A sustainability symposium at the University of North Dakota urges that every day is Earth Day," indicating that each of the following happen each and every day:

40,000 acres of land, an area about the size of Boise, Idaho will be converted to desert. 200 million tons of topsoil will be lost through erosion from croplands. 50,000 acres of forest will be eliminated. 800 million people will go to bed hungry and awake too weak to lead productive lives. 18,000 children will die from chronic hunger, malnutrition, and related diseases. The world will spend $3 billion on military expenditures, half by one country. The population of the world will grow by 211,000 people. A new Akron, Ohio will be added every day.

Of course, it is horrifically inconvenient, across virtually all interest groups and political parties, to mention this last item, which relates to the many of the others in this list, and to virtually every other problem was face. Hence, the need for the Global Population Speakout.

We have done nothing to change course, despite the rapid rate at which we are exhausting the Earth's resources. In a recent TED talk, Australian Paul Guilding tells us that it is beyond dispute, beyond any margin of error, that "the Earth is full." To sustain current human activity, we'd need 1.5 Earths. Therefore, we are at the "end of growth," and Guilding says it's well underway. The evidence is all around us. So how are we going to respond and react to this crisis? And now for an opposing point of view, also at TED: Peter Diamandis makes a case for optimism -- that we'll invent, innovate and create ways to solve the challenges that loom over us. "I’m not saying we don’t have our set of problems; we surely do. But ultimately, we knock them down.” OK, so one expert says we're in massive trouble and the other says things have never been better. No wonder people are so suspicious about experts.