We are a young but very successful species. We are at the very top of the planet's food chain. We eat other species while none regularly dine on us (excluding micro organisms like bacteria and vires). We inhabit every continent (including Antarctica) and are the only species to travel to the moon and back.

Our success has created significantly greater population sizes and densities. Estimates are that it took more than 100,000 years for the human population to reach 20 million people. By 1850 there were 1 billion people or twenty times the 50,000 living a mere 8,000 years ago. We are now at a population of 6 billion and climbing.

Population pressures impact a number of eco and social systems. How do we feed and house all the new people? There is no way to increase farm acreage. Nor are the forests used for houses increasing. What about our waste? Chimpanzees build a new sleeping nest each night because they often soil it. Humans have permanent settlements so we try to remove the waste with sewer systems or limit it as in air pollution.

We don't just eat. We consume all kinds of goods from clothing to computers usually wrapped in plastic and possibly in a box. These products and packaging use resources and later become "garbage" as we move on to new toys. And production requires energy which currently comes from non-renewal resources like oil and coal.

Is your local area growing? How much? What changes can you see as a result of local population trends?

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