit six billion.[1] A study in the journal Global Environmental Changeprojects that the global population is going to peak at 9.4 billion later this century. Basically, this is bad news, since we currently don’t even have enough resources for our population now. One in eight people do not have enough to eat. 1.3 billion or more lack access to reliable electricity. Longevity and birth rates are increasing, and with space decreasing, some people are looking to slow this train down just a little bit.

In an effort to educate women is less developed countries, something interesting happened. The average family size went from 6.3 children to 1.9 in just two generations, by giving them better schooling, more job opportunities, and better availability of contraceptives. It goes to show that this massive population boom has some viable solutions, but as it stands, we have many problems still to face when it comes to resources. The more sinister sides of us might sit back and say that these shortages will not affect our immediate generations, but there are still some notable shortages that we should be freaking out about right now,  - Tara Cannon