New data shows that humpback whale populations have been growing steadily over recent decades, and as a result, the U.S. government may take the humpback whale off the endangered species list.

Last year, the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), received results from an extensive study showing that the north Pacific humpback whale population has been growing 4-7% a year over the past few decades.

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Two new studies have revealed that more people now face damage than ever before on account of earthquakes, droughts, floods and other disasters. And, this is mainly owing to a sharp rise in urban populations in developing countries.

Slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

According to one of the studies— conducted by the United Nations and titled the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, smaller or poorer countries could be destroyed by disasters which would relatively affect little those places that are protected by size or wealth.

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The Duggar Family is doing their part to overpopulate the world. As if the two-thirds world didn’t need educating, there are folks closer to home (for me) who need it. Now, the Duggar Family is expecting grand kids.

Their oldest boy, Joshua, and his wife, Anna, are three months along.

I love kids as much as the next guy. And I am a family name. However, 18 kids! More on the way. And, how much is 18 X 18. It’s 324 I think. And 324 x 18 = 5,832. In just three generations this family could be 5,800 strong. One hundred thousand strong in four generations.

Were this a small country, family planning, abortion activists and all such folk would be all over them. So, when are too many kids, too many? This is something that should be decided BEFORE a child is born, of course.

But, the Duggar Family … yeah, they are taxing our world’s resources.

Thinking out loud here… What if everyone in China had been like the Duggars when they heeded Mao’s cry to “Populate the Middle Kingdom”?

As a guy with a high background on economics (finance and banking) I must tell you that I’m somehow interested on how this whole financial crisis affects us.

Today, I’ve just heard that Paul Krugman Won the Nobel Prize in Economics, but since I don’t know this guy (ashamed!), I had to Google it and find out more.

As to my surprise it wasn’t his housing bubble or financial warning that got a smile on my face, but his “thinking about food”. Supply, Demand, and English Food is one of his essays on how bad the British food used to be and how heavenly it tastes today.

There may be truth in what he said – that if you consider supply and demand, but I’d honestly like to know if people in less developed countries care how sophisticated their dinner is. They just thank God for the little “something” on their tables, instead of thinking macro-economics. There’s no such thing as bad-food for them.

Congratulations for the deserved prize, but how about we two talk a little about food? What would you say Mr. Krugman? Maybe this 9-year old would eat the “bad” British food, if not I’m sure those African farmers would.

Image via Alan Cordova

Reborn, born again, recycled, all seems the same to me. There’s a baby maker in Foutainhall, Scotland – near Edinburgh, who makes, well, um, babies. Except her babies are not real. For some, they are too much like real babies. They are crafted in vinyl and have become quite popular with collectors and nostalgic grandparents, not to mention parents who have lost their little ones.

I’m not buying it. A plastic baby can’t replace a real baby. Still, these babies are painted over several times to create the newborn skin feeling. They have mohair (not sure what that is) and eyelashes (I know what they are). The babies are also weighted to feel as heavy as a human baby.

So, why don’t people who buy these babies try the adoption thing? There are children looking for parents. Can you say India and China? Why would anybody want a plastic doll when they could have a living doll in need of a real parent? Our planet is crowded enough. Why recycle babies?

Our last question is if these babies need green diapers or not. Guess not, right?

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The challenge of a greener world will be the ever growing number of Earthlings to keep on track. The world population is expected to hit 7 billion by 2012, 10 billion in the 2050s.  It took 6000 years, give or take a few, to reach 6 billion in 1999. In just 13 years, another billion will be added. The world population was under 1 billion in 1800.

Medical and nutritional advances are given the credit. The good news is that the world population growth is slowing down. The population doubled from 3B to 6B in 40 years from 1959-1999. Growth is expected to be only 50% from 1999-2049. In 2050, global growth is expected to sloe to 0.5% from the current 1.2%.

In the meantime, the world is growing older. Currently, 1.5% of the world’s population is over 80 (estimate). In 2050, that number is expected to grow to 5%. By 2050, India is also expected to overtake China as the most populous nation.

Well, I done my part for world population growth, with a little help from my wife. We added a daughter to the crowd this year.

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