Earth's population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week.
A spokesman for WWF UK, said: 'If all the people consumed natural resources at the same rate as the average US and UK citizen we would require at least two extra planets like Earth.'
These two statements are at odds. The first quote seems to indicate that we are already consuming enough to merit colonising extra planets by 2050 while the second indicates we will need to do so only if all countries consume resources at the rate of the more affluent (U.S. & U.K.)
I am certainly not insouciant about the world's problems but frankly this sort of report has been doing the rounds for decades. I remember a similar book (one that the Society used to quote from a lot) that insisted that the world would be uninhabitable by 1975. (Now out of print) :)
Have you read Bjorn Lomborg's book 'The Skeptical Environmentalist'? He describes this apocalyptic tendency as 'the liturgy' which is unnecessarily pessimistic. An ex-Greenpeace campaigner, he goes into great detail about the 'real state of the world' and reveals that most people are worried about the wrong problems. Well worth a read if you are interested in these issues.