The Independent, July 12, 2010 Britain's premier scientific
organisation has launched a two-year study into global
population levels. A growing body of scientists believe the time
has come for politicians to confront the problems posed by the
future increase in human numbers. The Royal Society has
established a working group of leading experts to draw up a
comprehensive set of recommendations on human population that
could set the agenda for tackling the environmental stress
caused by billions of extra people on the planet. Sir John
Sulston, the Nobel laureate who took a leading role in decoding
the human genome, will lead the study. A failure to be open
about the problems caused by the global population explosion
would set back human development, he warned. "We really do have
to look at where we are going in relation to population. If we
don't do it, we may survive but we won't flourish," Sir John
said. "We will be examining the extent to which population is a
significant factor in the momentous internationa