October 30, 2011

Population Researchers Look for Room in Academe

Population Researchers Look for Room in Academe 1

Yana Paskova for The Chronicle

Sabine Marx (right), a research scientist at Columbia U.'s Earth Institute, was recently promoted based on a new system that puts more weight on fieldwork.

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close Population Researchers Look for Room in Academe 1

Yana Paskova for The Chronicle

Sabine Marx (right), a research scientist at Columbia U.'s Earth Institute, was recently promoted based on a new system that puts more weight on fieldwork.

By Paul Basken

The world's population officially hits seven billion on October 31, a foreboding milepost for battles against a host of major societal scourges, including hunger, disease, poverty, and climate change.

With current conditions, the number is expected to reach eight billion by around 2023 and nine billion by 2050. By then, it's estimated that some 1.2-billion people will live in poverty, with growth-fueled environmental decay compounding the misery of many.

In many ways, the

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