BBC Online presents this six-part special on sustainable development. Created in anticipation of the now concluded Johannesburg Summit, this Web site provides a valuable resource for viewers wishing to learn more about sustainable development and related issues. The Web site consists of an overview and six sections: Population, Food, Cities, Waste, Tourism, and Energy. The sections offer an...

Published by the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture, this study examines the two main food gaps, the status quo gap and the nutritional gap, to measure food insecurity in order to study the ways in which these two food gaps are affecting different regions of the world population. The report found Sub-Saharan Africa to be the most vulnerable in respect to food security,...

The Gender and Aging: Mortality and Health International Brief issued by the US Census Bureau outlines the health care challenges inherent in worldwide life expectancy gains. According to the study, women who reach older age can expect to live more disability-free years than their male counterparts and the number of widows is rising rapidly in most parts of the world.

It took almost all of human history (until 1804) for the Earth's human population to reach one billion. But more recently, during just twelve years, humans increased their numbers by one billion from 1987 to the present. These and other statistics are of supreme interest to scientists and others, as we attempt to predict environmental conditions and biological responses to future population...

Taking as its focus the deceptively simple questions, How has the world’s population changed over time? and How will it change in the future?, this engaging website (designed as a companion to the television program) developed by NOVA explores both of these queries through a set of interviews, interactive features, and additional resources, such as weblinks and guides for teachers. The interviews...

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently issued its annual report highlighting new developments in world population. This year's report, The State of World Population 1998: The New Generations, focuses on the ramifications of the rapid increases in two segments of global population: youth less than fifteen years-old and elderly more than 65 years-old. This Website contains text and...