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8 billion people. Now what for Earth?

RJ Hamster

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Monday, November 14, 2022
In today’s newsletter, we report the world’s population hitting a dizzying new milestone, solve a mystery about a California island castaway who captured a nation’s imagination … and try a diet that may help you live longer. Plus, a photo quiz about a particularly homely fish—and a list of extraordinary veterans remembered by our readers.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MANJUNATH KIRAN, AFP, GETTY

In just a dozen years, the Earth has added a billion people, putting us at the cusp of 8 billion—and demographers say we’re headed toward 9 or even 10 billion.

How will everyone get fed? How will everyone live, particularly as temperatures and oceans rise from climate change? The growth is happening as two parts of the world going in different directions, with baby booms in Nigeria and a sharp decline in China (which will soon be surpassed by India, pictured above, as the world’s most populous nation).

So far, our world, 7 billion people more numerous than in 1804, has handled the growth. But for how much longer?

Read the full story here.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY YAGAZIE EMEZI, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Rising Nigeria: At 216 million, Nigeria’s population could quadruple by the end of the century. Its median age is 17, one half of that of China. (Pictured above, Emmanuel and Nwakaego Ewenike live in a single room in Lagos with their four children Favor, Chidima, Kamsiyo, and Chukwu, ages 10, 8, 5, and 1.)Read more.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
HOLLI HARMON. HOLLIHARMON.COM
The ‘Lone Woman’: When otter hunters found the striking, silent, nameless woman (illustrated above) alone on a remote California island, the mystery captured a nation. It led to Island of the Blue Dolphins, a tale read by generations of American kids. Turns out, much of what we knew was wrong.
SOLVING A MYSTERY
STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID MCLAIN
These traditional diets may help you live longer (Pictured at 91-years-old, Yoshiko Shimabukuro drinks miso soup for breakfast.)
Astronauts want to fix smelly moonbuggy before NASA’s lunar mission
What do the world’s ‘happiest’ places have in common?
Picky eaters, family names, and singing competitions—the hidden world of whale culture
Climate change may help heal conflicts—not just fuel them
Yikes! How are the world’s ocean currents changing?
With 8 billion people, algae might soon feed us all
A Nat Geo Explorer works to save Pompeii from more than 100 unexploded WWII bombs
PHOTO QUIZ: WHO AM I?
PHOTOGRAPH BY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION-OCEAN OBSERVATORY INITIATIVE/UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON/CSSF
More famous dead than alive: This species of deep-sea fish, seen alive in this photo, went viral in 2013 after a seriously unflattering photo of it dead earned it the title of “world’s ugliest animal.” What is it? Click to find out!
WHO AM I?
LAST GLIMPSE
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAN WINTERS
Why do people lie? And why do we believe liars? Lying is a natural stage in child development, and kids become more sophisticated in their lies as they age, Nat Geo reports. (Pictured above, researchers testing a 9-year-old girl with functional near-infrared spectroscopy technology.)
READ ON
Editor’s note: Thanks to dozens of readers who responded to our Veterans Day call for relatives or ancestors who served their country. Thanks to vets Reginald C. Waddell Jr.; George Burton; Alton W. Gracey; Norman Lubinsky, Edward and Madeline Kirby, George Irwin Thompson; Edward “Glen” Welsh; Ron Glover; William R. Washington, Jr., and his dad, William R. Washington Sr., a Montford Point Marine, shown (below) at a 2012 ceremony where the Black Marine pioneers received a Congressional Gold Medal.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY WILLIAM R. WASHINGTON, JR.
Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Sydney Combs, Heather Kim, Jen Tse, and David Beard. Have an idea or link to a story you think is right down our alley? Let us know at david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails!

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