Overpopulation

A picture of Calhoun in a mouse utopia in 1970

This Old Experiment With Mice Led to Bleak Predictions for Humanity’s Future

From the 1950s to the 1970s, researcher John Calhoun gave rodents unlimited food and studied their behavior in overcrowded conditions

Robert DiNapoli, co-author of a new study about population dynamics on Rapa Nui, stands in front of a rock garden on the island. People used rocks to make the volcanic land more suitable for farming.

Easter Island Did Not Collapse From Overuse of Resources After All, Study Suggests

A new paper contradicts the idea that people used up the island's resources and experienced a significant population decline, instead proposing that a small society lived there sustainably

By 2050, Earth's population is projected to swell to 9.8 billion, placing strain on limited food, resources

Soon, the Average Human Will Be Taller, Heavier. That Will Lead to Increased Food Demand

Between 1975 and 2014, average adult grew 1.3 percent taller and 14 percent heavier, triggering 6.1 percent uptick in energy consumption

Times Square traffic jam

Should U.S. Cities Use Congestion Pricing To Ease Traffic?

New York may soon charge a fee to drive into central Manhattan as a way of reducing traffic and raising funds for public transit

The book was published so hastily the fuse bomb pictured on the cover was “ticking.”

The Book That Incited a Worldwide Fear of Overpopulation

'The Population Bomb' made dire predictions—and triggered a wave of repression around the world

Easter Island's famed statues could be remnants of a populous civilization

Lots of Sweet Potatoes Could’ve Made Easter Island a Bustling Place

A new agricultural analysis of the island finds that the crop could have supported more than 17,000 people

Kangaroo herds dominate Australians ecosystem today, outcompeting other organisms

To Save Australia's Ecosystem, Ecologists Say Eat Kangaroos

With a soaring population, the iconic marsupials are overwhelming other species and may soon run out of food

A man walks by a family planning billboard portraying parents and one child in Beijing in 1983. China just announced it will reverse its controversial one-child policy.

China Says It Will End One-Child Policy

Under new rules, Chinese families can have two children

The World Hit "Peak Chicken" in 2006

The popular poultry is just one of many key food resources that hit peak production between 5 and 30 years ago

Paris has spread along the banks of the Seine since 1900.

Make Cities Explode in Size With These Interactive Maps

From Los Angeles to Lagos, see how megacities have been taking over the planet during the past 100 years

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Where Are the 50 Most Populous Refugee Camps?

Millions of people worldwide flee their homes to escape violence, persecution or natural disasters. Here’s where they live

Asian carp, imported from China in 1973 to clean algae from Southern ponds, broke from their confines and infested the Mississippi River waterways.

Making the Best of Invasive Species

Garlic mustard and Asian carp can wreak havoc on their ecosystems, but do they have a future on your dinner plate?

South Florida has a problem with giant pythons as demonstrated here by a ranger holding a Burmese python in the Everglades.

Attack of the Giant Pythons

The Smithsonian's noted bird sleuth, Carla Dove, eyes smelly globs to identify victims in Florida

These pigs are used for baying, which is how hunters train their dogs to bring the pigs down.

A Plague of Pigs in Texas

Now numbering in the millions, these shockingly destructive and invasive wild hogs wreak havoc across the southern United States

Long-tailed Macaque

The World's Worst Invasive Mammals

Animals as common as goats, deer, rabbits or mice can have a devastating effect on other wildlife

Jellyfish such as these Northeast Pacific sea nettles in Monterey Bay Aquarium, are brainless, bloodless and mostly aimless.

Jellyfish: The Next King of the Sea

As the world's oceans are degraded, will they be dominated by jellyfish?

Researchers search for Asian longhorned beetles among Worcester's hardwoods.

Invasion of the Longhorn Beetles

In Worcester, Massachusetts, authorities are battling an invasive insect that is poised to devastate the forests of New England

A family of black-tailed prairie dogs practices their vigilance from their colony in Highlands Ranch.

Denver’s Street-Smart Prairie Dogs

Researchers explore why members of one species are thriving in urban areas while rural populations dwindle

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Giant Footprint

How the world's 6.6 billion people threaten the health of the ecosystem

Nudibranchs (seaslugs) are favorite with amateur divers. The advent of SCUBA diving and digital photography has revolutionized how we document and describe these soft-bodied, shell-less gastropods.

Species Explosion

What happens when you mix evolution with climate change?

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