It took all of human history until 1800 for the world’s population to reach its first billion. Now we add a new billion nearly every dozen years. Over the next half century, 98 percent of that growth will take place in our planet’s poorest regions. And as the global total swells to nearly 9 billion by 2050, the social and environmental strains will be enormous. Through vivid personal stories, The Population Paradox reveals many startling trends. In this groundbreaking, worldwide investigation of humanity’s future, NOVA shows how decisions made now will change the fate of everyone over the next fifty years.
Subjects: Global
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Windows of Inquiry
This program examines evidence of global change from the aspect of what has been induced by human activities and what is a result of natural process. An explanation of how each of the earth’s ecosystems are tied together reveals why changes in one affects the others. The program also uses evidence of past global change to predict what we can expect in the future.
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Witnessing the Impacts
This program looks at atmospheric and biodiversity change and the global warming phenomenon. We investigate the effects of pollution on various ecosystems and why the Arctic has been affected by pollution from southeast Asia, helping us understand how our local activities may be affecting people on the other side of the world for years to come.
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Committed to Change
The ecological footprint – this is the mark on the earth left behind by each person based on the amount of resources they have consumed. If the strain we put on natural resources continues at the present rate, the earth will no longer be able to support its inhabitants. This program examines possible solutions and asks the question: is it too late?
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Health in the Developing World: The Impact of Landmines, Water and Microfinance
Across the world 1.3 billion people suffer from extreme poverty. They don’t have enough to eat, they don’t have proper shelter, they don’t have safe drinking water and they don’t have access to life saving medicines. This program explores three aspects of development that can have a positive impact on the health and lives of people in developing countries. We look at how the provision of safe drinking water, the clearing of landmines and the introduction of micro-finance systems to create employment can help improve the quality of life for individuals and society.