Q. 2. (A) Read the following extract and answer the questions given below: [11 marks]
(1) What conclusions did the researchers arrive at?
Ans. Researchers concluded that the earth could actually withstand up to 2,00,000 times the current population. It means the earth is capable of comfortably sustaining a population several times the current 6.5 billion.
(2) How does the writer explain that the fertility is one of the decline?
Ans. The writer points out that though population has grown, the rate of growth has fallen sharply. Twenty years ago, the UN projected that population would reach 11.16 billion in 2050, today they say it will reach only 9.37 billion.
(3) What does the extract predict about the fear of scarcity of food?
Ans. The extract predict about the fear of scarcity of food is, it is baseless as global food production will be sufficient to keep up with population growth. Even then people starve in many countries it is not because food is becoming scarce; it is because those people cannot afford it.
