Learning Objective: This is a news reading class. At the end of the session, the participnats are expected to be able to discuss the issue expressing their thoughts and opinions confidently.


Story Proper

The United Nations says the world’s population is set to reach seven billion on October 31. Analysts are wondering whether it is a coincidence this milestone falls on Halloween. The U.N. Population Fund predicts that some time on Monday, the world will welcome its seven billionth person. They also forecast that the baby will be born in India. The birth of a newborn baby is usually a source of joy, but this one has got alarm bells ringing with environmentalists. They say the world cannot cope with so many mouths to feed. The population has exploded in the past two centuries. In the early 1800s, there were just a billion of us; in 1960 that figure had trebled to three billion. Half a century later, that figure has more than doubled.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University's Earth Institute told CNN that “the consequences for humanity could be grim." Other experts also paint a bleak picture. CNN's Jack Cafferty warned of an "unsustainable" population of 9 billion and stated that "at some point there's not going to be enough stuff for everybody." The New York Times declared that "the Earth is full [and that] we are eating into our future”. John Davis, editor of the Earth First! Journal, went even further by saying we had no right to take so much from the Earth: "Human beings have no more value as species than slugs," he said. Critics say humans have the ability for billions of us to live on our planet in a sustainable way.

Activity Proper



"Online activities, the mp3 and printable handouts are available for this lesson at http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com"