TV Program Description

It took all of human history until the year 1804 for our population to reach its first billion. Now a billion new people are added every dozen years. In the industrialized world—Japan, Europe, and the United States—birthrates are falling steeply while the senior citizen population is booming. In this two-hour Earth Day special, NOVA explores these and other trends in the relationship between people and the planet.

With moving personal stories from India, Japan, Kenya, and China, "World in the Balance" gives an up-to-date global snapshot of today's human family, now numbering 6.3 billion and likely to increase to nearly 9 billion by 2050. Paradoxically, the world is now careening in two completely different directions.

By 2050, the average age across Africa and the Middle East will be 25. In Japan, Europe, and Russia, it will be 50. And in the United States, it will be 40. Many experts argue that these demographic disparities could have severe global repercussions. The program explores how decisions made now will affect the United States and the Earth over the next 50 years.

Visit the website of World in the Balance for more >>