The World Welcomes the Seven-Billionth Baby    [11-11-2011] The world’s population is steadily getting bigger and bigger. Overpopulation can have many negative effects on people. On October 31, the seven-billionth baby was born in the Philippines. The whole world celebrated the baby’s birth. However, some people looked at it very negatively. People from all over the globe planned on celebrating the arrival of the “seven-billionth baby.” Zambia hosted a seven-billion song contest; Vietnam staged a concert entitled 7B: Counting on Each Other; Russia gave free presents to a handful of newborns; and the Ivory Coast put on a comedy show. The Philippines was the first nation to announce the birth of the seven-billionth baby. The baby girl’s name is Danica May Camacho. Camacho weighed about 2.5 kilograms and was born at a hospital in Manila, just right before midnight on October 31. “She looks so lovely,” said Danica’s mother. “I can't believe she is the world’s seven billionth.” The United Nations gave the newborn a cake; many other gifts were given to the special baby. Some of the gifts included a scholarship grant for the child to go to school and financial assistance for the parents to open a store. In 1999, the world’s six-billionth baby was born in Bosnia. Adnan Mevic was given the honors by the U.N. on October 12 of that year. However, Adnan and his family currently live in poverty. For this reason, no child will be put in the global spotlight again. Little Danica will simply have her name in a special place in our history. Since the day Adnan was born, a billion more babies were born. The current population has doubled compared to the number 50 years ago. Many people are worried about the environmental impacts overpopulation may have. There are many who are also afraid of not having any food or water available in the next few decades. Leaders of both wealthy and developing nations will discuss the threat of a global recession and ways to make the economy better. Two babies are born every second. Many feel as if the current population will skyrocket and reach the next billion faster than before. Many fear that when the children today grow up to be adults, they will have a very difficult time finding jobs. Drought and famine crises can also arise from overpopulation. Still, many countries are happy about the birth of the seven-billionth baby in our world.     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)