7,000,000,000...

“Baby Number 7,000,000,000”

I read in November’s National Geographic Magazine that, according to the U.N., the world population was expected to reach 7 billion in October, 2011...7,000,000,000 !  They used words like “expected to reach” and “approximately”, because, as you can imagine, it’s tough to get an accurate count of so many of us.  And of course, more of us are being born every moment.

The point of the short article was that if “Baby Number 7,000,000,000” was born in one of the wealthier countries (the USA, Western Europe, Japan, etc.) then there is a good chance that the baby will reach the ripe old age of 100 years, because conditions are good in those countries, and progress is made continually  on nutrition and health care.  Life expectancies are growing, as access to healthy foods and good health care increase, and as we live healthier lives.

I had a grand-daughter born in October.  Was she “Number 7,000,000,000” ?  Well, that’s pretty tough to answer, but she could have been.  Will she live to be 100 years old ?  Well, I certainly hope so, and I wish her, and everybody else on earth at that time, all the best, and I hope their quality of life continues to improve.

-          grand-dad ...(Mark)