The World Population to Hit 7 Billion in 2012!!

Eve as we struggle to satisy our appetite for natural resources, the world's population will undoubtedly reach 7 billion in 2012 according to a new government projection. There are 6.7 billion people in the world today. The United States ranks third, with 304 million, behind China and India, according to projections released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The world's population surpassed 6 billion in 1999, meaning it will take only 13 years to add a billion people.

By comparison, the number of people didn't reach 1 billion until 1800, said Carl Haub, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau. It didn't reach 2 billion until 130 years later. "You can easily see the effect of rapid population growth in developing countries," Haub said. Haub said that medical and nutritional advances in developing countries led to a population explosion following World War II.

Cultural changes are slowly catching up, with more women in developing countries going to school and joining the work force. That is slowing the growth rate, though it is still high in many countries. The global population is growing by about 1.2 percent per year. The Census Bureau projects the growth rate will decline to 0.5 percent by 2050. By then, India will have surpassed China as the most populous country.

To be, or not to be?

I hate it when life doesn't work out exactly as planned. Hubs and I had a long talk last night about switiching my Masters to the full-time (2 yrs) route, instead of part-time (4 yrs). Both options will incur debt, no matter which way you look at it. However, if I went part-time and took out the max amount ofloans every year, I would incur almost $80K!!!! A Social Worker doesn't make $80k in TWO (maybe THREE) years of work! I find it utterly stupid to incur all of that debt. :(

• 2-yr: $40K ---> 4-yr: $80K (Hubs would probably have to take out more money those 2 years, so maybe it isn't better?)


• 2-yr: Done quicker which means I can start working!


• 2-yr: Can start a family after 2-years and not have to worry about school getting pushed to the side, wasting all the prior money and effort!

Unfortunately, I missed out on the opportunity to continue on a full-time program. You have to attend a Field Work Orientation, and the last one was last Friday. Because of this, I can not do the program full-time. However, after I have achieved 30 credits (2-yrs), I can switch to full-time and do my last year in one year instead of 2. So - I would have 3 years, instead of 4.

*le sigh*