But knowing the significance of Y6B and doing something about it are two very different things. The widespread effects of the population increase have not yet begun to impress upon industrial nations; in fact, many of those nations feel they have "done their part" by reducing birth rates within their borders. What is often overlooked, however, is the environmental toll that modernized nations exact. Societal trends towards superconsumption ensure that one American middle-class child will use more natural resources in his or her lifetime than a family of eight living in Somalia.

It would be naive to believe that one solution could possibly "fix" the overpopulation problem, but the current practice of ignorance--paying attention to the media hype over Y6B but disregarding its many implications, for example--is something that we cannot afford. Much of the responsibility should fall to the U.N. and its member countries, who have the resources and the manpower necessary to help make a significant difference. Many of the best solutions have already begun to be implemented and need only to be improved and expanded upon. For example, the U.N. should be more proactive with its birth control information and distribution programs in areas that need it most. And industrialized nations need to continue to research and develop alternate energy sources, more efficient pollution controls, and better waste disposal methods.

Whatever the ultimate consequences of population growth may be, it is important to remember the danger of treating statistics as mere numbers. Regardless of the millennial hoopla that Y6B will doubtless create, its cumulative environmental, economic, and humanitarian effects are what we can ill afford to forget.

Alixandra E. Smith '02, a Crimson editor, is a Government concentrator in Kirkland House.