We must act now to solve the problem of overpopulation In 1804, for the first time in the history of humanity, more than one billion people lived on Earth. Then in 1927, 123 years later, the Earth's population surpassed two billion. Another billion was added in 1960, another in 1974, and yet another, bringing the total to over five billion in 1987. Earth's population is estimated to surpass six billion in 1999 and reach nine billion people in the year 2054 -250 years later. reaching one billion first.[1] Historically slow population growth has traditionally been attributed to constraints on agriculture. Modern analysis of population growth, however, indicates that the primary restriction was disease. Disease control and subsequent declines in mortality have not always been accompanied by a decline in fertility rates. This resulted in a huge increase in the human population. The rapid increase in the number of humans living on Earth will undoubtedly cause changes in the individual lives of humans. Even if the changes will not be as drastic as some authors predict, the changes introduced by humans to the Earth's environment must be addressed and fully understood. Those who believe that man is reproducing to the point of destruction are quick to point out that greater numbers of men result in greater pressure on the Earth's resources. In the book A Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations Clive Ponting states that humans are causing irreparable damage to the Earth and as the population continues to increase, this damage will continue. Ponting argues that this increase in population, what he calls the weight of numbers, will lead to the eventual destruction of... half the paper... and birth control, ed. Garrett Hardin. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1969, 107-9.[6] J. H. Fremlin, "How Many People Can the World Support?", New Scientist 415 (1964): 285-7, Rpt. in Population, Evolution and Birth Control, ed. Garret Hardin, San Francisco: WH Freeman and Company, 1969, 59-66.[7] Robert Thomas Malthus, "An Essay on the Principle of Population", 1798, Population, Evolution and Birth Control, ed. Garret Hardin, San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1969, 4-16.[8] Ian Thomas, Population Growth, London: MacMillan Education, Ltd., 1980, 11.[9] United Nations Population Division[10] Robert Livernash, “The Future of Populous Economies, China and India Shaping Their Destinies,” Environment 37.6 (1995): 6-32.[11] AJ McMichael, “Contemplating a World with an Only Child,” British Medical Journal 311.7021 (1995): 1651-3.