The human population is now more than 6.6 billion, and each year 78 million more people are added to that number. When will the world be ready to acknowledge the importance of this issue?

Continued growth in human numbers is greatly complicating efforts to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases. It also contributes to a lack of clean water, exploited natural resources, and high proportions of young people who lack meaningful prospects in countries with rapidly growing populations.

While many other organizations shy away from the subject, Worldwatch is working to bring attention to the population issue in sensitive and constructive ways. For example, many leaders still don't understand that as many as two in five pregnancies worldwide aren't intended or welcomed—a problem that can be addressed with education and the provision of basic reproductive health services.

If population is such a serious issue, why isn't every mainstream environmental organization talking about it?

Since its founding just four years after the first Earth Day in 1970, Worldwatch has presented human population as a critical force to be understood and addressed in building sustainable societies. Over the past seven years, the U.S. government has reduced its support of international family planning, heightening the need for organizations like Worldwatch to tackle this critical issue.