“What we're putting into the atmosphere really constitutes an unprecedented experiment with our planet that is going to lead to changes that haven't been seen in millions of years. As the whole world warms up, a lot of places are going to become not very pleasant to live in. There will be much hotter temperatures, summer-time heat stress, likely drying of most of the continent, and rising sea levels, which will become a problem because most of us live near the coast.”
Professor Steven Sherwood, University of New South Wales
This week the world's population ticked over to 7 billion. By 2050 that number is expected to grow to 9 billion.
From water shortages to rising sea levels, experts from the University of New South Wales and the University of Melbourne paint a grim future for life on Earth. They forecast dramatic changes unless significant steps are taken to curb population growth.
Here seven academics outline seven challenges they say a population of 7 billion must confront.
Is it all doom and gloom as they suggest, or do we have a brighter future?
“Access to fresh water in Australia, the driest inhabited continent, is incredibly difficult. We're seeing the impacts of overuse of water resources, particularly in places like the Murray-Darling Basin, and that sort of pressure is only going to increase as Australia's population increases but also obviously as the world population increases.”
Professor Richard Kingsford, University of New South Wales
“Water is probably going to be the first real threat that we bump into. Does the Murray-Darling Basin survive? That's a big question mark still that I don't think has been adequately addressed. Agriculture, which is the main consumer of water, may have to change its whole structure.”
Professor Roger Short, University of Melbourne
