In Maryland, we seem insulated from the problems of teeming masses in the Third World. But we're not. How about these concerns:

• Growing food shortages worldwide,
• Higher food prices,
• International terrorism increasing,
• Civil wars proliferation around the world, that affect us,
• A million illegal immigrants in Maryland by 2050,
• Multi-billion dollar losses from storm damage in Ocean City.

All the predictions above are likely, based on one demographic estimate. According to the median projection by United Nations experts, the world's population will increase from six billion today to 9.4 billion by 2050. This prediction assumes that birthrates will continue to fall. If they don't decrease as much as expected, the world population may total 11 billion by 2050.

Even at today's population level of six billion plus, humankind is destroying the Earth's forests, wiping out countless species of animal and plant life, polluting more and more of our oceans and lakes, and filling the air with carbon dioxide and many noxious pollutants. Let's look at the above concerns in more detail.

1. Growing world food shortages are likely, even if the biotech revolution continues. In many developing countries, particularly in Africa, environmental factors such as soil chemistry and weather limit most of the advantage gained from advanced food raising technologies. From 1950 to 1984, food production rose faster than population in the world, leading to less hunger and lower death rates. But since 1984, according to the World Watch Institute, grain production has not kept pace with the increased number of mouths to feed in poor nations. About 80 nations are importing larger shares of the food they consume.

2. This population surge will lead to higher food prices for Maryland residents. because our state is a major importer of food.

3. Terrorism has worsened since 1960 because of the growing desperation of people in poor nations where rapid population growth has exacerbated existing ethnic hatred. Afghanistan, Algeria and Burundi are sad examples of this trend. Also weapons of mass destruction are more likely to fall into terrorist hands on a crowded globe.

4. While international wars are fewer, there are far more civil wars today than in 1960. As taxpayers, we pay for our military's work in international peacekeeping and relief abroad. Also, millions of refugees fleeing these civil wars seek haven, when they can, in richer, safer nations.

5. Illegal immigration harms the U.S. Over 300,000 people enter the U.S., illegally every year. By 2050, tens of millions of new immigrants will live in the U.S., with perhaps a million in already-crowded Maryland alone.

6. Global warming caused by the increased burning of fossil fuels by an ever larger population leads to higher sea levels and more intense weather, including hurricanes. Property losses near oceans have tripled in the 1990s (in real terms) over 1980 levels. These losses are likely to continue to increase as the effects of global warming are felt on our coasts.

So what can we do to help solve these problems and reduce overpopulation?

• Urge increased government funding for international, U.S. and state family planning programs. (The U.S. now spends less than $2 per person on international family planning.)
• Support contraceptive research.
• Educate your family, friends and the media about overpopulation and the threat it poses to our environment and the quality of our lives.
• Support legislators who work toward population stabilization.

We must slow our obsessive overconsumption and relentless population growth worldwide. Our brains are bigger than Norway's lemmings who rush over the cliff to their destruction in the sea. We simply need to use these brains to save our planet and ourselves from destruction.

You can contact the author at: #4702 Three Oaks Road Pikesville, Maryland 21208 410-922-4368